They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group
1. Bibliography
Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.
ISBN: 978-0544225824
2. Plot Summary
Bartoletti explains where the K.K.K. originated, how it commenced, who started it, and the bitter feelings of the South that gave way to the horrible acts of the “American Terrorist Group”. Although this book tells the tale of an extremely hard-to-swallow time in history, readers will ultimately come to see Bartoletti's purpose in writing this book. Bartoletti wishes to understand "why?", to give a memorial to the victims of the K.K.K., and to provide hope to tomorrow for more kindness, love, tolerance, and acceptance.
3. Critical Analysis
Accuracy: Bartoletti receives praise (and rightly so) from multiple sources for her well-documented research, sources, travel, and experiences that molded and shaped this book. Bartoletti explains that information about the Ku Klux Klan is either well documented or very poorly documented. Regardless, it is quite evident through her use of first-hand accounts, maps, timelines, research, primary and general sources, and photographs, newspaper clippings, political cartoons, and drawings, that Bartoletti left almost no stone unturned while researching for this book.
Organization: The book is organized chronologically with images scattered throughout. Appearing in vignettes, quotes, and/or journal entries are integrated as well. At the end of the book, Bartoletti includes a civil rights timeline, quote attributions, notes, and an index.
Design: The design of the book helps the reader absorb the hard-to-read information. The text is not too small, the images are compelling, and the quotes are meaningful. These devices allow for the emotion, hatred, sadness, and despair to show through; almost as if the reader was being transported in time.
Style: Bartoletti's well-researched writing encourages the reader to want to know more about the events of the Civil War and the birth of other hate groups. Merely to understand, where did this hatred come from? And how can we prevent anything like this from ever happening again? Her writing is not dry in the slightest, but instead captures the interest of the reader. Also quite impressive, are her own author notes that appear at the end of the book. She shares how she looked at the birth of the K.K.K. through a multifaceted lens; including research on the Civil War, the KKK, psychology, racism, hate, and apologists.
4. Review Excerpts
From Kirkus Reviews: “Balancing the stories of the Klan and the former slaves’ determination to remake their lives, Bartoletti makes extensive use of congressional testimony, interviews, journals, diaries and slave narratives to allow the players to speak in their own voices as much as possible.”
From Publishers Weekly: “Copious photos, engravings, and illustrations provide a hard-hitting graphic component to this illuminating book.”
From GoodReads: “This is the story of how a secret terrorist group took root in America’s democracy. Filled with chilling and vivid personal accounts unearthed from oral histories, congressional documents, and other primary sources, this is a book to read and remember.”
5. Connections
Also by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
The Boy Who Dared
By Susan Campbell Bartoletti
ISBN: 978-0439680134
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow
By Susan Campbell Bartoletti
ISBN: 978-0439353793
Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America
By Susan Campbell Bartoletti
ISBN: 978-0544313675
They Called Themselves the K.K.K. would be a chilling addition to the study of racism, segregation, and the Civil War.
Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014.
ISBN: 978-0544225824
2. Plot Summary
Bartoletti explains where the K.K.K. originated, how it commenced, who started it, and the bitter feelings of the South that gave way to the horrible acts of the “American Terrorist Group”. Although this book tells the tale of an extremely hard-to-swallow time in history, readers will ultimately come to see Bartoletti's purpose in writing this book. Bartoletti wishes to understand "why?", to give a memorial to the victims of the K.K.K., and to provide hope to tomorrow for more kindness, love, tolerance, and acceptance.
3. Critical Analysis
Accuracy: Bartoletti receives praise (and rightly so) from multiple sources for her well-documented research, sources, travel, and experiences that molded and shaped this book. Bartoletti explains that information about the Ku Klux Klan is either well documented or very poorly documented. Regardless, it is quite evident through her use of first-hand accounts, maps, timelines, research, primary and general sources, and photographs, newspaper clippings, political cartoons, and drawings, that Bartoletti left almost no stone unturned while researching for this book.
Organization: The book is organized chronologically with images scattered throughout. Appearing in vignettes, quotes, and/or journal entries are integrated as well. At the end of the book, Bartoletti includes a civil rights timeline, quote attributions, notes, and an index.
Design: The design of the book helps the reader absorb the hard-to-read information. The text is not too small, the images are compelling, and the quotes are meaningful. These devices allow for the emotion, hatred, sadness, and despair to show through; almost as if the reader was being transported in time.
Style: Bartoletti's well-researched writing encourages the reader to want to know more about the events of the Civil War and the birth of other hate groups. Merely to understand, where did this hatred come from? And how can we prevent anything like this from ever happening again? Her writing is not dry in the slightest, but instead captures the interest of the reader. Also quite impressive, are her own author notes that appear at the end of the book. She shares how she looked at the birth of the K.K.K. through a multifaceted lens; including research on the Civil War, the KKK, psychology, racism, hate, and apologists.
4. Review Excerpts
From Kirkus Reviews: “Balancing the stories of the Klan and the former slaves’ determination to remake their lives, Bartoletti makes extensive use of congressional testimony, interviews, journals, diaries and slave narratives to allow the players to speak in their own voices as much as possible.”
From Publishers Weekly: “Copious photos, engravings, and illustrations provide a hard-hitting graphic component to this illuminating book.”
From GoodReads: “This is the story of how a secret terrorist group took root in America’s democracy. Filled with chilling and vivid personal accounts unearthed from oral histories, congressional documents, and other primary sources, this is a book to read and remember.”
5. Connections
Also by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
The Boy Who Dared
By Susan Campbell Bartoletti
ISBN: 978-0439680134
Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow
By Susan Campbell Bartoletti
ISBN: 978-0439353793
Terrible Typhoid Mary: A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America
By Susan Campbell Bartoletti
ISBN: 978-0544313675
They Called Themselves the K.K.K. would be a chilling addition to the study of racism, segregation, and the Civil War.
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