Memory and Myth: The Civil War in Fiction and Film from Uncle Tom's Cabin to Cold Mountain

by S. Kittrell Rushing (Editor), David B. Sachsman (Editor), Roy Morris Jr. (Editor)

Memory and Myth is an interdisciplinary study of the Civil War and its enduring impact on American writers and filmmakers. Its twenty-five chapters are all concerned, in one way or another, with creative responses to the Civil War, and the ways in which artists have sought to make sense of the war and to convey their findings to succeeding generations of readers and filmgoers. The book also examines the role of movies and television in transmuting the historical memories of the Civil War into durable, ever-changing myths.

Genres: History

307 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2007

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great cover, and it says it all: maybe their heads touched in this scene of the movie but he was not holding her--she was standing, and far from submissive; her dress wasn't red and coming off her shoulders in a seductive manner.

As for the book: too dense, no pictures and beats the topic to death. Should have been edited and reduced, to allow a more attractive layout . . . probably by 30%.

[Renee Cutchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book features many fine essays discussing remembrances of the war, slavery, the South, the North and the ways the myths/memories have been shaped by less than truthful accounts and just plain ol' storytelling. As with most historical events, the truth is somewhere in the middle of the recollections and the actual happenings. Humans tend to skew their memories based on several factors (and each persons memory is never quite the same, even of the same happening). I enjoyed the essays immensely.