The book aims to provide an up-to-date overview of the latest American historiographical trends on the major themes of the South and the Civil War. It is completely impossible to understand the latter accurately without delving into the reality of the old South, which is so different from our historical and ideological tradition as Europeans. Until now, almost every attempt in Italy to deal with this reality has been distorted by the use of typically European standards, which has generally led to a distorted view that was, if anything, worse than ignorance. All this forms the basis for an analysis of the tremendous upheaval that was the Civil War, which not only continues to shape America's historical destiny to this day, but also represents an indispensable stage in the history of Western industrial society through the advent of total war triggered by the Industrial Revolution. This is how the aim of this anthology, which brings together contributions from various authors edited by Raimondo Luraghi, is described.
