Confederate Minds: The Struggle for Intellectual Independence in the Civil War South (Civil War America)
"This valuable work finally puts to rest the notion that the Confederacy was an intellectual wasteland and that Confederates had nothing to say aside from their rebel yell."--Journal of American History"A remarkable array of evidence."--Journal of Southern History"Provides meaningful insight into an understudied aspect of the Confederate experience. . . . An excellent book that deserves wide readership."--Civil War Book Review"[Confederate Minds] is well written, amply researched and tightly argued. For those interested in the attempted development of a distinct Confederate culture, this book is a welcome contribution."--Civil War News"Highly recommended."--Choice"A solid first book. . . . His discussion of how the Confederacy's intellectual class lamented their lack of original contributions is superb."--Virginia Magazine"Thanks to Bernath's study, the soil now is rich for future research into the Civil War's complex intellectual history. Scholars of the Civil War, southern history, and American intellectual history should be grateful for this fine contribution to the field."--West Virginia History"Deeply researched and gracefully written. . . . [An] excellent study."--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society"A valuable book. It represents an enormous amount of research that will teach students of the Civil War a great deal about an important group of individuals who sought to realize Confederate nationalism."--Georgia Historical Quarterly"Confederate Mindsis the most comprehensive and the most sophisticated assessment of Confederate intellectual history we have."--Tennessee Historical Quarterly"[Bernath's] meticulous research, detailed description. . . and insightful analysis of Southern culture makeConfederate Mindsinvaluable to students and scholars of Southern intellectual and cultural history."--Canadian Journal of History"The scope of [Bernath's] research is impressive, and his findings are worth exploring."--North Carolina Historical Review"A valuable look at the Confederate experience of war from a unique point of view."--The Review of Politics"Bernath's study is a must read for those interested in southern culture-making during the Civil War era."--Southwestern Historical Quarterly"A bridge between scholarship on antebellum southern culture and studies of Confederate nationalism."--Journal of the Civil War Era"Nicely written and well-organized. . . . The greatest strength of this book is the author's impressive ability to synthesize and present a vast quantity of diverse writings. Anyone interested in the nature and fate of the Confederacy beyond the battlefield will find this thoroughly researched work to be rewarding and highly informative."--Florida Historical Quarterly"The list of publications Bernath consulted . . . is close to definitive. . . . Good books like this one will stimulate debate and further research. Bernath's study will be required reading for historians of the Confederacy and nineteenth-century South."--H-Net Reviews"Make[s] provocative arguments about the nature of Confederate nationalism, life with the Confederacy, and the perception of cultural distinctiveness."--The Courier"It is stimulating and opening an area of the war that we do not often see. . . . A detailed look at the home front in an essential industry and the development of a nation."--TOCWOC