Albert Taylor Bledsoe (1809 -1877), a principle architect of the South's "Lost Cause" mythology, remains one of the Civil War generation's leading and most controversial intellectuals. In "Albert Taylor Bledsoe: Defender of the Old South and Architect of the Lost Cause" Terry A. Barnhart sheds new light on this provocative figure, his diverse interests, and his divisive ideas. This biography, e first ever published of its subject, skillfully weaves Bledsoe's multifarious and extraordinary life history into a narrative that illustrates the events that shaped his opinions and influenced his writings. Barnhart's account demonstrates how Bledsoe still speaks directly, and sometimes eloquently, to the core issues that divided the nation in the 1860s and continue to haunt it today.