Those Terrible Carpetbaggers

An Civil War eminent historian demolishes the myths about carpetbaggers. The book follows 10 Northerners who became some of the more prominent leaders of the reconstructed South in the post-war era. Their actions belie the stereotypical story of greedy, slippery Northerners that was created to explain away the failure of Reconstruction after the North gave up on it. Read this book along with Eric Foner's masterpiece on the same subject. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the Civil War, the South, or race relations. To understand America you need to know the story of Reconstruction - and it is likely not the one you learned in school. A fascinating read.