This book was recommended to me for this series by an invisible friend with the words “…it will let them laugh at the crazy Americans”. Now, while I don’t endorse Laughing at the Crazy Americans – a very narrow-minded European custom – I did indeed laugh at the many deliciously crazy people in this book, but I also enjoyed the unique window it provides into the American soul as well as the exciting adventures the author had on battlefields, in musty old museums and other godforsaken places.
Tony Horwitz, a former war correspondent in the Middle East, wakes up one morning to gunfire in his peaceful Virginia village, only to find a bunch of Civil War reenactors on his lawn, clad in Confederate uniforms so authentic (read: filthy) that even a very desperate Southern soldier on the point of freezing would probably have run from them. He is intrigued and has a good chat with them, which leads to his decision to tour the South in search of the different ways the Civil War is remembered these days. (more…)
