Confederates in the Attic
by Tony Horwitz
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tony Horwitz had just settled
in Virginia after 9 years abroad when one morning, "the Civil War crashed through
my bedroom window." On the road outside his rural farmhouse, a group of re-enactors
was refighting an old battle. Horwitz struck up a conversation that day which
reawakened a boyhood obsession and started him on a two-year journey to discover
why the Civil War still resonates with Americans today.
Horwitz's account of his travels is both funny and frightening, inspiring and sad. From Elkton, Kentucky, where he follows the story of a murder over the Confederate flag, to Atlanta, Georgia, where he meets a new-age "Scarlett O'Hara" vamping for Japanese tourists, Horwitz explores the deep divisions that still exist between North and South, black and white. In some communities he finds shocking racism, while in others he sees surprising evidence of reconciliation and peace with the past.
Much has been made of the portrayal of the "hardcore" re-enactors Horwitz meets in this book, who wear filthy uniforms, sleep in muddy fields and eat rancid pork in hopes of achieving an authentic "period rush." But Horwitz presents his subjects with sensitivity even while recounting (and sharing in) their weirdnesses.
This book is highly recommended for anyone who is obsessed with the Civil War and its continuing effect on our lives -- and for the people who love them.
Confederates in the Attic is available from Pantheon Books. Want to order online? Contact amazon.com.
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