Much has been written about the differences between the North and South leading to the Civil War. This study emphasizes cultural differences, stressing the South’s distinctive lifestyle and mindset which contributed to the South’s loss. Alston examines many aspects of the South’s culture, such as the cavalier attitudes of Southern leaders and officers in which they viewed themselves as heroic, brave, and, above all, right. The defense of slavery was a defense for an archaic way of life that had no place in a modern world and was doomed for extinction. The South vilified the North as being uncultured, lazy, afraid, and incompetent, due mainly to their belief in their own superiority, which led to underestimating the North’s abilities and overestimating their own. Some of the subjects included are the cavalier mindset, Southern honor, the alpha complex, and the culture of violence and aggression.

Alston presents the cultural aspects of the Northern and Southern cultures of mid-eighteenth-century America in a narrative manner that is conversational in tone. Using reputable sources from both Northern and Southern writers, he examines the very real cultural differences that led to the South’s defeat. It is interesting but heartbreaking to read these accounts from Southern writers in defense of the institution of slavery. It is also refreshing to realize that not all Southerners supported the institution, such as the Unionists and anti-secessionists of northern Alabama who formed the First Alabama Cavalry. Alston offers a valid and fair depiction of the cultural differences in the South that led to their defeat. The author presents factors about the war that are perhaps not as well known in the general population and brings valuable insight into this much-examined subject.

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