The Best Book I Read This Month: Wild Faith by Talia Levin

The best book I read this month was perhaps not the best choice to read before this year’s presidential election, as it ramped up my election anxiety exponentially. Having said, that, the book is definitely worth reading. Talia Lavin’s Wild Faith: How the Christian Right Is Taking Over America recounts the rise of Christian nationalism in the United States and the movement’s efforts to reshape the nation, its government, and its society in their image. It is eye-opening and terrifying and enraging.

At this point, I don’t have more words than that. I’m still digesting what I read. But it left me with an even stronger conviction that the Christian right—Christian nationalists, Christian fascists—are the greatest danger this country faces in our lifetime.

But don’t take my word for it. Read Wild Faith. Lavin lays it all out very clearly.

The Best Book I Read This Month: A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan

The best book I read this month was a disturbing account of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana in the 1920s. A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan charts the rise and spread of the KKK in the early 20th century, focusing on D. C. Stephenson and his control of the KKK and Indiana.

It was a harrowing read. Egan did not sugarcoat the Klan’s hate and violence, or D. C. Stephenson’s. At times, it was hard to stomach. Stephenson had all the markings of a sadist, and in many ways, reminded me of a certain Republican former president/current presidential candidate. (I refuse to use his name.) Both made a practice of not paying their debts. Both had unquenchable thirst for power. Both had a history of sexual violence and sexual assault. Both avoided consequences for their crimes until a woman called them to account.

Egan’s tale is not just about D. C. Stephenson. It’s about those who tried to stop him and the young woman who eventually did: Madge Oberholtzer. Madge was educated, independent, strong—everything we imagine a young woman of the 1920s to be. To her, Stephenson was a path to a career. To Stephenson, she was a conquest waiting to happen. Stephenson ultimately took what he wanted, but unlike his other victims, Oberholtzer fought back in a dramatic and public way.
As difficult as this was to read in places, it also gave me hope. D. C. Stephenson was a monster but his reign of terror finally ended and he finally faced legal consequences (conviction and prison) for his actions. That gives me hope that our current monster will also finally face legal consequences for his actions. As of this writing, he’s been convicted in New York but has not yet been sentenced. He is also awaiting trial in Florida and Georgia. Maybe, maybe, maybe he too will end up behind bars, where he belongs.

The Best Book I Read This Month: The Year of Lear by James Shapiro

The best book I read this month was another work of history: The Year of Lear by James Shapiro. The book recounts events in Great Britain during the year that Shakespeare wrote King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra, and like its predecessor (A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare), it was a fascinating read.

It took me nearly the whole month to read The Year of Lear, even though it has fewer than 300 pages. That’s because every chapter is chock full of interesting details, and I didn’t want to miss any of them.

Not much is known about Shakespeare’s life at this time, so much of the book describes what was going on around him and how those events appear to be reflected in the plays he wrote in 1606. Shapiro points out connections that I hadn’t seen before. For example, I know about the Gunpowder Plot (“Remember, remember, the 5th of November!”) and I know Shakespeare was alive at the time, but until this book, that connection wasn’t real to me. But it was real. In fact, some of Shakespeare’s family back in Stratford risked their lives in defying some of the anti-Catholic measures that followed the failed plot and assassination attempt. Whether Shakespeare himself did too remains unknown.

Macbeth is my favorite of Shakespeare’s plays, so of course I was most interested in the forces that shaped it. I already knew that Banquo was an homage to King James (who claimed to be Banquo’s descendant), but I was fascinated to learn about other influences, some of which shaped the weird sisters and others that shaped the dialogue. The whole idea of equivocation in the play comes from real-life political debate at the time.

I could go on and on, but if I did, you’d have no reason to read the book yourself—which you should, especially if you’re a fan of Shakespeare or any kind of Anglophile. And while you’re at it, pick up a copy of Shapiro’s “prequel”—A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare—too.

The Best Book I Read This Month: Pocahontas and the English Boys by Karen Ordahl Kupperman

The best book I read this month was Pocahontas and the English Boys by historian Karen Ordahl Kupperman.

In the book, Kupperman tells the story of the Jamestown colony, but it’s not the usual tale of survival against all odds. In fact, John Smith makes only a cameo appearance. That was one of the things I liked about it. I’ve had more than my fill of the “John Smith saves the day” narrative.

Instead, Kupperman focuses her story on those who were caught between the English and Indigenous cultures: Pocahontas and three young English men who were sent to live with local tribes. It was this cross-cultural focus that made this book stand out to me. I liked seeing Jamestown from the perspective of the Indigenous people it both displaced and depended on.

And while some history books can be dense and difficult, I found Kupperman’s style interesting and accessible. This book read as smoothly and as quickly as a novel. I devoured it in a couple of days.

In short, Kupperman’s Pocahontas and the English Boys is engaging brain food.