Strange True Stories was written in 1888 when history was largely still a branch of literature and the boundaries between fact and fiction were not as clearly defined as today. Cable's stories are true, but one sees the author taking some editorial liberty and blurring the lines. In that sense it is like Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. Cable inserted dialogue and dramatized the stories to pull in the reader and emphasize his message. As a white southerner in the post-reconstruction, Jim Crow, "New South" Cable mocked slavery and the hypocrisy of white supremacists, poked fun at the New Orleans elites, and promoted black civil rights through these stories. ( )

An amazing and enthralling read. Less florid (and much more 'readable') than most from that era. Recommend it highly to all. Brings history to life on a personal level. Reads like a historical novel but much more compelling as Cable sticks to the facts and cites his sources (though he does include one clearly identified case of local legend and folklore). The primary source 1780s diary and letters which he translated are priceless windows into the past (as is the civil war diary). A riveting eye-opener. I put this as one of my top ten amazing reads of the year. [Free E-Book available at Gutenberg.org and/or Archive.org]

"An old book was a time capsule... You only had to turn a page to travel back in time." - Steve Parrish ( )