A Fever in the Heartland.

"A Fever in the Heartland" by Timothy Egan is a riveting historical thriller that delves into the Ku Klux Klan's rise to power in 1920s Indiana. Set against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties, the book unveils the cunning con man D.C. Stephenson, whose charismatic presence and deceptive tales propelled him to become the Grand Dragon of Indiana, spreading the Klan's hateful ideology across the Heartland. As Stephenson's influence grows, endorsed by local churches and embraced by political figures, it is the courage of a seemingly powerless woman, Madge Oberholtzer, whose harrowing deathbed testimony exposes his cruelties and brings the Klan to its knees. Egan masterfully depicts Indiana's landscape and society during this tumultuous period, crafting a powerful narrative of justice and reckoning with one of America's darkest chapters.