Cities of the Dead

“A book worth reading, especially for those interested in questions of memory and commemoration.” — American Historical Review

“Provocative. . . . A sophisticated and nuanced analysis.” — Arkansas Historical Quarterly

“[An] excellent study. . . . [Blair] effectively highlights African American political struggle through the creation and use of public commemorative events.” — Journal of African American History

“Cities of the Dead ranks Blair among a growing group of scholars studying memory and the Civil War. [His] genius lies in his carefully reasoned explanations, of how and why these celebrations carried political meaning in particular historical moments.” — Civil War Book Review

“Commemoration in the postwar South is an intriguing topic that has been neglected until now.” — Virginia Magazine of History and Biography

“Blair does an excellent job of tracing the subtleties of political discourse. . . . [Cities of the Dead: Contesting the Memory of the Civil War in the South, 1865-1914] reminds us that politics cannot be extricated from the tangle of memory, commemoration, and reunion in the post-Civil War South.” — Civil War History

“The more clearly we understand how commemorative activities have functioned in the past to influence political outcomes, the more effective we can be in the present. William Blair deserves credit for a fine effort in this direction.” — H-South

“Readers who want to think about the broader aspects of the 1860s and those interested in current controversies over such Civil War-related matters as 'Dixie' and the Confederate flag will profit greatly from Blair’s book.” — Civil War News

“Blair has produced a worthy exploration of the evolution of Emancipation Day and Memorial Day celebrations in post-Civil War Virginia.” — Virginia Libraries

“That southerners would feel compelled to commemorate the Civil War was inevitable, but the form and content of their commemorations was not. Blair has written a fascinating and deeply researched account of the commemorative impulse in the postbellum South when the first 'culture wars' flared up. He reveals the grief, pride, and pluck that southerners, black and white, displayed as they tried to impose order on their region’s recent past.” — W. Fitzhugh Brundage, author of Where These Memories Grow