They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group Hardcover - 2010 - 1st Edition

* "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...An exemplar of history writing and a must for libraries and classrooms."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

 

* "Bartoletti follows multi-award-winning titles such as Hitler Youth (2005) with another standout contribution to youth history shelves...It's the numerous first-person quotes, though, that give the book its beating heart, and her searing, expertly selected stories of people on all sides of the violent conflicts will give readers a larger understanding of the conditions that incubated the Klan's terrorism; how profoundly the freed people and their sympathizers suffered; and how the legacy of that fear, racism, and brutality runs through our own time."—Booklist, starred review 

 

* "Copious photos, engravings, and illustrations provide a hard-hitting graphic component to this illuminating book. And while Bartoletti notes that contemporary 'hate groups wield none of the power or prestige that the Ku Klux Klan held in earlier years,' her account of attending a Klan meeting while researching the book is chilling to the core." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

 

* "As in Hitler Youth (rev. 5/05), Bartoletti tackles a tough, grim subject with firmness and sensitivity...Period illustrations throughout make seeing believing, and the appended civil rights timeline, bibliography, and source notes are an education in themselves. Exemplary in scholarship, interpretation, and presentation."—The Horn Book, starred review

 

* "Bartoletti effectively targets teens with her engaging and informative account that presents a well-structured inside look at the KKK, societal forces that spawn hate/terrorist groups, and the research process."—School Library Journal, starred review

Susan Campbell Bartoletti pored over 8,027 pages of Congressional testimony, 2,300 Slave Narratives, contemporaneous newspapers, and diaries. It is her hope that these stories told will stand in memorial to the great courage of the Klan victims and of all freed slaves and to the pivotal role they played in American history. www.scbartoletti.com