Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

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Published
Penguin Publishing Group , 2019.
Status
Checked Out

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Description

The New York Times-bestselling final book by the beloved, Pulitzer-Prize winning historian Tony Horwitz.   With Spying on the South, the best-selling author of Confederates in the Attic returns to the South and the Civil War era for an epic adventure on the trail of America's greatest landscape architect. In the 1850s, the young Frederick Law Olmsted was adrift, a restless farmer and dreamer in search of a mission. He found it during an extraordinary journey, as an undercover correspondent in the South for the up-and-coming New York Times.For the Connecticut Yankee, pen name "Yeoman," the South was alien, often hostile territory. Yet Olmsted traveled for 14 months, by horseback, steamboat, and stagecoach, seeking dialogue and common ground. His vivid dispatches about the lives and beliefs of Southerners were revelatory for readers of his day, and Yeoman's remarkable trek also reshaped the American landscape, as Olmsted sought to reform his own society by creating democratic spaces for the uplift of all. The result: Central Park and Olmsted's career as America's first and foremost landscape architect.Tony Horwitz rediscovers Yeoman Olmsted amidst the discord and polarization of our own time. Is America still one country? In search of answers, and his own adventures, Horwitz follows Olmsted's tracks and often his mode of transport (including muleback): through Appalachia, down the Mississippi River, into bayou Louisiana, and across Texas to the contested Mexican borderland. Venturing far off beaten paths, Horwitz uncovers bracing vestiges and strange new mutations of the Cotton Kingdom. Horwitz's intrepid and often hilarious journey through an outsized American landscape is a masterpiece in the tradition of Great Plains, Bad Land, and the author's own classic, Confederates in the Attic.

More Details

Format
eBook
Street Date
05/14/2019
Language
English
ISBN
9781101980293

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Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These books have the appeal factors moving and thoughtful.
These books have the appeal factors strong sense of place, thought-provoking, and evocative, and they have the subjects "travelers" and "voyages and travels."
These books have the appeal factors moving and thoughtful, and they have the genre "travel writing -- retracing historic journeys"; and the subjects "travelers" and "voyages and travels."
These engaging narratives depict the authors' comparisons of earlier travelogues with the contemporary landscapes. Spying on the South traces Frederick Olmstead's 1850s reports from the US South, while in Disappointment River the author kayaks Alexander Mackenzie's 1789 trip through Canada. -- Katherine Johnson
These books have the appeal factors thoughtful, and they have the subject "race relations."
These books have the appeal factors strong sense of place, and they have the subjects "travelers," "social life and customs," and "voyages and travels."
A clearing in the distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the nineteenth century - Rybczynski, Witold
Spying on the South details the author's own exploration following route through the US South and provides general information about Olmstead's life. For a detailed biography and more on Olmstead's influence on American culture, try A Clearing in the Distance. -- Katherine Johnson
These books have the appeal factors strong sense of place and incisive, and they have the genre "society and culture -- urban and regional studies"; and the subjects "travelers," "race relations," and "voyages and travels."
These books have the appeal factors reflective and evocative, and they have the subjects "travelers," "social life and customs," and "voyages and travels."
These books have the appeal factors reflective and strong sense of place, and they have the genre "society and culture -- urban and regional studies"; and the subjects "travelers" and "voyages and travels."
These books have the appeal factors strong sense of place, and they have the genres "travel writing -- retracing historic journeys" and "travel writing -- historic journeys"; and the subjects "travelers" and "voyages and travels."
These travelogues include the authors' personal experiences and impressions as each compares a region's history with contemporary reality. Spying on the South follows Frederick Olmstead's reports from the 1850s US South, while Travels in Siberia draws on general history. -- Katherine Johnson

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Mark Kurlansky is another popular nonfiction writer whose works span a large range of topics. Like Tony Horwitz, Kurlansky presents history with a celebratory tone and uses plenty of humor; he also immerse himself in the subject matter, providing insight into matters whose connection seems remote until Kurlansky delves into them. -- NoveList Contributor
Bill Bryson and Tony Horwitz employ a casual but informative tone in their fact-filled, steadily paced narrative nonfiction. Their sense of humor and tendency to place themselves directly into their narratives results in addictive books that teach without preaching. -- Becky Spratford
Although Tony Horwitz writes about American and British history, like Adrienne Mayor he writes charming and offbeat historical nonfiction that employs lively and accessible prose, thorough research, gripping narratives, and colorful digressions and vignettes not found in most history books. -- Derek Keyser
Mark Adams and Tony Horwitz not only write about famous explorers like Hiram Bingham III and Captain James Cook, but they also physically recreate their journeys. The result is atmospheric, witty nonfiction that's as entertaining as it is informative. -- Mike Nilsson
Andrew Lawler and Tony Horwitz take a personal approach to discovering the most intriguing aspects of historical subjects. Both use an engaging journalistic tone, but they also inject themselves into the narrative to give readers a sense of accompanying them in their research. -- Katherine Johnson
Candice Millard and Tony Horwitz write narrative nonfiction about the spaces where character building and storytelling collide at pivotal, but often forgotten, moments in history. Their richly detailed plots, engaging voices, and dramatic styles make the past come alive, no matter the topic at hand. -- Becky Spratford
These authors' works have the genre "travel writing"; and the subjects "civil war," "united states civil war, 1861-1865," and "military campaigns."
These authors' works have the subjects "united states history," "civil war," and "united states civil war, 1861-1865."
These authors' works have the genres "biographies" and "history writing"; and the subjects "explorers," "exploration," and "united states civil war, 1861-1865."
These authors' works have the genre "diaries"; and the subjects "united states history," "civil war," and "united states civil war, 1861-1865."
These authors' works have the subjects "civil war," "united states civil war, 1861-1865," and "military campaigns."
These authors' works have the appeal factors concise, and they have the genre "history writing"; and the subjects "explorers," "exploration," and "voyages and travels."

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

In the early 1850s, before Frederick Law Olmsted was known as the visionary landscape architect of New York's Central Park, the U.S. Capitol grounds, and the Biltmore Estate, he was a 30-year-old traveling correspondent commissioned by the newly formed New York Times to report pseudonymously on the pre-Civil War culture and slave economy of the Southern states. Horwitz (Midnight Rising, 2011), himself a Northerner and immersive travel writer, retraces Olmsted's 1852 journey from Washington, D.C., to Texas by train, coal barge, steamboat, and other period-specific transport. As he chats up locals and encounters a variety of modern people, places, and politics of the former ""Cotton Kingdom,"" he intersperses Olmsted's commentary with his own. A tour is only as good as its guide, and Horwitz is a seasoned one inquisitive, open-minded, and opting for observation over judgment, whether at a dive bar, monster truck rally, the Creation Museum, or a historical plantation. The book will appeal to fans of travelogue, Civil War-era history, and current events by way of Southern sensibilities.--Chad Comello Copyright 2019 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Horwitz (Confederates in the Attic) follows the trail of Frederick Law Olmsted, 19th-century reporter and legendary landscape architect, across the American South in this expansive and generously conceived travelogue . His pursuit of Olmsted, "a Connecticut Yankee exploring the Cotton Kingdom on the eve of secession and civil war" for the New York Daily Times, takes Horwitz by train, boat, car, and mule through West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, as he documents the "diversity and capaciousness of America." Horwitz observes general challenges throughout the region-a "heartland hollowed out by economic and social decay," disappearing rural towns, toxic industries, jobs moving from manufacture to tourism, obesity, and drugs-and allegiances, especially to evangelical Christianity and guns, but also discerns a unique character in each region, among them the Cajun identity of south Louisiana and the history of German radicals in Texas. Horwitz delights in the absurd and easily interlaces history with his many adventures-among them cruises on a coal tow and a steamboat, mudding in Louisiana, a re-enactment at the Alamo-where he encounters generous hospitality, warm intelligence, and, occasionally, bald bigotry. Throughout, Horwitz brings humor, curiosity, and care to capturing the voices of the larger-than-life characters he encounters. A huge canvas of intricate details, this thoughtful and observant work delicately navigates the long shadow of America's history. Photos. Agent: Kris Dahl, ICM. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
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Library Journal Review

In his new travelog through the American Southwest, Horwitz (Confederates in the Attic) follows in the footsteps of Frederick Law Olmsted, who reported on the South in the 1850s for New York newspapers. Here, Horwitz recounts many memorable people and experiences, including a ride on a slow-moving coal barge on the Ohio River, a weekend of mud racing in Louisiana, an ill-fated trip by mule across Texas, and a visit to adjoining border towns in Texas and Mexico. Similar to Olmsted, who was writing on the eve of the Civil War, many of Horwitz's conversations turned to politics. The author traveled during the early stages of the 2016 presidential campaign and encountered many disaffected rural voters excited by the candidacy of Donald Trump. These impressions are exaggerated by the little attention Horwitz gives to urban areas and the relatively few number of accounts of African Americans. Horwitz is a skilled writer, and his vignettes are compelling to read. Yet, without a more consistent thread tying these observations together, the looming 2016 election becomes the most compelling theme. VERDICT Recommended for readers interested in a selective but engaging glimpse into modern life in the rural South. [See Prepub Alert, 11/19/18.]--Nicholas Graham, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

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Kirkus Book Review

The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist wanders Dixie in search of what makes it so intractably un-American.Picking up, in a sense, where Confederates in the Attic (1998) left off, Horwitz (Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War, 2011, etc.) follows a fruitful trail in the footsteps of one-time journalist Frederick Law Olmsted, who traveled through the South reporting on the region for the precursor to the New York Times before reinventing himself as "a visionary architect of New York's Central Park, among many other spaces." Olmsted found a land bent on racial suppression, even as blacks and whites lived side by side, as well as one on the brink of civil war; Horwitz wonders how much things have changed since then. He discovered plenty of difference. For example, in West Virginia, a state that seceded from secession to rejoin the Union, the author passed time with coal miners who have been perfectly happy to destroy their almost-heaven while complaining that federal environmental scientists "find a puddle in your yard and call it a wetland." Like Olmsted, Horwitz's circuitous path took him along the Mississippi River and into Texas, perhaps the most schizophrenic of states today. As the resident of one East Texas town told him, after the author witnessed one scene after another of casual racism punctuated by an oddly easy mixing of black and white residents, the place is "somewhere between Mayberry and Deliverance." Horwitz seldom reaches deep; his book is casually observed and travelogue-ish ("Eagle Pass was no longer a mud-and-whiskey bedlam at the edge of the American frontier"), more Paul Theroux than de Tocqueville. Still, one can't help but notice that the things that occupied Olmsted's attention haven't changed much in the years since the earlier traveler toured a region that sometimes defies description.Not as sprightly as some of the author's past reports from the fringes but provocative and well worth reading. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

In the early 1850s, before Frederick Law Olmsted was known as the visionary landscape architect of New York's Central Park, the U.S. Capitol grounds, and the Biltmore Estate, he was a 30-year-old traveling correspondent commissioned by the newly formed New York Times to report pseudonymously on the pre–Civil War culture and slave economy of the Southern states. Horwitz (Midnight Rising, 2011), himself a Northerner and immersive travel writer, retraces Olmsted's 1852 journey from Washington, D.C., to Texas by train, coal barge, steamboat, and other period-specific transport. As he chats up locals and encounters a variety of modern people, places, and politics of the former Cotton Kingdom, he intersperses Olmsted's commentary with his own. A tour is only as good as its guide, and Horwitz is a seasoned one—inquisitive, open-minded, and opting for observation over judgment, whether at a dive bar, monster truck rally, the Creation Museum, or a historical plantation. The book will appeal to fans of travelogue, Civil War–era history, and current events by way of Southern sensibilities. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.
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Library Journal Reviews

Sent by the rising-star New York Times across the 1850s American South, young travel writer Frederick Law Olmsted witnessed a region deeply divided from the rest of the country and fiercely defensive of slavery. Horwitz, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist with a stack of best-selling books (e.g., Confederates in the Attic), tracked Olmstead's route (often authentically, via rail, riverboat, and horseback) to consider an America today that's equally divided and defensive of its values.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal.
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Library Journal Reviews

In his new travelog through the American Southwest, Horwitz (Confederates in the Attic) follows in the footsteps of Frederick Law Olmsted, who reported on the South in the 1850s for New York newspapers. Here, Horwitz recounts many memorable people and experiences, including a ride on a slow-moving coal barge on the Ohio River, a weekend of mud racing in Louisiana, an ill-fated trip by mule across Texas, and a visit to adjoining border towns in Texas and Mexico. Similar to Olmsted, who was writing on the eve of the Civil War, many of Horwitz's conversations turned to politics. The author traveled during the early stages of the 2016 presidential campaign and encountered many disaffected rural voters excited by the candidacy of Donald Trump. These impressions are exaggerated by the little attention Horwitz gives to urban areas and the relatively few number of accounts of African Americans. Horwitz is a skilled writer, and his vignettes are compelling to read. Yet, without a more consistent thread tying these observations together, the looming 2016 election becomes the most compelling theme. VERDICT Recommended for readers interested in a selective but engaging glimpse into modern life in the rural South. [See Prepub Alert, 11/19/18.]—Nicholas Graham, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Copyright 2019 Library Journal.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal.
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Publishers Weekly Reviews

Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Horwitz (Confederates in the Attic) follows the trail of Frederick Law Olmsted, 19th-century reporter and legendary landscape architect, across the American South in this expansive and generously conceived travelogue . His pursuit of Olmsted, "a Connecticut Yankee exploring the Cotton Kingdom on the eve of secession and civil war" for the New York Daily Times, takes Horwitz by train, boat, car, and mule through West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, as he documents the "diversity and capaciousness of America." Horwitz observes general challenges throughout the region—a "heartland hollowed out by economic and social decay," disappearing rural towns, toxic industries, jobs moving from manufacture to tourism, obesity, and drugs—and allegiances, especially to evangelical Christianity and guns, but also discerns a unique character in each region, among them the Cajun identity of south Louisiana and the history of German radicals in Texas. Horwitz delights in the absurd and easily interlaces history with his many adventures—among them cruises on a coal tow and a steamboat, mudding in Louisiana, a re-enactment at the Alamo—where he encounters generous hospitality, warm intelligence, and, occasionally, bald bigotry. Throughout, Horwitz brings humor, curiosity, and care to capturing the voices of the larger-than-life characters he encounters. A huge canvas of intricate details, this thoughtful and observant work delicately navigates the long shadow of America's history. Photos. Agent: Kris Dahl, ICM. (May)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly.

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly.
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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Horwitz, T. (2019). Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide . Penguin Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Horwitz, Tony. 2019. Spying On the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide. Penguin Publishing Group.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Horwitz, Tony. Spying On the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide Penguin Publishing Group, 2019.

Harvard Citation (style guide)

Horwitz, T. (2019). Spying on the south: an odyssey across the american divide. Penguin Publishing Group.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Horwitz, Tony. Spying On the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide Penguin Publishing Group, 2019.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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