On Monday I put forward five books about the history of Reconstruction for consideration for the next meeting of this newsletter’s book club. I asked you to choose one from the list. Thanks to everyone who responded. Here is the post with the books for those of you who have yet to see it.
I spent considerable time reading your responses. As I expected, most of you chose Eric Foner’s book, The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution. I wasn’t surprised by the choice. It’s an excellent overview of the period and the perfect book for those of you looking for a reliable entry point into this history.
At the same time, there were very strong feelings about the other titles.
With that in mind, here is what I have decided. Rather than choose one book, I am going to give you the option to read any of the books on the list. There is a great deal of overlap between most of the books and this will give us a way to talk more broadly about the recent historiography of Reconstruction. It’s an incredibly rich field of study right now.
I hope you agree with this decision. It’s a bit of an experiment, but I think it will work just fine.
Right now I am scheduling the next book group meeting for October 4 at 8PM EST.
As many of you know, the book group is open to paid subscribers only. I hope some of you consider upgrading to join us. This is a fun and deeply engaged group of readers. I find myself learning a great deal from listening to others in this group and I have no doubt that you will as well.
