Do you remember learning history, especially American history, in the late sixties/early seventies? It was bland, black and white, with very little nuances in regard to details and very little context. The history classes also missed most of actual history. This is the world that formed Ty Seidule. Robert E. Lee and Me is Ty Seidule's response to his changing awareness of what American history actually is.
Ty Seidule grew up in the South (Alexandria, VA and Monroe, GA), attended Washington and Lee University and joined the U. S. Army via ROTC. Only later in life did he live above the Mason-Dixon line. Later in his career, he was posted to West Point as a history professor. He had become what he wanted to be early in life - a Southern gentleman like his idol, Robert E. Lee. But life has a way of changing one's views on people, circumstances, and facts. Life brings to the forefront concepts and facts that challenge long held beliefs. Over time and distance, Siedule's views of his hometowns, alma maters, and cherished beliefs clashed with the facts he uncovered. As a trained historian, Siedule sifted facts from fictions and was forced to change his views on the so-called Lost Cause and its pinnacle of worship, Robert E. Lee. This change of outlook is the meat of the book.
Robert E. Lee and Me will not resonate with every reader. But, if the reader is willing to listen to Ty Seidule's story, they will learn how to nuance history and its facts for themselves so they are more equipped to make up their own mind.
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