The real monster of the Civil War was that it cost us God knows what all, not only in young men, blue and gray, but in the recasting of what public life was going to be like.

Every schoolchild should be required to read that.

The criticisms of him in the post are laughable. For instance,

I found it to be a lot of things, but neo-Confederate apologia isn't among them. It does slight slavery, but as I recall, it does not question--as Foote does here--that slavery was the cause of the War.

Damning with faint praise. He "questions" that slavery was the cause of the War because slavery was not the cause of the War in anyone's mind except those not born in the Southern States who want to maintain their false sense of moral superiority. And since those states won the war, they get to write the history books which assist in the perpetuation of the myth of moral Northern superiority.

Another, completely ridiculous criticism here:

And yet here is the bit of sadness: He gave twenty years of his life, and three volumes of important and significant words to the Civil War, but he he could never see himself in the slave.

I literally chuckled aloud when I read that the first time. He couldn't "see himself in the slave?" Really? I suppose the author of the criticism could? And if Shelby had written through the eyes of a slave, how much do you want to bet the author would criticize "this cracker who thinks he knows what it was like to be under massah's whip?"

I really appreciate the post, but it would have been much, much better if the only content was the original interview.