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A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped...

Timothy Egan

Finish date: November 8, 2023

Why we're reading this: One of the most page-turning non-fiction books to come out this year.

Why and how did the KKK rise to so m…more
[close] One of the most page-turning non-fiction books to come out this year.

Why and how did the KKK rise to so much power in the 1920s? And who was the man that led them such? D.C. Stevenson began as a nobody, a shallow manipulator, he left his first wife and child and through big talk and a shell made out of charm, he went on to become the KKK's Grand Wizard leader. He was responsible for bribing and blackmailing so many government leaders to erase his crimes and bullying otherwise moderate townspeople into taking the KKK's oath.

He was a racist and bigot, two traits that could be tracked and known across the country, but he was also a serial rapist and abuser for years without any law enforcement holding him accountable. This book tells the story. It's an ugly one, but a powerful one that cost one woman her very life to make it known.

Book Content Warning: Descriptions of sexual assault and violence.

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What Members Thought

Nov 03, 2023 Jess Witkins rated it really liked it

Content warning: This book is not for everyone. It contains some graphic details of sexual assault and violence toward women, as well as hate crimes and violent acts toward Black people, Jewish people, Catholics, and LGBTQ+ individuals.

This was one of the best non-fiction books I've read this year in terms of its history and I found myself listening longer (I checkout out the audiobook). But it is gruesome. D.C. Stevenson, the first Grand Wizard of the KKK was a despicable, power-hungry man who ...more

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Nov 08, 2023 La Crescent Public Library rated it really liked it

One of the most page-turning non-fiction books to come out this year.

Why and how did the KKK rise to so much power in the 1920s? And who was the man that led them such? D.C. Stevenson began as a nobody, a shallow manipulator, he left his first wife and child and through big talk and a shell made out of charm, he went on to become the KKK's Grand Wizard leader. He was responsible for bribing and blackmailing so many government leaders to erase his crimes and bullying otherwise moderate townspeop ...more

Like · see review