Confederates in the Attic

Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War

By: Tony Horwitz

Narrated by: Arthur Addison

Length: 15 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©1998 Tony Horowitz (P)2013 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"The freshest book about divisiveness in America that I have read in some time. This splendid commemoration of the war and its legacy...is an eyes-open, humorously no-nonsense survey of complicated Americans." (Roy Blount Jr., New York Times Book Review)"In this sparkling book Horwitz explores some of our culture's myths with the irreverent glee of a small boy hurling snowballs at a beaver hat. . . . An important contribution to understanding how echoes of the Civil War have never stopped."--USA TodayHorwitz's chronicle of his odyssey through the nether and ethereal worlds of Confederatemania is by turns amusing, chilling, poignant, and always fascinating. He has found the Lost Cause and lived to tell the tale a wonderfully piquant tale of hard-core reenactors, Scarlett O'Hara look-alikes, and people who reshape Civil War history to suit the way they wish it had come out. If you want to know why the war isn't over yet in the South, read Confederates in the Attic to find out. --James McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom

"In this sparkling book Horwitz explores some of our culture's myths with the irreverent glee of a small boy hurling snowballs at a beaver hat.... An important contribution to understanding how echoes of the Civil War have never stopped." ( USA Today)Horwitz's chronicle of his odyssey through the nether and ethereal worlds of Confederatemania is by turns amusing, chilling, poignant, and always fascinating. He has found the Lost Cause and lived to tell the tale a wonderfully piquant tale of hard-core reenactors, Scarlett O'Hara look-alikes, and people who reshape Civil War history to suit the way they wish it had come out. If you want to know why the war isn't over yet in the South, read Confederates in the Attic to find out. --James McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom

"Horwitz's chronicle of his odyssey through the nether and ethereal worlds of Confederatemania is by turns amusing, chilling, poignant, and always fascinating. He has found the Lost Cause and lived to tell the tale a wonderfully piquant tale of hard-core reenactors, Scarlett O'Hara look-alikes, and people who reshape Civil War history to suit the way they wish it had come out. If you want to know why the war isn't over yet in the South, read Confederates in the Attic to find out. (James McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom)

Even though it’s written by a Yankee…

I learned a lot and enjoyed it. I felt like I was there with him as he traveled throughout the South examining everything Confederate. Since it’s a first-person narrative, the author should have narrated it himself. The actual narrator’s approximation of Southern accents was particularly grating to me.

Humeroous but deadly serious account of the American schism

Compare this to some of the books published after Trump’s election such as JD Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy. Horowitz is a much more gifted writer who foretells the fracture that was exhibited in Trump’s Presidency. Perhaps Faulkner was correct about history never having receded. Entertaining and poignant. Well worth the read.

Good book

Very interesting read. A different take on then and now with lots of unique information.

Great listen

A great listen and well-researched critic on various viewpoints of the Civil War (aka War Between the States) and its impact on future generations. Very relevant given the importance of ongoing discussions about race, reparations, DEI programs, CRT, federalism, and other issues that can trace their roots back to the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.

Great book to listen to

What made the experience of listening to Confederates in the Attic the most enjoyable?

This is a very funny, laugh out loud narration of the author's trip through states affected by the Civil War. It was originally published in the 1990s, but feels very timely when discussing the Civil War monuments and efforts to remove them. The author describes participating in the Civil War re-enactments and specifically the die hard participants.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, his voice is easy to listen to, and went well with the subject matter (a trip through the Southern states of the US).

Fascinating exploration of the impact of the Civil War in the South.

This book gave an appreciation for how the South experienced the Civil War a war “for rich men fought by poor men” and how the effects for feeling occupied could lead to idealizing the cause, states rights while ignoring and minimizing slavery. Worth reading in this time of polarization and continued issues of racism.

Performance and content were top notch

Not quite a history book nor a full-on commentary on current culture - this book is a wonderful blend of historical content and the beliefs / attitudes of people today regarding the civil war. (And by today, I mean the late 90s). I enjoyed learning about the viewpoints of civil war reenactors, those who display the rebel flag and more. Admittedly also depressing to hear the racist attitudes of many. A really good, informative listen.

Not just a Southern story - an American one

Could've been written for 2020. Loved it. Reluctant to return to the present times

A delightful romp with re-enactors and the South

Horowitz dives deep into Civil War re-enactment culture, but also examines how the war serves as a prop for the societal thinking of white Southerners.

Simply the best book I've ever read!

Reads like a novel or a collection of short stories, but manages also to be a history book, travelogue and social study. Wish I could have traveled with Tony Horwitz, he was amazing and is sorely missed.