Robert E. Lee and Me
2022
Ratings8
Average rating4.1
15
Ratings8
Average rating4.1
"Ty Seidule scorches us with the truth and rivets us with his fierce sense of moral urgency." --Ron Chernow In a forceful but humane narrative, former soldier and head of the West Point history department Ty Seidule's Robert E. Lee and Me challenges the myths and lies of the Confederate legacy—and explores why some of this country’s oldest wounds have never healed. Ty Seidule grew up revering Robert E. Lee. From his southern childhood to his service in the U.S. Army, every part of his life reinforced the Lost Cause myth: that Lee was the greatest man who ever lived, and that the Confederates were underdogs who lost the Civil War with honor. Now, as a retired brigadier general and Professor Emeritus of History at West Point, his view has radically changed. From a soldier, a scholar, and a southerner, Ty Seidule believes that American history demands a reckoning. In a unique blend of history and reflection, Seidule deconstructs the truth about the Confederacy—that its undisputed primary goal was the subjugation and enslavement of Black Americans—and directly challenges the idea of honoring those who labored to preserve that system and committed treason in their failed attempt to achieve it. Through the arc of Seidule’s own life, as well as the culture that formed him, he seeks a path to understanding why the facts of the Civil War have remained buried beneath layers of myth and even outright lies—and how they embody a cultural gulf that separates millions of Americans to this day. Part history lecture, part meditation on the Civil War and its fallout, and part memoir, Robert E. Lee and Me challenges the deeply-held legends and myths of the Confederacy—and provides a surprising interpretation of essential truths that our country still has a difficult time articulating and accepting.
Reviews with the most likes.
Well written, destruction of the Lost Cause in the form of author biography and reflection. Painful to read, but important. Another reminder that we have plenty more work to do.
It's probably more convincing to hear this message from someone who grew up the way Seidule did and served in the Army for 40 years, because he gets it, perhaps more than most. The Southern way of life has long been based on a big lie, and it's changing very slowly. Maybe a book like this will help move things along a little faster. So I certainly agree with what he's doing here. However, he could have used a firmer editorial hand to remove the repetition that runs throughout and occasionally makes the prose a slog to get through.
