A Fever in the Heartland

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Winner of the Anthony Award for Best Critical/Nonfiction Work
Honorable Mention the Robert F. Kennedy Book and Journalism Award
A Washington Post Notable Work of Nonfiction
An NPR Best Book of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Chicago Review of Books Best Book of the Year
A California Review of Books Best Book of the Year
A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
A BookPage Best Book of the Year
A Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist
Amazon’s Best Books of the Year (History)
Barnes & Noble Best Books of the Year (History)

“Powerful … As a narrative, “A Fever in the Heartland” is gripping; as a rumination on the moral obscenity of white supremacy — whatever guises it wears — the book is damning.” —The New York Times Book Review

“A master class in the tools of narrative nonfiction: high stakes, ample suspense and sweeping historical phenomena made vivid through the dramatic actions of individual villains and heroes.” —The Washington Post

“Riveting…Egan is a brilliant researcher and lucid writer.” —Star Tribune

“Masterful…this is a fascinating read and revelation of American history.”—The Spokesman-Review

“With narrative elan, Egan gives us a riveting saga of how a predatory con man became one of the most powerful people in 1920s America, Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, with a plan to rule the country—and how a grisly murder of a woman brought him down. Compelling and chillingly resonant with our own time.” —Erik Larson, author of The Splendid and the Vile

“Timothy Egan’s history of the Ku Klux Klan’s rise and fall is absolutely gripping. It is also terrifyingly relevant.” —Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of The Sixth Extinction

“Egan has done it again, mastering another complicated American story with authority and surprising detail. The Klan here are not the nightriders of the late 19th century, but a retooled special interest group and unusually potent political power. The influence they wielded over states and policy should put a chill in every American. Bravo.” —Ken Burns

“With meticulous detective work, Timothy Egan shines a light on one of the most sinister chapters in American history—how a viciously racist movement, led by a murderous conman, rose to power in the early twentieth century. A Fever in the Heartland is compelling, powerful, and profoundly resonant today.” —David Grann, author of The Wager and Killers of the Flower Moon

“Especially timely… What happened in Indiana back in the Jazz Age is a sobering reminder of just what American society has been and could be again.” —Annette Gordon-Reed

”[A] riveting exposé.” —Booklist, starred review

“Riveting history…excellently rendered.” —Kirkus, starred review

“[A] certifiable page-turner.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Engrossing…a valuable work of history.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review

Timothy Egan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and the author of nine other books, including the New York Times bestsellers A Fever in the Heartland and The Immortal Irishman. His book on the Dust Bowl, The Worst Hard Time, won a National Book Award for Excellence in Nonfiction. His account of photographer Edward Curtis, Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher, won the Carnegie Medal for nonfiction.

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