Product Description

Stetson Kennedy here tells the story of his post-World War II years as an undercover agent in the KKK (where he rose to Kleagle rank). Fast-paced and suspenseful, the book is a gripping mix of eyewitness reports of Klan activities, accounts of Kennedy's clandestine information-gathering, and his efforts to report his findings to the media and to any law enforcement agencies that would listen. As a result, for a time in the 1940s, Washington news commentator Drew Pearson was reading Klan meeting minutes on national radio, and radio's Superman had America's kids sharing the most current Klan passwords as fast as the Dragon could think up new ones.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #594956 in Books
• Published on: 1990-03
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 285 pages

Customer Reviews

Kennedy is my hero!
This book is an awesome account of Kennedy's time in the Klu Klux Klan. I enjoyed reading every page of this book. Kennedy has got to be one of the bravest men ever. At times this book had me really nervous wondering wat was gonna happen to him. I recommend this book to anyone that wants to learn more about the KKK or anyone that just enjoys a good read.

Ku Klux Kennedy
This book is set in the deep south of Georgia, mainly in the years following World War II. The Klan Unmasked is the true story of the author, Stetson Kennedy, in an undercover battle with the famed white supremacist group, the Ku Klux Klan. He decides the best way to bring the Klan to its knees is to go undercover as a Klan member and get the dirt on the Klan into the public eye. A few characters help Kennedy on his mission including Dan Duke, the Assistant Attorney General of Georgia. Many minor characters are in leagues with the KKK whom Kennedy `befriends', while working against them. The opposition to Kennedy is the KKK, certain political leaders, and white supremacists across the nation.
Normally I never read nonfiction; I usually find it boring. However, when I read the back cover of The Klan Unmasked, it really peaked my interest. After reading maybe ten pages, I knew I was going to enjoy this book. The reason this book was such a good read is attributed to the author's ability to keep the suspense element flowing throughout the entire book. There is always something new happening, something devious the Klan is conjuring. There were some points in the book where I was really thirsting for more detail and explanation. Sometimes it seemed as though Kennedy assumed his readers knew the background information, when the information just wasn't there. Reading The Klan Unmasked truly opened my eyes to the atrocities of the KKK in the Deep South. The author gets your attention well and really makes you know this stuff was going on. I would suggest this book to a reader who won't take offense over racial slurs or some violence. You should read this book if you dislike the Ku Klux Klan, because this one will really empower and enlighten you. Do not read this book if you are in any way affiliated with the KKK; you'll only become angry.

An Easy Entertaining Read about Amerikkkan Terrorism
Kennedy first released this book in 1954, the 1990 edition includes some practical ideas to fight Klan and other neo-fascist organizations in an afterword.

This book is a very easy read, conversational in tone, and compelling in content. Mr. Kennedy outlines his infiltration into the headquarters chapter of the KKK in Atlanta and the Columbia Brownshirt organization there, and his undercover hob-knobbing with violent racists and hatemongers, and the colorful illiterates and semi-literates that made up the membership of the Klan and their fellow travellers. He put his life in danger many times confronting the evil, brutal and stupid nature of southern racists.

Another compelling part of the story is the complicity of the police, FBI, the Democratic machine of the Talmadge family, (who rode the upsurge in Klan violence to national political prominence), and the Republican businessmen of the south who paid Klansmen to help bust union drives by busting heads and nightriding.

He also spends alot of time detailing Klan rituals and meetings, and the seemingly neverending lists of Kleagles, Kludds, etc. that made up the hoodoo hierarchy of the Klan organization. It seems like never had so much empty ritual been used in attempt to 'sanctify' such mindless violence.

A good book that gives a good cross-section of what Klan terror and rightist violence was all about in the 1940s and 1950s.