The Fall of the House of Dixie Audiobook By Bruce Levine cover art

The Fall of the House of Dixie

The Civil War and the Social Revolution That Transformed the South

Preview

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

The Fall of the House of Dixie

By: Bruce Levine
Narrated by: Peter Jay Fernandez
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

The J. G. Randall Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Illinois and associate editor of North and South magazine, Bruce Levine presents a gripping chronicle of the cultural and economic upheaval the South experienced during and after the Civil War. Drawing upon a treasure trove of diaries, letters, newspaper articles, and government documents, Levine offers a unique perspective on the old South's demise through the voices of those who lived through the conflict.

©2013 Bruce Levine (P)2013 Recorded Books
American Civil War State & Local United States Civil War Military War
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"In this splendidly colorful account, the author compares the old South’s disintegration to ‘The Fall of the House of Usher,’ where microscopic cracks in the mansion’s foundation gradually widen until the building implodes.... A sensitive, informed rendering of the wrenching reformation of the South [told] with the ease and authority borne of decades of study." ( Kirkus Reviews)
"Enlightening..... a deep, rich, and complex analysis." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Masterful.... Levine’s employment of testimonies by slaveholders, slaves, and pro-Union Southerners is effective and often poignant." ( Booklist)

What listeners say about The Fall of the House of Dixie

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    70
  • 4 Stars
    35
  • 3 Stars
    21
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    66
  • 4 Stars
    37
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    66
  • 4 Stars
    33
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The book fills in gaps.

Bruce Levine's narrative fills in gaps to what is routinely told of the events during and after the Civil War. For example, in the majority of Civil War narratives the south is portrayed as a unified force. Levine, however, gives examples through memoirs and diaries of this less than unified view through the thoughts and writings of southerners, some of whom were unionists at the time of secession and remained so throughout the war.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A little short of what was promised

Excellent historical research, especially long on quotations from personal and official diaries & correspondence, refuting much postwar Confederate mythology, but woefully short on Reconstruction details.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Must Read

I have read at least 15 books on the Civil War, and this is one of the best researched. Meticulous documentation of the thought process of the Confederates.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Average description of the period

More historical details would have been helpful.
For example, details leading up to Jim Crow and the rise of the Klan.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

great listen

great book to understand the cultural shift in the south during the civil war.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic - Very Well Researched

Great if this is is a period you want to learn more about. Great voice reading it. Very very through

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Powerful Account of Collapse of the Confederacy

If you could sum up The Fall of the House of Dixie in three words, what would they be?

Revealing, powerful, inexorable

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Fall of the House of Dixie?

The role of the slaves in undermining the system of bondage in the southern states.

Which scene was your favorite?

the Conclusion

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. Too dense.

Any additional comments?

There is much misinformation about slavery, the events leading up to secession, and about why the Confederacy lost the war. This book clears up what happened and why.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fast moving well written summary

Captures both sides without losing clarity about what was at stake. Easy to listen to and left me wanting to know more

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A good overview.

A good overview of the war written from a southern vantage point but not overly sympathetic to the confederate cause. I enjoyed it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Merely ok. . .

A decent work, but it focuses too much on blow by blow military account of the war (which is done much better and in more depth in Battle Cry of Freedom and Shelby Foote's series) and the pre-war slave system and not enough on the "social revolution that transformed the South." Reconstruction is glossed over at the very end of the book, and there is little discussion of carpetbaggers, the migration of former slaves to northern industrial cities, the rise of the KKK, etc. Only recommended for novices of the Civil War period.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful