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sethdmichaels.bsky.social · @sethdmichaels.bsky.social@bridge.neodb.net

Rated The Free State of Jones: Mississippi's Longest Civil War 8/10

A new thing I learned: there was a small but real interracial anti-Confederate insurgency in southeastern Mississippi during the Civil War. The book is a little academic, with all that entails - it's quite narrow, somewhat dry, and takes for granted that you're well-read on the larger context. You have to read between the lines to get to the real meat of it, but when you do, there's a ton of fresh insight on the complicated relationship of race, gender and class in the South. The author's afterward, in which she explains her decision to let the book be the basis for a movie, is a great look at the role of the historian.

#book

Published 2026-08-18 17:03 UTC · bridged from Atmosphere