Reviews
"One notable strength of Interpreting Sacred Ground is that it uncovers the vagaries of battlefield interpretation. Interpretative panels erected during the centennial of the war will of necessity present different messages from those developed during the sesquicentennial. In addition, both public and scholarly (not to mention political) interpretations of the Civil War will naturally influence how the war is presented." --Journal of the Civil War Era, "Always the teacher-scholar, Spielvogel expertly and authoritatively shows his readers how the National Park Service attempts to influence public memory, and thus historical understanding, of the Civil War. In contextualizing the struggle to memorialize Gettsyburg, Harpers Ferry, and Cold Harbor, Spielvogel reveals the politics of both the reconciliationists and emancipationists-and the rhetorical consequences of both memorializing traditions. At stake is nothing less than how we understand ourselves as Americans-then and now. Tomorrow, too."-Davis W. Houck, coeditor of Rhetoric, Religion, and the Civil Rights Movement, 19541965, "Always the teacher-scholar, Spielvogel expertly and authoritatively shows his readers how the National Park Service attempts to influence public memory, and thus historical understanding, of the Civil War. In contextualizing the struggle to memorialize Gettsyburg, Harpers Ferry, and Cold Harbor, Spielvogel reveals the politics of both the reconciliationists and emancipationists--and the rhetorical consequences of both memorializing traditions. At stake is nothing less than how we understand ourselves as Americans--then and now. Tomorrow, too."--Davis W. Houck, coeditor of Rhetoric, Religion, and the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1965, "One notable strength of Interpreting Sacred Ground is that it uncovers the vagaries of battlefield interpretation. Interpretative panels erected during the centennial of the war will of necessity present different messages from those developed during the sesquicentennial. In addition, both public and scholarly (not to mention political) interpretations of the Civil War will naturally influence how the war is presented." -- Journal of the Civil War Era, "[ . . .] what I find to be most compelling about Interpreting Sacred Ground is how Spielvogel manages to contribute to the standing scholarship by maintaining a distinct rhetorical perspective in his account of the ongoing symbolic contestation over the Civil War's legacy. This fine book could be used to complement graduate or undergraduate coursework on critical and interpretive methods, the rhetoric of public memory, public address, or the rhetoric of war." -- Rhetoric & Public Affairs "Always the teacher-scholar, Spielvogel expertly and authoritatively shows his readers how the National Park Service attempts to influence public memory, and thus historical understanding, of the Civil War. In contextualizing the struggle to memorialize Gettsyburg, Harpers Ferry, and Cold Harbor, Spielvogel reveals the politics of both the reconciliationists and emancipationists--and the rhetorical consequences of both memorializing traditions. At stake is nothing less than how we understand ourselves as Americans--then and now. Tomorrow, too." --Davis W. Houck, coeditor of Rhetoric, Religion, and the Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1965, One notable strength of Interpreting Sacred Ground is that it uncovers the vagaries of battlefield interpretation. Interpretative panels erected during the centennial of the war will of necessity present different messages from those developed during the sesquicentennial. In addition, both public and scholarly (not to mention political) interpretations of the Civil War will naturally influence how the war is presented." —Journal of the Civil War Era
