The Fall of the House of Dixie

The Civil War and the Social Revolution That Transformed the South

By: Bruce Levine

Narrated by: Peter Jay Fernandez

Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

The J. G. Randall Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Illinois and associate editor of North and South magazine, Bruce Levine presents a gripping chronicle of the cultural and economic upheaval the South experienced during and after the Civil War. Drawing upon a treasure trove of diaries, letters, newspaper articles, and government documents, Levine offers a unique perspective on the old South's demise through the voices of those who lived through the conflict.

©2013 Bruce Levine (P)2013 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"In this splendidly colorful account, the author compares the old South’s disintegration to ‘The Fall of the House of Usher,’ where microscopic cracks in the mansion’s foundation gradually widen until the building implodes.... A sensitive, informed rendering of the wrenching reformation of the South [told] with the ease and authority borne of decades of study." ( Kirkus Reviews)

"Enlightening..... a deep, rich, and complex analysis." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Masterful.... Levine’s employment of testimonies by slaveholders, slaves, and pro-Union Southerners is effective and often poignant." ( Booklist)

Average description of the period

More historical details would have been helpful.
For example, details leading up to Jim Crow and the rise of the Klan.

The book fills in gaps.

Bruce Levine's narrative fills in gaps to what is routinely told of the events during and after the Civil War. For example, in the majority of Civil War narratives the south is portrayed as a unified force. Levine, however, gives examples through memoirs and diaries of this less than unified view through the thoughts and writings of southerners, some of whom were unionists at the time of secession and remained so throughout the war.

Must Read

I have read at least 15 books on the Civil War, and this is one of the best researched. Meticulous documentation of the thought process of the Confederates.

A little short of what was promised

Excellent historical research, especially long on quotations from personal and official diaries & correspondence, refuting much postwar Confederate mythology, but woefully short on Reconstruction details.

Powerful Account of Collapse of the Confederacy

If you could sum up The Fall of the House of Dixie in three words, what would they be?

Revealing, powerful, inexorable

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Fall of the House of Dixie?

The role of the slaves in undermining the system of bondage in the southern states.

Which scene was your favorite?

the Conclusion

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

No. Too dense.

Any additional comments?

There is much misinformation about slavery, the events leading up to secession, and about why the Confederacy lost the war. This book clears up what happened and why.

Fast moving well written summary

Captures both sides without losing clarity about what was at stake. Easy to listen to and left me wanting to know more

A good overview.

A good overview of the war written from a southern vantage point but not overly sympathetic to the confederate cause. I enjoyed it.

Merely ok. . .

A decent work, but it focuses too much on blow by blow military account of the war (which is done much better and in more depth in Battle Cry of Freedom and Shelby Foote's series) and the pre-war slave system and not enough on the "social revolution that transformed the South." Reconstruction is glossed over at the very end of the book, and there is little discussion of carpetbaggers, the migration of former slaves to northern industrial cities, the rise of the KKK, etc. Only recommended for novices of the Civil War period.

Fascinating read

I have read many books about the civil war and it becomes harder and harder to find books that address the period from a new prospective. This book, written from the southern point of view felt wholly new and fresh, and did a excellent job of describing the complex and varying viewpoints of its different constituencies. The narrator did a wonderful job of conveying these voices.

I kept waiting to get interested

Once I had gotten half way through the book, I realized it probably wasn't going to get any more interesting. I was hoping to have some new insight offered, but if it was there I missed it. Rather, the author is quite repetitive. Each point has several quotes from contemporary diarists, etc. that confirm/repeat the point. For a great Civil War history, I recommend Battle Cry of Freedom, by McPherson.