Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War

It shows how the majority of the people living in the south are still fighting the Civil War. It’s humorous, surprising, and really tells how ridiculous the whole thing is.

Actor Michael Beck performs Confederates in the Attic - he doesn't just read it! Imitating the voices of Tony Horwitz's unforgettable characters, Beck makes the book come alive on tape.Horwitz went on a search for the American Civil War, and his adventures are enjoyable and thought-provoking.The first part of the story takes us along on a reenactment where accuracy is more important than comfort. This part is funny, but the second part of the story is more disturbing, for Horwitz decides to investigate a racially-motivated tragedy and runs into some frightening characters who live in fear and hatred. I was glad when he left that episode, even though his journalism is enlightening.Humor returns as he joins a reenactor for a Civil Wargasm, a whirlwind tour of battlefields and other historic sites - or what is left of them. Development has destroyed much of the past, and Horwitz explores the contrasting attitudes of whether we should celebrate the past or try to forget it. A woman who keeps a small museum open explains that she wants young people to learn how terrible war can be.Recommended for history buffs, travelers, and anyone who is interested in the American South, Confederates in the Attic is a 6-hour audio book that goes by very quickly.

This book really depicts the south with a very zesty style. Tony Horwitz is brilliant!

My late brother moved to Maryland (from Vermont) back in the early '90's. He gave me a copy of this book while on a visit "home" some years later. Being a "Yankee," (even worse, being brought up in Canada,) I had little understanding of the depth of feeling that many Southerners had (and still have) to the "Lost Cause" that was the Civil War. I let it sit on my bookshelf for quite a while, the subject of Civil War re-enactors was of little interest to yours truly, ( I likened it to grown men playing "Cowboys and Indians,) then I picked it up. I remember devouring the book in about two days, back in 1996 or '97- it was a terrific read. I loaned it to someone, and never got it back.I got to thinking about the book after the horrific church shooting in Charleston, S.C. a few years back. That, along with the historic Obama Presidency (though I was never was a fan or supporter of his ) made me think of all the progress we've made as a Nation, but all the hard work left to do. An acquaintance, who has Southern roots, and spent much of his life as a professor at a "historically Black college," remembered the book and the author-I ordered it the next day. I read it much more slowly this time, savoring the atmosphere and Horwitz's story telling. The funny stuff is just as funny, the narrative just as compelling, and the book is, perhaps, even more poignant in it's observations, given the current climate.What with the ongoing, perhaps never-ending debates over the Confederate flag, and the dismantling of Confederate memorials all over the South, I've come to the conclusion that I will be able to re-read this excellent account twenty years from now, and the Civil War (or War Between the States,) will still be "unfinished."

This is a Must Read for anyone who believes the Civil War ended at Appomattox in 1864.The culture wars of today are merely a proxy for a conflict that had its roots in 1619.

Me. Horwitz covers the multifaceted Southern mindset of attitudes about the War of Southern Rebellion. I think his efforts reveal interesting and informative things and people, but overall, there are stretches in the book that drag on and on with little reward in the end. I think his work about “Rediscovering the New World - A Long Strange Story,” a later work, is comparatively fabulous, a flowing read and although it is another prolonged road trip, riding along with him was worth it. It's amazing how much history we accept as ‘real,’ isn't.

A wonderful, thoughtful examination of the "past" Civil War that still haunts our present. I bought the Kindle version, then a paperback to loan to friends.My family is from California, and we didn't grow up with any thoughts on the conflict or segregation. Then we moved to the Southern Plains states, and this book helped me understand a lot better.I will look for other books by this author.

This was an interesting read about how many in the south still cling to the civil war and their "noble cause." As a northerner now living in the south, I was drawn to the premise of the book. The reasons for, and the aftermath, of the civil war and reconstruction are deeply imprinted on American culture. Horwitz explores this subject with open curiosity and a sense of humor. However, I found the sections devoted to fanatical civil war reenactors to be too long and laborious, weighing down the more interesting parts. This book would have been better had the author spent more time interviewing a wider range of southerners. I have a white southern friend that staunchly refers to the civil war as "the war of northern aggression," and he argues that the war wasn't about slavery, but rather about "state's rights." And I politely remind him that the "states rights" that were at stake were the right to own slaves, and to spread institution of slavery to an expanding nation. We will never agree on this, but we are still friends, and that is what this book is mostly about.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this factual account of the author's trip around the southern states of the US. Although it is nonfiction, it really tells a series of vignettes, more like the style of fiction. Full of facts and dates, but not a boring historical recitation. The central premise of the book was to explore how "modern" (bearing in mind the 1999 publication date) residents of the South think of the American Civil War, which ended over 130 years earlier. Having lived in the US South myself, I loved the descriptions of society in its broadest terms, and the near-obsession of Southern US residents with the "War of Northern Aggression" as they describe it. The most enjoyable chapters describe the author's participation in Civil War reenactments, and his warm character portrayal of his companion Robert Lee Hodge, with whom the author took a lengthy road trip. The writing style makes it easy to read in one sitting, or spread out over several weeks and read piecemeal. Thoroughly recommended!

A friend recommended this work years ago and I suddenly thought of looking for a used copy on Amazon. I could not believe what a timely read it is with the recent events in S.C., complete with the battle flag debate and latent racial fears (and overt, of course). Amazing how 15 years have passed and the needle has moved so little (or not amazing, considering the central thesis of the book). Anyway, it is a great read, sprawling, tragicomic and a fascinating look into the abilities and methods of really fine journalism - just chock full of the most astounding interviews.

Bought after hearing about it on YouTube, I enjoyed the book from a storytelling perspective. I am sure that it is factual, but as I don`t live in America I am somewhat vague on its topography. enjoyable read.

Excellent read for those interested in Civil War history and Southern culture. The story line is extremely engaging and raises a lot of curiosity vis-à-vis how the visits to Confederacy enthusiasts would compare to modern day South. A must read! Makes me want to revisit Charleston and see it through different eyes.

This is a stunning book, which as another British reviewer stated is a riveting read...think 'Bill Bryson tours the Confederacy'. However I found it rather a sad tale of a seemingly unbridgeable divide between the black and white races, treated with equal fairness by the author who notes that both hunger for a more certain world where dragons roamed the earth and battle could be joined in a clear cut contest between good and evil. Seemingly however, some of those who considered themselves good guys would be wearing white hoods instead of hats. My copy was published 12 years ago but a check of various websites in 2011 seems to show no improvement.Also I had wanted to visit several of the battle sites mentioned, Bull Run (Manassas), Harpers Ferry etc. but this book has also taught me to be more discerning and check for those better preserved...so a real must for potential visitors.