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Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigations of a Lifetime
Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigations of a Lifetime | Ron Stallworth
121 posts | 115 read | 4 reading | 99 to read
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Jadams89
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Pickpick

This book was so interesting! It‘s eye-opening, and the NORAD part is pretty scary. It can get repetitive at parts, but overall an entertaining and moving read.

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DieAReader
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Pickpick

#WeekendReading #20in4 #BookNookBuddies2022
#KickTheSlump #BookSpinBingo

Although an enjoyable read, I was expecting more. Might be something I‘d enjoy more as a🎥

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!!! 3y
30 likes2 comments
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Rachel.Rencher
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The movie adaptation of this book was amazing. I'm sure the book is going to be equally great.

KathyWheeler I still need to watch the movie. The book was good but it reads a lot like the writer was writing a police report, which, of course, he was used to writing. (edited) 3y
62 likes1 stack add1 comment
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dearb00kshelves
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Pickpick

One of the first things that struck me about this story is that it doesn‘t take place in the American south. So many times we want to relegate that kind of hatred to the south but it‘s everywhere; just pointing at the south is not the way to talk and think about racism. This story is particularly interesting because it gives so much insight into some of their recruitment tactics in the late 70‘s...
Continued on IG and GR

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Kaarin
Pickpick

So glad I read this. TBH the writing is not fantastic. But the story is so important and Stallworth is an incredible person. This filled in some of my knowledge gaps regarding the late 70s and US history.

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Lauranahe
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Pickpick

What a fascinating book! I saw the movie, which was excellent, but there‘s something about reading experiences from those who did the experiencing. Ron is a black police detective in Colorado Springs in the late 70s, and he infiltrates the KKK. The writing is a little repetitive at times, but I absolutely recommend reading it.

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KatesFree
Pickpick

Stupendous. Very glad I read it. The movie is also great.

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brandierickson
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Pickpick

This book genuinely made me laugh out loud. A memoir by the first Black policeman in Colorado Springs about the time he ran an undercover operation in the KKK. Seriously hilarious. The KKK were so totally inept and, to quote Stallworth, made up of “total idiots.” A short read but very entertaining.

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Kalalalatja
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Mehso-so

Definitely an interesting book, but the narration was a bit dry, which made it hard for me to keep my focus. I have a feeling the movie will be pretty great, though, so I‘ll try and see if I can find it somewhere!

Readergrrl The movie was freaking amazing and so deserved the Oscar! Spike Lee was robbed! 4y
BookwormAHN @Readergrrl I agree the movie was fantastic! 4y
Readergrrl @BookwormAHN I‘ve watched it several times and I cry during the footage at the end every single time. Powerful! (edited) 4y
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BookwormAHN @Readergrrl So do I and its especially powerful right now. 4y
Kalalalatja @Readergrrl @BookwormAHN okay, you two are getting me excited! I really need to find the movie somewhere! 4y
Readergrrl I hope you enjoy it. It certainly is timely. The first time I watched it was before George Floyd‘s murder. Then I watched it again after his death had inspired the protests around the world. Wow. If you‘re interested, there are some very good editorials about why this film didn‘t win an Oscar over The Green Book. Also a good movie, but not AS good... very thought provoking. 4y
50 likes3 stack adds6 comments
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arlenefinnigan
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Pickpick

This is a remarkable story of an improbable investigation, and I like how Stallworth mentions throughout the book that his colleagues found both the fact that a black police officer was conducting an undercover investigation into the KKK, and how utterly stupid and incompetent the KKK were, really funny. The writing style is quite dry which makes the story feel strangely slow-paced, given the subject matter.

arlenefinnigan It's interesting that Stallworth draws parallels with the KKK and the Trump administration in the conclusion, and points out that, unfortunately, his investigation into racist terrorism is as relevant as ever. 4y
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arlenefinnigan
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Next up

Riveted_Reader_Melissa This one was very interesting. 4y
arlenefinnigan @Riveted_Reader_Melissa wanted (as always) to read the book before watching the film. 4y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @arlenefinnigan Both are excellent, and in this case I saw the film first. 4y
Patchshank I enjoyed this one. 4y
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TheKidUpstairs
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Pickpick

As Stallworth acknowledges in his afterward, this tale of the 1970's is extremely relevant to today's social and political climate.

An engaging, quick read chronicling Stallworth's undercover infiltration of the KKK in Colorado Springs in the early 70's. Some editing issues were slightly annoying (the same statement about Officer Ed repeated in three different sections) but the overall story and Stallworth's clear retelling are worth the read.

Mitch Loved the movie too! 5y
JSW Such a good read!! 5y
69 likes1 stack add2 comments
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ShyBookOwl
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My husband and I started this on a 4-hour round trip in the car yesterday. It's so good, but now with 1.5 hrs left, I have to wait for us to be free at the same time to finish 😟 lol #couplereading

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Patchshank
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Pickpick

I haven't seen the movie, so I don't know how it compares. I really enjoyed the book so I might see it. I don't know why it took so long for Stallworth to be able to tell his story. He should be a household name by now.

I really enjoyed the book. Really proves the stupidity of the Klan and its members. I like all the little things Stallworth did to mess with them while sticking up a big middle finger.

#litsyAtoZ
#BookB

Blueberry The movie was good too. I read and watched it for a movie/book club 5y
55 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Lizpixie
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Bk2 in this months #librarybookhaul is the NF book that Spike Lee‘s movie is based on. The true story of how an African American detective in Colorado Springs, 1978, went undercover investigating the Ku Klux Klan. He was so successful, he became the bodyguard of the Klans leader & was asked to become head of his local chapter! Even if you‘ve seen the excellent movie starring John David Washington & Adam Driver, you should still read the book.

Rissreads Movie was great! 5y
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Come-read-with-me
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Pickpick

This has been on my TBR for quite some time. It was not the most well written of books, but it is one of the most important stories to be told. Hate is a terrifying thing, and Stalkworth not only faced down the most vicious form of hate, he laughed in its‘ face. This a fast read that will open your eyes. Makes me want to see the movie!

KathyWheeler It‘s a good book but it reads like a police report. 5y
Come-read-with-me @KathyWheeler I completely agree! 5y
Buechersuechtling What exactly is it about❓The database entry doesn‘t offer much information. What is the author an undercover agent in Ku Klux Klan❓ 5y
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Come-read-with-me @Buechersuechtling That is the essence of the story. It is a young police officer, who in the 1960s, took on the KKK. He initiated contact via phone and posed as a man who was white and interested in joining the klan. What follows is how he, with a white colleague, infiltrated this organization of hate and brought down many of it‘s members. It does read like a police report, but what was fascinating is how people judge not of spirit but skin. (edited) 5y
Buechersuechtling @Come-read-with-me Definitely sounds interesting. 5y
Curiouser_and_curiouser I recently watched the movie. It was awesome! I couldn't stand the suspense at times and I was amazed through the whole story that it was a biographical recount. A story that needs to be told and shared. 5y
Come-read-with-me @Curiouser_and_curiouser Agreed! The movie left me breathless. Glad you liked it too 😀 5y
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Emilymdxn
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Pickpick

Powerful (and surreal) memoir about resisting hate. It‘s horrible particularly today that a book about the kkk feels relevant to my life in 2019 but it does. Maybe the film felt like a more complex story with more layers, but i can‘t hold it against it he truth for not being like the film.

#wintergames #merryreaders #tbrread @Clwojick @StayCurious

Clwojick 16 pt 5y
38 likes1 comment
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WildQuibble
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Pickpick

Just finished this one. Excellent book, wish it had ended a little differently, but that‘s the thing about true stories - you don‘t always get the narrative satisfaction your brain wants.

Probably going to watch the film at some point in the next few days.

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WildQuibble
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#audiobooking while I try to get all my christmas orders out. Enjoying this one - eye-opening, and also funny. Holy hell did the author make a fool of David Duke et al.

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OutsmartYourShelf
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Pickpick

A real case of truth being stranger than fiction! Stallworth exposes the hatred, ignorance, & self-aggrandisement. There were a few issues with repetition & a dry writing style but overall it‘s worth a read. 3.5🌟

#NFNov. @Clwojick @rsteve388

rsteve388 6 pts 5y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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KT1432 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 5y
AnneCecilie This is so true and something we need to think about every day. 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @AnneCecilie It was in his introduction to the whole book..and I thought it was a great message to take with me when I finished too. We all need that reminder these days! 5y
rsteve388 1 pt 5y
55 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

I loved this book, he might not be a professional writer, and might repeat himself in a few places, but the story more than made up for any of that. I breezed through this truth-is-WAY-stranger-than-fiction read, learned lots, found much that is sadly very relevant today, and honestly the most surreal parts of the movie are the true parts of the book.

My book to movie pick for #Booked2019
My first #NFNov

Also #Nonfiction2019
#NonfictionMatters

alisiakae I‘ve been meaning to read this one. 5y
rsteve388 6 pts 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @4thhouseontheleft It‘s a quick read too, and a good one. 5y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Great book, and still so surreal....check out number 5 on the Klan‘s Personal Code:

“The pledge that captured my attention and drove me, Jim, and Chuck into a fit of laughter was number 5: “I Pledge: to never discuss any Klan affairs with any plain clothes officers on a state, local or national level.” That was almost too good—they actually put that right there on their membership card.”

#NFNov
#NonfictionMatters
#Nonfiction2019

rsteve388 1 pt 5y
48 likes1 comment
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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“Success often lies not in what happens but in what you prevent from happening.”

That‘s one I think we‘d all do well to remember in trying times!

#NFNov
#NonfictionMatters
#Nonfiction2019

AnneCecilie You read the best nonfiction books. Another one I need to add to my tbr. I saw the movie not long ago and there was nothing in that about this. If I remember correctly, we actually see a cross burning so I had no idea about this 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @AnneCecilie He subverted a bunch during the investigation, in the book literally right after he was ordered to close the investigation...there was a cross burning. 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @AnneCecilie By the way, it‘s a very short quick read, he‘s not a professional writer, and I saw some complaints that he gets repetitive in a few spots, but I didn‘t have any trouble with that and just flew right through this truly weird story. 5y
AnneCecilie I can‘t believe they were able to pull this off. 5y
rsteve388 1 pt 5y
47 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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When the officer investigating goes to the The Anti-Defamation League to get some information on the local networks, and the ADL has some questions they‘d like to see if he can find out more information about during his investigation...he calls David Duke and asks...the ADL‘s representative‘s response...priceless!

#NFNov
#NonFictionMatters
#Nonfiction2019
Seriously, the movie did not exaggerate how crazy this investigation really was. 😏

Lizpixie I have to read this! #stacked 5y
rsteve388 1 pt 5y
43 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Truth really is stranger than fiction....And seriously, some people are apparently made for each other. 😱😂both crazy disturbing, and crazy like a soap opera.

#NFNov
#NonfictionMatters
#Nonfiction2019

Texreader Wait, what? There‘s a NAAWP? That‘s insane. But you are right, there must be someone for everyone out there. At least when they wear pointy hats they can attract their own and the rest of us know who to avoid. 5y
Reggie Donald Black‘s son is the one who really took Stormfront to the next level. A lot of what trump and white nationals now use as talking points come from Stormfront and then the son went to a super liberal college where he actually changed his views after befriending immigrants and Jews. There‘s a great book about that. (edited) 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Reggie Stacking that one! Thank you! 5y
rsteve388 1 pt 5y
41 likes4 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Some of this sounded so outrageous then I bet, but now living in a world where a few shootings have happened on bases or by those with military backgrounds and “queer” bars have become both mainstream and outright attacked this all reads like a warning we didn‘t heed strongly enough! 😐

#NFNov
#NonfictionMatters
#Nonfiction2019

rsteve388 1 pt 5y
41 likes1 comment
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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That‘s one form of harassment I didn‘t know about! 😱. You might not even realize it was there until years later when you tried to sell a property!
#TIL
#NFNov
#NonfictionMatters
#Nonfiction2019

rsteve388 1 pt 5y
42 likes1 comment
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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If only I‘d read a few pages more...no wonder that group “Posse Comitatus” sounded familiar... it‘s still around in other forms under other names, probably loving the current state of the NRA and many other things.

#NFNov
#NonfictionMatters
#Nonfiction2019

rsteve388 1 pt 5y
38 likes1 comment
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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PC: “Posse Comitatus was, at that time, one of the most significant right-wing ideological extremist groups in Colorado.”

“The term “Posse Comitatus” is Latin meaning “force of the county.” As a loosely organized far right social movement it was opposed to the federal government, preferring “localism,” or that there was no legitimate form of government above that of the county level, with the sheriff being the highest form of legal authority.” ⤵️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa That sounds awfully relevant today too. #NFNov #NonfictionMatters #Nonfiction2019 5y
rsteve388 1 pt 5y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Geez, the more I read this the more I think these ideas and plans were literally in “their” mainstream forever, only now they felt emboldened enough to carry them out.

So much of this, from an investigation decades ago about 40ish years, I can recognize in news stories that have occurred this year....armed militia patrolling the border, El Paso 😢

#NFNov
#NonfictionMatters
#Nonfiction2019

Riveted_Reader_Melissa This would be a #TIL 5y
rsteve388 Thank you!! 4 pts 5y
Amandajoy Wow. The more quotes you post, the more intrigued & scared I am to read this. Did you watch the movie? 5y
See All 8 Comments
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Amandajoy Yes I did! They did a great job with it. 5y
Amandajoy That‘s good to know. I enjoyed the movie and was debating picking up the book. 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Amandajoy I‘d recommend it. It‘s written by the officer, so the writing style can be a bit repetitive in a few places, he‘s definitely an officer not a novel writer, but I‘m still finding it both highly entertaining and informative. Amazingly the craziest parts of the movie, that you‘d think had to be made up for the movie, are the true parts. (edited) 5y
Texreader I love El Paso. So sad to read this. And of course the shooting there. It‘s a beautiful city and Juarez has some magical places and people. Why can‘t we just let people live their lives? 😢 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Texreader I don‘t know... it makes me terribly sad. 😢 5y
39 likes8 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Reading this now, long after the investigation that later became a book and then a movie...I can‘t help thinking that they‘ve been slowly working to these goals all along, and are closer now than ever to realizing them. It‘s so interesting to read, and way too relevant, sadly.

#NonfictionMatters
#Nonfiction2019

rsteve388 Is this a TiL (today I learned) looks like it... Let me know and I'll give you 3 extra pts. 1 pt for now. 5y
38 likes2 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Ugh...that sounds a little too familiar to me at the moment.🙄

#NFNov

#NonfictionMatters
#Nonfiction2019

rsteve388 1 pt 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @readordierachel LOL... so not just me. 😐 5y
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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That first sentence, in the author‘s note, before the story even began....made me tear up a little!

What are we doing as a country...and why can‘t we get it together to do more!

#NonfictionMatters
#Nonfiction2019
#NFNov

JSW This book was so fascinating. 5y
MatchlessMarie Listened to the audio. Loved it. 5y
rsteve388 1 pt 5y
53 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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melissajayne
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Mehso-so

Thought it was ok. The first half was better than the second half, but overall a pretty decent book. Felt the movie was better. 3 ⭐️ #2019 #memoir #nonfiction #bookstagram #bookreview

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PurpleyPumpkin
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Mehso-so

This story was quite interesting, if a tad repetitive. But, I didn't end up enjoying it as much as I expected to. I usually relish listening to authors read their own memoirs, but not so much this time. Kudos to Stallworth for his efforts to curtail the Ku Klux Klan and many thanks that he shared his experiences through this book, but he's no narrator. Perhaps reading the print edition would have been better. Still, it‘s worth reading. 2.5/5⭐️

britt_brooke Bless him, his narration was super stilted. 5y
PurpleyPumpkin @britt_brooke Indeed! The narration improved during the second half of the book, but still felt awkward. 5y
52 likes2 comments
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prowlix
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I finished my first book! I got a late start for #24in48 #readathon but I‘m not too worried. The heat index is supposed to hit 110 today so I will be inside with books and watermelon.

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prowlix
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This book is bananas! The #audiobook is read by the detective and only 6hrs. There are some facts that he repeats a few times but I‘m still really enjoying his narration!

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Floresj
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Pickpick

This is complicated. Stallworth is a 5 star person, the events 5 star, but the writing of the story was a soft 3 stars. (If nothing else this shows the gift of storytelling Spike Lee has.) The story of how a black cop can infiltrate the KKK is fun, albeit disturbing as the lines of beliefs seem to be repeated by many currently. The book itself has such potential as a great book and is a quick read but is not well written. Glad I read it!

9 likes1 stack add
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haileybean
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I‘m about 60 pages in and I‘m really intrigued by this book. He‘s repeated some stuff a couple times, but I‘m not mad 😂

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haileybean
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@bullbunny I got this on the 1st but wasn‘t home - picked up today. Can‘t wait to open! #makerswap to the person who I swapped with - I may have put the wrong username on it (my own. Not yours) 🤦‍♀️😂

bullbunny Oh yeah!! I hope you like it! So nervous about it 😅 5y
haileybean @bullbunny I‘m excited! 5y
16 likes2 comments
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Christinak
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This is a rare one that I saw the movie first... still a good read.
#ReadTheUSA
#Colorado

Victoriahoperose How did it compare? I saw the movie, but haven‘t read the book. I really enjoyed the movie! 5y
Christinak @Victoriahoperose I really liked the movie - I went into reading this expecting to strip away pieces they added to make the movie- when surprisingly much was true. 5y
Victoriahoperose @Christinak that‘s really interesting! I think I‘ll pick it up, then 😊 5y
54 likes3 comments
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bookwrm526
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Pickpick

A short look at the life of this police officer, built around how he infiltrated the KKK...as a black man...I felt like some of his views on crime and criminals at the end were problematic, and I wish he hadn‘t read the audiobook himself, but otherwise enjoyable!

rretzler Beautiful iris! 5y
britt_brooke His narration was truly terrible. 5y
bookwrm526 @britt_brooke I was kind of shocked how bad it was 5y
23 likes3 comments