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2.51k reviews for:
A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
Timothy Egan
4.34 AVERAGE
2.51k reviews for:
A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them
Timothy Egan
4.34 AVERAGE
Took 100 years and some digression & delay but it’s 2025 and now the Klansmen (in spirit) have the country they want. Woof!
fast-paced
I'm a big history nerd so I was excited to read this book. It did not disappoint. I learned so much. Never knew how widespread the klan was. The fact that it was so normalized and accepted shouldn't surprise me but it does. It's one thing for adults to relish being in hate groups but signing your children up for the Ku Klux Kiddies is just wild. The visual of the family picnic to watch someone be lynched was stomach churning. It really shows that bigots have been using the exact same script for decades. The amount of parallels I saw to today's world was frankly a bit scary. The world has changed some but not as much as we think.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
6/10
I liked it, although I'm not sure if I would have stuck with it if I hadn't listened to it.
At the end the author alludes to the cratering membership of the klan. It would have been nice to have a part giving a brief overview of where the klan is now
I liked it, although I'm not sure if I would have stuck with it if I hadn't listened to it.
At the end the author alludes to the cratering membership of the klan. It would have been nice to have a part giving a brief overview of where the klan is now
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
A part of history I didn't know about at all, but incredibly interesting. Absolutely recommend to everyone (adults), despite it being emotionally tough to read in spots.
dark
informative
“Democracy was a fragile thing, stable and steady until it was broken and trampled. A man who didn’t care about shattering every convention, and then found new ways to vandalize the contract that allowed free people to govern themselves could do unthinkable damage.” (p. 332)
Well. If there was ever an embodiment of the phrase “history repeats itself” it is here, in *Fever in the Heartland*. My nonfiction pick for the year really delivered. Depicting the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana in the 1920s, from swelling memberships, to heavily swaying elections and installing puppeteers in high ranking government positions. The Klan swarmed Indiana, bringing with it a reign of terror through burning crosses, rallies full of hateful rhetoric and lynchings. All led by Grand Dragon DC Stephenson, perhaps one of the greatest con men in history whose evil nature is matched only by his unending greed.
The horrific debauchery of the Klan culminates in the rape and murder of a young woman by the Grand Dragon. A trial follows, leaving the fate of the Dragon, the Klan, and the State in the hands of 12 white men.
The book was extremely well written and researched. I often slog through non fiction, but whipped through this one.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Well. If there was ever an embodiment of the phrase “history repeats itself” it is here, in *Fever in the Heartland*. My nonfiction pick for the year really delivered. Depicting the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana in the 1920s, from swelling memberships, to heavily swaying elections and installing puppeteers in high ranking government positions. The Klan swarmed Indiana, bringing with it a reign of terror through burning crosses, rallies full of hateful rhetoric and lynchings. All led by Grand Dragon DC Stephenson, perhaps one of the greatest con men in history whose evil nature is matched only by his unending greed.
The horrific debauchery of the Klan culminates in the rape and murder of a young woman by the Grand Dragon. A trial follows, leaving the fate of the Dragon, the Klan, and the State in the hands of 12 white men.
The book was extremely well written and researched. I often slog through non fiction, but whipped through this one.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️