Squirrel Brains & the Taste of Sulphur

The average person’s engagement with this year’s bicentennial of the War of 1812 and the sesquicentennial of the Civil War is unlikely to go beyond reading an extra op-ed or raising a glass of Old Crow in tribute to the defenders of the Union. For some, though, these anniversaries are occasion for packing up the car, driving hundreds of miles, and spending weekends in tents, dressed in leather cured with liquid from squirrel brains. These people are historical reenactors, and although they may be stranger than you or I, their world is a fascinating one, and long overdue for a book-length examination. Charlie Schroeder, with his recently released Man of War: My Adventures in the World of Historical Reenactment, jumps ably into the breach.