January Book Club: A Fever in the Heartland

We're reading twelve books in 2024, and this is the first

I’m starting a book club here on Land of the Free.

Since I’m a writer myself, this was probably a natural progression for this newsletter. One of my 2025 resolutions is to read more, and I’ve decided to hold myself accountable to that effort by selecting twelve American history books to read during this year.

I’ll announce each selection at the top of the month, then send out an analysis at the end. I hope this will help spark your interest in American history, and that you’ll read these books along with me.

January’s book is A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan.

Q: Why choose this book?

A: I’ve been a fan of Egans’s work for about a decade, since reading The Worst Hard Time, which chronicles the effects of the Dust Bowl. Egan crafts his work beautifully, blending journalist and narrative styles in a way that keeps the reader turning the page.

Q: Why read about such an unpleasant topic?

A: American history is complicated. It’s not all good—plenty is bad. Nearly 250 years of history (post 1776) means the United States has it has its share of villains, and the KKK certainly fits into that category. The Klan was (and is) a force for so much evil in our history and irrevocably changed the lives of so many innocent people.

Still, many don’t realize the devastation the terror group caused in the 1920s at the close of the Industrial Revolution. It’s easy to associate the organization only with the tumultuous years following the Civil War and skip the years Klan was at the height of power.

This book sheds light on all that. It also focuses on the one place the Klan was strongest—Indiana.

Q: What are others saying about this book?

A: Egan’s work is critically acclaimed. It is currently an “editor’s pick” on Amazon and holds a 4.6/5-star rating. Readers say A Fever in the Heartland is an important book on an often-overlooked topic.

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I hope you’ll join me in this endeavor! Happy reading!