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stelhan's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting and terrifying how much modern rhetoric was normalised by the kkk. Some of the analysis was questionable though, e.g.
“Sanger was by no means a bigot. She accepted some eugenical categories, such as “feeble-minded,” but never the Klan’s racial and religious hierarchy.”
Ableism is bigotry!!
“Sanger was by no means a bigot. She accepted some eugenical categories, such as “feeble-minded,” but never the Klan’s racial and religious hierarchy.”
Ableism is bigotry!!
ethanphealey's review against another edition
3.0
If I don't have anything nice to say, I shouldn't say it. So I won't. But I do give props to the author for giving a relatively honest view of the KKK in the 1920s. Fair solid book, would not read again but would suggest to someone who is looking for a historical context to the KKK and its history.
yojimbo96's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
2.5
A look into the 2nd generation of the KKK showing how more mainstream the Klan became in its second form. While informative the books wasn’t as informative as I would have liked and that may be just because of a lack of sources available on this topic.
julieverive's review against another edition
4.0
Turns out America has never been great, and the talking points haven't changed in almost 100 years.
mcf's review against another edition
5.0
This is awfully good. The focus on the KKK in the north is interesting and sheds light on less explored territory, and the constant, ringing parallels to today's political scene are instructive, unsurprising, and horrifying. This study is relevant at all times, but it's particularly so particularly right now.
Thanks to NetGalley and W.W. Norton and Co for the ARC.
Thanks to NetGalley and W.W. Norton and Co for the ARC.
annmeyer's review against another edition
4.0
Very informative and accessible (easy-to-read, mechanically though not necessarily in regards to content, which does occasionally deal in specifics concerning racial and sexual violence) book for those interested in untangling the larger history of right-wing populism and vigilantism in the United States. Gordon tracks and explicates the rise of the second KKK, beginning in 1915 and burning out in the mid 1920s, with particular emphasis on the "100% American" movement's exclusion, hostility, and violence towards people of color, Jews, and Catholics -- virtually all non-white non-Protestants.
Overall, the work is very well-researched and attends to the dominant cultures and politics of the US in the 1920s, not just in the north and the south, but in the west too (Oregon, I'm looking at you). Gordon situates this second rendition of the KKK in the broader cultural and social movements against immigration and for nativism, patriotism, and nationalism, and offers limited contextualization of it within fascist movements in Europe and our present-day struggles with right-wing populism in politics.
Overall, the work is very well-researched and attends to the dominant cultures and politics of the US in the 1920s, not just in the north and the south, but in the west too (Oregon, I'm looking at you). Gordon situates this second rendition of the KKK in the broader cultural and social movements against immigration and for nativism, patriotism, and nationalism, and offers limited contextualization of it within fascist movements in Europe and our present-day struggles with right-wing populism in politics.
autumnnleeaves's review against another edition
4.0
This is an illuminating read, especially in the era of Trumpism. The author shows exactly how the Klan reinvented itself by incorporating more bigotry in its mission. The most interesting thing is to see how similar the tactics and messages are between the Klan of the 1920s and today’s right wing.