Welcome to Litsy!

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.

#WeekendReading #20in4 #BookNookBuddies2022
#KickTheSlump #BookSpinBingo

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

The movie adaptation of this book was amazing. I'm sure the book is going to be equally great.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Ron Stallworth's response to a classified ad placed by the KKK sets off the strangest case in his career as an undercover officer. This is an interesting book as the case becomes an intelligence collecting case & not a criminal case, so there's no big dramatic moments involved. Yet, Stallworth explains at the end why his time spent infiltrating a hate group was productive. A quick, & interesting, read.

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!

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.

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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.

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

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

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.

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!

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

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.

#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.

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

#NFNov
#NonfictionMatters
#Nonfiction2019

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

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

“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

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. 😏

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

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

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

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

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.” ⤵️

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

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

Ugh...that sounds a little too familiar to me at the moment.🙄

#NFNov

#NonfictionMatters
#Nonfiction2019

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

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

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⭐️

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.

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!

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!

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 😂

@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) 🤦‍♀️😂

This is a rare one that I saw the movie first... still a good read.
#ReadTheUSA
#Colorado

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!