I’ve always had an intense fascination with the Civil War period in American History, so this book was a must on my reading list. The Civil War has a different meaning for every individual-then and now. Retracing the Civil War in the present day, Horwitz speaks with everyone from the ‘everyday’ communities that live with battlefields in their backyards, to the reenactors who live for the moments of ‘battle’ (including participating in one reenactor’s “Civil Wargasm.”) With a great sense of humor and solid historical research, it is gripping. A blend of travel memoir and history, its a great read I would suggest to anyone. His background as a journalist serves him well; through his journeys he finds himself in the thick of several events that are remarkably influenced by the South’s past, and fleshes it out to reveal how easily it is for groups to twist a story to serve their own purposes.