Random House, 1998, ISBN 0-679-43978-1, hardback $27.50, 406 pages

Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Horwitz awoke to the sound of gunfire--a local TV documentary of the American Civil War was filming a re-enactment of the battle of Fredericksburg. That's where he met Robert Lee Hodge, a "hard-core" re-enactor who rekindled childhood interest in the American Civil War and introduced him to the "period rush" of realistic reenacting. Forget modern camping gear and parade-ground uniforms, hardcore re-enactors eschew modern conveniences for a back to mid-19th century approach to studying the trials and tribulations of the American Civil War. Along the way, he tries to discover the roots of the conflict that carries over to modern-day America. Regionalism, Federalism, and other "isms" dot the pages in this combination diary and Kuralt-style reporting.

This is one of the best-written books you'll read about the cultural differences in America. Horwitz, who won the 1995 Pulitzer as a Wall Street Journal reporter, tackles the colorful characters and places dotting the North and South with interest and fluidity. The string of anecdotes follow him on his trek as he ferrets out facts, captures opinions, and distills 150 years of attitudes into 406 pages.

But if you're looking for a big payoff--the mountaintop guru who can say why things are and how to fix them--Horwitz takes a pass. As becomes painfully evident throughout the book, the opposite ends of the "isms" are hardening, with the notion that everything is because that's the way it is and perhaps getting worse.

"My childhood fixation on the Confederacy had mutated into an adult preoccupation with the South and with race...The past year's journey had given me ample chance to revisit all this...My passion for Civil War history and the kinship I felt for Southerners who shared it kept bumping into racism and right-wing politics." (p. 386)

"The issues at stake in the Civil War--race in particular--remained raw and unresolved, as did the broad question the conflict posed: would America remain one nation? In 1861, this was a regional dilemma, which it wasn't anymore. But socially and culturally, there were ample signs of separatism and disunion among class, race, ethnic, and gender lines. The whole notion of a common people united by common principles--even a common language--seemed more open to question than at any other period in my lifetime." (Page 386)

In the end, Horwitz's journey merges nostalgia with mistrust, passion with ignorance, an wonder with eccentricity to create a reflection of North and South. From redneck bars to inner city schools, from battlefields famous to sites obscure, and from re-enactments to high-tech websites, Horwitz chronicles his observations with wit and style. Confederates in the Attic makes for captivating reading, and indeed, re-reading.

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