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2.52k 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
2.52k 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
challenging
informative
medium-paced
“He discovered that if he said something often enough, no matter how untrue, people would believe it.”
“When hate was on the ballot, especially in the guise of virtue, a majority of voters knew exactly what to do.”
“What if the leaders of the 1920s Klan didn't drive public sentiment, but rode it? A vein of hatred was always there for the tapping. It's there still, and explains much of the madness threatening American life a hundred years after Stephenson made a mockery of the moral principles of the Heartland.”
I spent this entire book thinking, "oh my God. You could tell me this conversation is happening right now, and I'd believe you." As much as we'd like to believe that we've come so far, that we're so removed from history, Egan's account of the rise of the KKK in the midwestern United States is a stark reminder that it's always there, breathing down our collective necks, waiting to repeat itself again and again.
Timothy Egan's book reads like a true crime thriller. It's written so immersively that it's almost impossible to put down. The pace is compelling and driven, it's thoughtfully composed, and clearly well-researched. It's also a harrowing testament of the risks and costs of power that's built on hatred, which the US has clearly struggled with from its very founding. On top of being a retelling of a horrendous crime, it's a stark reminder of what types of people leverage fear and chaos to platform themselves into leadership.
“When hate was on the ballot, especially in the guise of virtue, a majority of voters knew exactly what to do.”
“What if the leaders of the 1920s Klan didn't drive public sentiment, but rode it? A vein of hatred was always there for the tapping. It's there still, and explains much of the madness threatening American life a hundred years after Stephenson made a mockery of the moral principles of the Heartland.”
I spent this entire book thinking, "oh my God. You could tell me this conversation is happening right now, and I'd believe you." As much as we'd like to believe that we've come so far, that we're so removed from history, Egan's account of the rise of the KKK in the midwestern United States is a stark reminder that it's always there, breathing down our collective necks, waiting to repeat itself again and again.
Timothy Egan's book reads like a true crime thriller. It's written so immersively that it's almost impossible to put down. The pace is compelling and driven, it's thoughtfully composed, and clearly well-researched. It's also a harrowing testament of the risks and costs of power that's built on hatred, which the US has clearly struggled with from its very founding. On top of being a retelling of a horrendous crime, it's a stark reminder of what types of people leverage fear and chaos to platform themselves into leadership.
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
The second half of the title for this book is misleading. Yes, a white woman brought down DC Stephenson—a man with strong roots in the KKK…but not in the way you think. If I say more, I’ll give it away. Remember: privilege.
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
An important and necessary read, never more timely than in 2025 America. A great historical account of one of the darkest periods in the United States that takes care with some of the truly horrific atrocities committed. Read with caution, see content warning markings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Cannibalism
informative
Very well-researched, very depressing. A bleak reminder that history is cyclical, and that, 100 years later, parallels of hatred are easy to find.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence
dark
reflective
medium-paced