David Blights book sounds very interesting to me because as stated in the New York times review that “In recent years, the study of historical memory has become something of a scholarly cottage industry. The memory of World War I reflected in monuments, novels, and popular culture has been examined by numerous European historians”. Since I am in college and history fascinates me especially about World War I this book sounds extra interesting to me. Since the book gives a insight on political battles and conflicting attitudes toward the war’s legacy it makes it even more compelling for someone like me who likes to see how when mankind is in a situation how we handle it among ourselves. The people that would benefit from reading this book would be anyone who is a scholar and anyone who have relatives that are associated with the war.

It sounds like Blight likes the book a lot because “He gives black Americans a voice they are often denied in works on memory, scouring the black press for accounts of emancipation celebrations and articles about the war’s meaning. As his title suggests, Blight believes that how we think about the Civil War has everything to do with how we think about race and its history in American life.” People everywhere have their own opinions on the war but Blight seems to give you every opinion in one and not be geared toward one opinion or one way of thinking. Also by giving those opinions of those people who seem to have lost all hope of voicing what they truly feel on the inside.

The books review tells up a lot about the importance of historical memory because a lot of it is lost. From being in different forms of memories and different eras of history and scattered all over the US. It may seem like we will never know the truth unless we live the truth this review gives you the impression that you can live in a opinioned set of truth and you can see what we came from in history. What it all comes down to is the importance of how we came to be today from what we used to be in the past.  “What unites these studies is the conviction that memory is a product of history. Rather than being straightforward and unproblematic, it is “constructed,” battled over, and in many ways political.”