The politics of mourning : death and honor in Arlington National Cemetery /

Wars make cemeteries necessary. Their role as a hollowed resting place for those men and women who have fallen in battle is one that has been honored by all nations for a long time. Arlington Cemetery in Washington, DC, has performed that service since its inception during the Civil War as a burial place for those who have died in the country's too-frequent wars. McElya (history, Univ. of Connecticut) has crafted a wonderful history of Arlington National Cemetery, detailing the political and emotional background to this high profile burial ground. The evolution over the years of policies that govern who gets buried at Arlington, regardless of race or gender, is a complicated tale that deserves telling. The construction in 1921 of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier serves as a powerful symbol of the universality of military service in support of democratic ideals. McElya's finely wrought prose brings this story to light, and her book belongs on the shelves of both academic and public libraries. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. --Edward A. Goedeken, Iowa State University

Although there are many national -cemeteries, Arlington is the most well known and the most visited. Its land was confiscated from Civil War Gen. Robert E. Lee in wartime, and controversy has followed ever since. Since its establishment during the Civil War, debate over who should be interred at Arlington, and in what company, has been nearly continuous. Should Confederate soldiers be buried there? Should black soldiers be laid to rest separately, out of sight? Later, the nation made the decision to repatriate all the dead from World War I, and in time, the fallen in newer wars. McElya (history, Univ. of Connecticut; Clinging to Mammy) concentrates on racial issues and Arlington's difficulty in dealing with race, ethnicity, and sex. By the 1960s, new national concerns arose, and Arlington became the site of demonstrations, a symbol of the complicated passions arising from the Vietnam War era. -McElya diligently unravels the American desire to honor the dead, preserve history and custom, and devise symbols of what the cemetery should represent in the minds of its citizens. VERDICT An insightful and affecting investigation of how Americans see themselves, and how they memorialize their soldiers, that will be of interest to historians and, particularly, veterans.-Edwin Burgess, Kansas City, KS © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.