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Book SynopsisA New York Times Bestseller Foreword Reviews' INDIEFAB Book of the Year Winner in True CrimeSelected as one of 2016's Great Reads by NPRFinalist for the 2016 CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the YearAn unforgettable cauldron of history, crime, race, and sports Now in paperback comes the critically acclaimed New York Times Bestseller about a championship city haunted by a wave of racist terror. Detroit, mid-1930s was abuzz over its unrivaled sports success when gun-loving baseball fan Dayton Dean became ensnared in the nefarious Black Legion. The secretive, Klan-like group murdered enemies, flogged associates, and planned armed rebellion. The Legion boasted tens of thousands of members across the Midwest, among them politicians and prominent citizenseven, possibly, a beloved athlete. Award-winning author Tom Stanton has written a stunning tale of history, crime, and sports. [A] head-turning tale of the generally forgotten Black Legion terrorist group and Detroit in the 1930s. US Ne
Trade Review[A] head-turning tale of the generally forgotten Black Legion terrorist group and Detroit in the 1930s. * Us News and World Report *
(starred review) A veteran journalist uses a variety of lenses to illuminate the dark story of the Black Legion, an association of murderous (white) domestic terrorists who briefly thrived in the upper Midwest. Stanton unfolds the history of the Legion gradually, always keeping it in the social, cultural, and economic context of the area where it was born and grew…. First-rate reporting and a seminar in how to employ context in investigative and historical journalism. * Kirkus *
“With the racist Black Legion spreading evil and the rambunctious Detroit Tigers bringing joy, Detroit’s seemingly eternal forces of darkness and light coexist in this captivating slice of American history.” —David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story and When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi
"Today, Detroit is a shadow of its former self. This fascinating book reveals what an astonishing place it formerly was. Eight decades ago, it was a boiling cauldron of social extremism, extravagant criminality, and athletic excellence. Readers of this book have a new understanding of the city and the Thirties." —George F. Will
(Starred Review) If you’re looking for a book that combines sports, crime, and history in one package, look no further…. For fans of books about baseball, Depression-era American History, and crime nonfiction, this book is a must-read. * Booklist *
Stanton's masterly prose is thoroughly engaging from cover to cover. * Library Journal *
Glittering triumphs cover up a sordid racist conspiracy in this lively vignette…. Swerving between hysterical excitement and hysterical fear, the city embodied the roiling socioeconomic and ideological currents of the 1930s…. a cauldron of racial tensions, police brutality, and strife between management and workers. * Publishers Weekly *
