BLACK KLANSMAN: RACE, HATE, and the UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATIONS of a LIFETIME (audiobook) by Ron Stallworth




Originally published in 2014.
Audiobook version published in 2018.
Read by the author, Ron Stallworth.
Duration: 5 hours, 50 minutes.
Unabridged.

Ron Stallworth, at the time the only African American detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department (this was the 1970's), wrote a letter in response to a classified ad. It was looking for recruits to the Ku Klux Kan. Stallworth expressed his interest and thoughtlessly signed his own name, rather than an undercover name. Soon enough, the Klan leader called the number and Stallworth found himself being recruited.

Clearly, Stallworth couldn't show up in person so he created a little task force complete with a white undercover officer pretending to be Stallworth, when needed. Eventually, Stallworth had a membership card (!) and having frequent phone conversations with David Duke, the most famous KKK leader in the country.

The premise of the book was, sadly, more interesting than the follow through. The book was written in a very dry style, much like a "just the facts, ma'am" police report. It was easily understood, but it was easy to let my mind wander and not miss much. Some moments stand out, however. The phone conversation with David Duke telling Stallworth how he could ALWAYS identify African Americans on the phone was priceless, as was the time that Stallworth was assigned to be the bodyguard for Duke when he came to Colorado Springs to give a speech.

The author read the book, which was helpful in the sense that the listener could hear Stallworth's voice and understand how he fooled the KKK. But, Stallworth is not a particularly exciting reader. This is a great story, but it would have been better if Stallworth had read an introduction and had the rest of the book read by a professional.

I rate this audiobook 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here:  BLACK KLANSMAN: RACE, HATE, and the UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATIONS of a LIFETIME by Ron Stallworth.


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