Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide

Spying on the South juxtaposes two intervals when the United States appeared to have fractured into hostile tribes. Writer and journalist Tony Horwitz set out to probe today’s “American divide” with a template in mind—the effort by Frederick Law Olmsted to comprehend North-South antagonisms during the 1850s. Just as Olmsted once had done, Horwitz decided to head South.