Bill Lenoir

Author

Tony Horwitz

Publisher

Henry Holt and Company

Edition

First Edition - 2008 - hardcover - 455

I love the kind of book where the author does a deep dive on a subject as well as writes a travelogue of the relevant sites. Mr Horwitz's Confederates in the Attic was my first encounter with this hybrid genre. The best writers are able to weave the two threads into a single story that leads to both a better understanding of the subject and a deeper insight into the people still living it. Mr. Horwitz does this well.

In this book, the author seeks to color in the period between Columbus's discover of the New World and the landing at Plymouth. His attempts to follow in the footsteps of, perhaps, lesser know explorers take us to the Dominican Republic, Arizona and the American south west, Florida and the south and on up the Atlantic Seaboard. The two themes I grooved most on where the dichotomy of history vs. myth and racial identity. I'll cover the former in greater detail over in my Open Salon blog when I get the time. As for the latter, I was struck most by the Charles Shepherd quote on page 316 of my copy:

I like to think these people are my ancestors.

He said this while looking through a volume of sketches of Indians in North Carolina published in 1590. When you go far enough back, does it really matter who you ancestors are? What does it mean to be European, Indian or African? I've always been leery of DNA tests to determine this, but blood has to matter some, doesn't it? Upbringing should mean more, and this is where ancestors do come into play, their influence diminishing with each successive generations, but still there, except what about the person removed from his culture and brought up among others? And it can't really be what ever you want it to be. I do not believe I can rightly claim to be Irish despite the fact that 50% of my genes come from the Emerald Isle and I still qualify for citizenship. I know nothing of the contemporary Irish context. This is a personal issue for me given my kids whose mother hails from Korea and I appreciate how Mr. Horwitz delved into it.

One issue I will strongly disagree with him on is when, at the end of the book, he wonders about folks whose myths are not founded in truth. He states:

But it was harmless fiction, why spoil the fun with facts?

Perpetuating lies is never harmless. It leads people to a position of just wanting something to be true makes it so. Where does it stop? Astrology is just harmless fun until, when you're sick, it leads to chase ineffectual cures. I could make the argument that the harmless fun of belief in Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving and the Fountain of Youth has lead us to the Texas State Board of Education's new textbook standards.

Ah, but this won't stop me from reading Mr. Horwitz's books. I'll next track down Blue Latitudes.