Examining refugees of Civil War–era North Carolina; Driven from Home reveals the complexity and diversity of the war’s displaced populations and the inadequate responses of governmental and charitable organizations as refugees scrambled to secure the necessities of daily life. In North Carolina; writes David Silkenat; the relative security of the Piedmont and mountains drew pro-Confederate elements from across the region. Early in the war; Union invaders established strongholds on the coast; to which their sympathizers fled in droves. Silkenat looks at five groups caught up in this floodtide of emigration: enslaved African Americans who fled to freedom; white Unionists; pro-Confederate whites―both slave owners (who often forced their slaves to migrate with them) and non–slave owners; and young women; often from more besieged areas of the South; who attended the state’s many boarding schools. From their varied experiences; a picture emerges of a humanitarian crisis driven by mobility; shaped by unprecedented economic pressures and disease vectors; and exacerbated by governments unwilling or unable to provide meaningful relief.For anyone seeking context to current refugee crises; Driven from Home has much to say about the crushing administrative and logistical challenges of aid work; the illusory nature of such concepts as home fronts and battle lines; and the ongoing debate over links between relief and dependence.
#1311086 in Books University of Georgia Press 2008-08-15 2008-08-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .60 x 6.00l; .75 #File Name: 0820331090224 pages
Review
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful. A Tangential RamblingBy B TuckThis book has a great name with an appealing cover photo; so I pre-ordered it prior to its release. Inside is a different story. The book seems to be a compilation of word searches for the different terms used for "barbeque" over the centuries from what are now non-fiction free books. An interesting idea. Unfortunately; the author doesn't incorporate the context of these entries and simply surrounds the bbq references with series of words that make little or no sense. I recognized an excerpt from Dampier's: A New Voyage Round the World (1697); where a single sentence mentioned barbeque as part of a meal for the crew of Dampier's ship when going ashore to trade with a native tribe. Instead of using this potentially rich example of bbq in the 17th century and the foods; spices and woods available for that bbq experience; the author continued with his flight of ideas leading no where. I even found myself reading some of the more ridiculous sentences to my peers. I have read a number of books on the art of barbeque and collect early 20th century cookbooks. Disappointingly; I found absolutely no value in Savage Barbeque.13 of 20 people found the following review helpful. BBQ Book BustBy JohnBBQAs a history buff and BBQ cook; this book is a bust. It has no index and misses so much real history of barbecue that it is not of much interest to those that slow cook meats and appreciate the stories of smoke and time.It is the first book on BBQ that has totally disappointed me. History of any subject needs a couple of anchors and to write about BBQ and leave out Kansas City; the Carolina's and any mention of meats is a failure of focus.This is not a food lovers book; nor is it an easy read; and it is not a book you will talk about very long. You really have to work to get any meat out of this book.3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Very academic; lots of potential wasted by overtheorizationBy P. B. SturtevantFirst and foremost; it is important for any reader to understand that this book is an academic history rather than a popular one: it is probably not meant for consumption by the average barbecue afficionado; but instead by scholars or students of food history and postcolonial theory.And that is; I fear; one of the greatest problems with this book. One of the founding aspects of the work is that it understands the idea of "barbecue" very differently than I believe most do. The book sees the word and the idea of barbecue as rather irredeemably universal; colonial and racist; steeped in a history of oppression of the Native Americans. Thus; while it cites a range of evidence to support its claims-- particularly with regards to the origins of barbecuing in the caribbean; its conclusions about that evidence are wildly out of proportion to what is stated. Mountains are made of molehills-- and that's not to say that the molehills aren't interesting; it's just that this book seems to take them widely out of proportion.I was also very disappointed to discover that the book overlooks one of the critical periods of the development of barbecue; for which a definitive history has yet to be written: the late 18th and 19th centuries. The author even acknowledges that this is missing; and thus it is overlooking potentially the most interesting formative period of ideas and ideologies with regards to race and this food.So; approach this book with some caution. Some sections are insightful; but many blown out of proportion. For the early and later development of barbecue; it is a useful collection of sources; and probably best used for its bibliography and quotations rather than its postcolonial overtheorization.
