"Confederates in the Attic:: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War" by Tony Horwitz

406 pages

When Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tony Horwitz returned to Virginia after years of dashing around war zones as a foreign correspondent, his primary childhood interest--the American Civil War--was rekindled when he encountered people who reenact the Civil War. He was intrigued by these men who dress up in period costumes and go to extreme measures to be as authentic as they can: sleeping on the ground in freezing temperatures, walking miles barefoot, eating nothing that didn't exist before the 1860s, and more. Intrigued, Horwitz decided to take a closer look as these "hardcores." One thing led to another, and he ended up spending two years reporting on why Americans are still so obsessed with the war and the ways in which it resonates today.

As I was growing up in rural southwest Missouri, I knew plenty of people who were obsessed with the Civil War. I've been to reenactments and I've seen plenty of Confederate flags waving in front of homes or stuck on bumpers. Horwitz does a great job of reporting on this. He tells the stories in a lively, interesting way without passing judgment, letting his subjects' actions and words speak for themselves. Many of them claim they just want to honor their heritage, and some--like the hardcore Rob, with whom Horwitz embarks on a five-day whirlwind historic tour they call the "Civil Wargasm"--seem to really mean that. Others, however, use the Civil War as a mask for racism and opposition the Federal government. Even I was shocked by the intensity with which some people Horwitz talked to loved the Confederacy and what it stood for. It's pretty scary, actually. Horwitz also talks to many black Americans about their thoughts on the Confederacy and the people who idolize it, bringing up the fact that even though some whites have no malicious intentions when they wave their Rebel flags, they can't control the implications that the symbols of the Confederacy have for other people. Overall, I think Horwitz did a fantastic job exploring the Confederate subculture in America and how the War still affects us, 150 year later.