The American Civil War is considered one of the most defining moments in American history. It was the war that shaped the social, political and economic structure in a broader perspective of unification of states and therefore led to this ideal nation of unified states as it is today. In the book “Confederates in the Attic,” author Tony Horwitz recounts his year-long exploration through the locations where the American Civil War took place. He took his childhood interest in the Civil War to a new level by traveling the South in search of Civil War relics, battlefields, and, most importantly, stories. The title "Confederates in the Attic": Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War takes on two meanings in Tony Horwitz's thoughtful and entertaining exploration of the role of the American Civil War in the modern South. The first meaning alludes to Horwitz's personal interest in war. As the grandson of a Russian Jew, Horwitz grew up in the North, but from childhood developed a fascination with Southern myth and history. He tells readers that as a child he wrote about war and even built a mural depicting important battles in the attic of his own home. The second meaning refers to regional memory, the importance or lack of memory still attached to this momentous national event. As Horwitz visits the sites of the South, he encounters unreconstructed rebels who still cling to outdated beliefs. He also meets groups of “reenactors,” devotees who attempt to relive the experience of the soldier’s life and death. One of his most disheartening, but unsurprising, realizations is that attitudes toward the war divide along racial lines. Too many white people shroud memory in nostalgia, refusing...... middle of paper ... and the wrongs they suffered, even if those tribulations were justified. But above all, forgetting history constitutes a serious threat to the future. Sometimes we need to know where we have been to know where we are going. However, memorization is also a delicate subject. Debates arise over which story is correct and which should be retained. It's also a matter of enthusiasm, like anything else. Remembering the Civil War, as many people in the North and South remember the war, as a war that took place, had some ramifications, and otherwise did not affect contemporary life, is much easier to justify and manage than a zealous attitude towards a “lost cause”. "It's just that great enthusiasm leads to respect for ancestors who don't necessarily deserve it. Yet it's not as if one individual can decide for another which ancestors deserve to be venerated..