A review by cclift1114
A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This has now become the book that I will recommend that everyone read. It is that powerful. Egan does a masterful job at giving at broad look at the history of the Klan, but then focusing more specifically on Indiana and the monster that was Stephenson. He does great at never getting too bogged down in all the different players so that you can keep track of who’s who quite easily. I also appreciated that, just like with the Tolerance newspaper that he references in the book, Egan has no room for nuance as far as the Klan goes. He demonstrates a clear bias against the group and their actions, as he should. While denigrating the Klan to the fullest extent possible (and necessary), he simultaneously enshrines the actions of Madge Oberholtzer, whose brave actions and testimony were the catalyst to finally ruining the Grand Dragon. When I say that this book made me tear up multiple times, it is no exaggeration. You can’t help but feel for what Madge went through and how she fought to do what was right. 

Aside from the historical importance of this narrative, I would also have to recommend it for the echoes of it that are happening today. A decade or more ago I might have wondered at how the people of Indiana could be so taken in by this man’s words and charisma, that they would blindly follow him, that they would join him in his tirade of hatred against so many minority groups. It would have seemed wild that someone like him could proclaim, “I am the law” and insinuate that he could get away with any crime. It would have seemed crazy for him to even think he could get to the presidency. Unfortunately, these last years have made it clear that it is very much still possible for these kinds of things to happen. At the very least, though, this book shows that with the persistence of the righteous few, things can be saved. It may take time, sacrifice, bravery and patience, but it can happen. 

It should go without saying that this book has trigger warnings, given that it’s about the Klan. As you might expect, there is violence, racism and murder. However, it should also be stressed that the description of the sexual assault is quite thorough and graphic. 
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