| ||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Trade in Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War (Vintage Departures) for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
National Bestseller
When prize-winning war correspondent Tony Horwitz leaves the battlefields of Bosnia and the Middle East for a peaceful corner of the Blue Ridge Mountains, he thinks he's put war zones behind him. But awakened one morning by the crackle of musket fire, Horwitz starts filing front-line dispatches again this time from a war close to home, and to his own heart.
Propelled by his boyhood passion for the Civil War, Horwitz embarks on a search for places and people still held in thrall by America's greatest conflict. The result is an adventure into the soul of the unvanquished South, where the ghosts of the Lost Cause are resurrected through ritual and remembrance.
In Virginia, Horwitz joins a band of 'hardcore' reenactors who crash-diet to achieve the hollow-eyed look of starved Confederates; in Kentucky, he witnesses Klan rallies and calls for race war sparked by the killing of a white man who brandishes a rebel flag; at Andersonville, he finds that the prison's commander, executed as a war criminal, is now exalted as a martyr and hero; and in the book's climax, Horwitz takes a marathon trek from Antietam to Gettysburg to Appomattox in the company of Robert Lee Hodge, an eccentric pilgrim who dubs their odyssey the 'Civil Wargasm.'
Written with Horwitz's signature blend of humor, history, and hard-nosed journalism, Confederates in the Attic brings alive old battlefields and new ones 'classrooms, courts, country bars' where the past and the present collide, often in explosive ways. Poignant and picaresque, haunting and hilarious, it speaks to anyone who has ever felt drawn to the mythic South and to the dark romance of the Civil War.
When prize-winning war correspondent Tony Horwitz leaves the battlefields of Bosnia and the Middle East for a peaceful corner of the Blue Ridge Mountains, he thinks he's put war zones behind him. But awakened one morning by the crackle of musket fire, Horwitz starts filing front-line dispatches again this time from a war close to home, and to his own heart.
Propelled by his boyhood passion for the Civil War, Horwitz embarks on a search for places and people still held in thrall by America's greatest conflict. The result is an adventure into the soul of the unvanquished South, where the ghosts of the Lost Cause are resurrected through ritual and remembrance.
In Virginia, Horwitz joins a band of 'hardcore' reenactors who crash-diet to achieve the hollow-eyed look of starved Confederates; in Kentucky, he witnesses Klan rallies and calls for race war sparked by the killing of a white man who brandishes a rebel flag; at Andersonville, he finds that the prison's commander, executed as a war criminal, is now exalted as a martyr and hero; and in the book's climax, Horwitz takes a marathon trek from Antietam to Gettysburg to Appomattox in the company of Robert Lee Hodge, an eccentric pilgrim who dubs their odyssey the 'Civil Wargasm.'
Written with Horwitz's signature blend of humor, history, and hard-nosed journalism, Confederates in the Attic brings alive old battlefields and new ones 'classrooms, courts, country bars' where the past and the present collide, often in explosive ways. Poignant and picaresque, haunting and hilarious, it speaks to anyone who has ever felt drawn to the mythic South and to the dark romance of the Civil War.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
In 1965, a century after Appomattox, the Civil War began for me at a musty apartment in New Haven, Connecticut. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
In 1965, a century after Appomattox, the Civil War began for me at a musty apartment in New Haven, Connecticut. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As an Englishwoman on holiday in Canada, I found this book by chance in a small town bookshop. Previously having had only a fleeting knowledge of the American Civil War, mainly stirred by images of "Gone with the Wind", I thought this book looked mildy interesting -mainly because there was nothing much of note to purchase in the store. This book was SO GRIPPING - and VERY VERY funny. It's a cliche, but I could not put this book down. It didn't matter that I had little knowledge of the topic beforehand - at the end I was a master. The way that past and present are seamlessly interwoven is a skilful testament to the author's skill. This was a real find.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a thrilling supplement to more scholarly studies of the Civil War, I would recommend this joyous romp of a book. Combining data, interviews, and first-hand accounts, this book presents a side of history rarely seen: those who believe that the only road to authenticity lies in "hardcore" re-creations. While the people are sources of charm and humor, they are never mocked. If anything, the author presents these folks as the last bastion of "true" historical study left in America. At the very least, he believes, these people are passionate, involved, and are willing to keep memory alive in an age of apathy and ignorance. While there are several points that will bring about feelings of anger and sadness (especially when the author journeys to the schools of Alabama), the author is always fair and attempts to discover why it is that the Civil War provokes such strong feelings even today. While the war was a complex mix of politics, race, power, leadership, law, and sectional rivalry, it has been, especially in our age of political correctness, reduced to oversimplified "movements" and self-serving slogans. Thanks to this book, we can hopefully reclaim the war and return it to more academic, intellectual circles where it belongs.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although the book seems to be weighed a little heavy (okay, way heavy!) on the side of showing the seedier and more eccentric side of the modern-day South, it is very easy and entertaining reading. Horowitz' approach is different from the vast majority of Civil War books on the market, being from the standpoint of some modern-day Southerners still clinging to their ideas of what they perceive the great Southern Cause to have been. Whether it be an interview with the KKK, white supremists, Shelby Foote, or hard-core re-enacters, none of the characters fail to interest, no matter how off-beat, or misguided, some of these subjects may be. Even though it's a little preachy and at times light on actual Civil War story this is a highly recommended read, even for those who are not Civil War enthusiasts.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Essential reading
This is a stunning book, which as another British reviewer stated is a riveting read...think 'Bill Bryson tours the Confederacy'. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Oneandall
A must read for any civil war obsessive
In this book, Tony Horwitz delves into the legacy of the civil war with both loving warmth and moral objectivity. Read more
Published on 26 Dec 2009 by Ms. R. S. George
Brilliant!
This book could have been written by Shelby Foote and Bill Brysons Love child!
This is a brilliant read.
This is a brilliant read.
Published on 30 Jun 2008 by S. Hearnden
Well worth reading
I enjoyed this book and more or less read it cover to cover in a day (not bad considering it's nearly 400 pages long). Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2008 by Uncle Vodka
Experiencing a wargasm . . .
The event of national self-abuse that sundered the American republic in the 1860s was once relegated to the realm of history. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2004 by Stephen A. Haines
An exciting look at pre-September 11th America
This is a fantastic books. The writer is keen and lively, and is genuinly keen on his subject. What I now find facinating about this book is the fact that it records an America... Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2004 by Wandering Dave
One explanation why the world thinks Americans are mad.
What a book! I notice there aren't many reviews from Southerners stating they thought the book was 'funny. Read more
Published on 7 April 2000
Don't read the reviews!!! Read the book!!!
If you are really interseted in the Civil War, you need to read this book. Its show how the Civil War affects us even today. I read this book in record time. Read more
Published on 4 Sep 1999
Sparkling, sharp, and (really) even-handed
I have to disagree with those who argue that this excellent book is biased against the South and Southerners. Read more
Published on 10 Aug 1999
I rate this book a TEN great book from beginning to end
Mr horvitz takes the reader on a journey down south which is impossible to forget. His writing style is sprinkled with humor, and little details of people whose lives revolve... Read more
Published on 2 Aug 1999
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
