Book Review: ‘Charlottesville’ a dramatic account of deadly 2017 rally and history behind it

Decades before the violent Unite the Right rally in in Charlottesville that drew white nationalists protesting the removal of a Robert E Lee statue the city was targeted by a white supremacist who hoped to ignite a race war To understand the Unite the Right rally Deborah Baker writes in Charlottesville An American Story readers have to go back to and John Kasper s trip to Charlottesville to protest school integration That historical context combines with a vivid narrative of the demonstrations to give readers a better understanding of the combustible atmosphere that converged on Charlottesville The narrative is the heart of Baker s comprehensive history including details of Heather Heyer s killing by James Alex Fields Jr who kept a framed photograph of Adolf Hitler by his bedside and drove his car into a crowd of counter protesters Baker s writing style delivers an on-the-ground feel of what it was like in Charlottesville including a harrowing account of the night torch-wielding white nationalists marched through the University of Virginia s campus But Baker also dives into the history of key players in the events that day including white nationalist leader Richard Spencer and Zyahna Bryant who initiated the petition to remove the statues of Lee and Stonewall Jackson from the city s parks She also explores the shortcomings by government including bureaucrats who credulously took white nationalist organizers at their word Baker s research and eye for detail give Charlottesville the historical authority necessary for understanding the tragic events that occurred over those two days AP book reviews https apnews com hub book-reviews Source