Robert E. Lee and Me

A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause

Paperback, 304 pages

Published Jan. 11, 2022 by St. Martin's Griffin.

ISBN:
978-1-250-23928-0
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3 stars (1 review)

3 editions

History Personalized

3 stars

It's not an entirely original idea, but I really enjoyed the form of a memoir that showed the author's interaction with history and how he was taught it. Most history books are straight history that may briefly make a case in the epilogue, but otherwise don't focus much on how it affects the present. The prose wasn't anything special, but Seidule did speak with his own voice and let his emotion come through. It was interesting how he balanced the shame of having believed white supremacist history with pride in the US and the Army.

He consistently referred to plantations as "enslaved labor farms", which is a good call and something I'll try to remember to do. He also repeatedly emphasized that the Army still wears blue.

Two hangups here: (i) I'm not sure who this book is for. There were some new things I learned, especially about Lee personally, …