Charlottesville
An American Story
by Deborah Baker
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Pub Date Jun 03 2025 | Archive Date May 31 2025
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Description
The story of the torch march and rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, and shocked the nation
In August 2017, over a thousand neo-Nazis, fascists, Klan members, and neo-Confederates descended on a small southern city to protest the pending removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. Within an hour of their arrival, the city’s historic downtown was a scene of bedlam as armored far right cadres battled activists in the streets. Before the weekend was over, a neo-Nazi had driven a car into a throng of counterprotesters, killing a young woman and injuring dozens.
Pulitzer Prize finalist Deborah Baker has written a riveting and panoptic account of what unfolded that weekend, focusing less on the rally’s far right leaders than on the story of the city itself. University, local, and state officials, including law enforcement, were unable or unwilling to grasp the gathering threat. Clergy, activists, and organizers from all walks of life saw more clearly what was coming and, at great personal risk, worked to warn and defend their city.
To understand why their warnings fell on deaf ears, Baker does a deep dive into American history. In her research she discovers an uncannily similar event that took place decades before when an emissary of the poet and fascist Ezra Pound arrived in Charlottesville intending to start a race war. In Charlottesville, Baker shows how a city more associated with Thomas Jefferson than civil unrest became a flashpoint in a continuing struggle over our nation’s founding myths.
Advance Praise
“Captivating. . . . [Charlottesville] brings history and current events into illuminating dialogue.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“[Baker] shows how coordinated resistance against white supremacists both can work and will be required again in the coming years. A vivid account that capably illuminates the evils half-hidden under a flickering torch.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Considering Charlottesville, are we looking into a mirror? An abyss? Answers are elusive, but Baker expertly limns prevailing anxieties. As she quotes one witness, ‘America is Charlottesville now.’”—Brendan Driscoll, Booklist
“Heart-stopping and heartbreaking narrative, with a rich and complex story of how the everyday people of a small city fought for justice long before the tiki torches blazed. Charlottesville is essential history, reportage, and maybe how-to for all who care for that struggle.”—Jeff Sharlet, NYT bestselling author of The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War
“With the precision of a master pointillist painter, Deborah Baker puts human faces on the buried truths that imperil American democracy while also amplifying the unheeded voices of the kind of unsung citizens who may yet save it. A must-read feat of spellbinding storytelling that packs the power of prophetic truth.”—Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America
Marketing Plan
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National publicity campaign
National author tour
Bookseller outreach campaign
Social media promotion
Targeted digital advertising
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781644453414 |
| PRICE | $35.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 432 |
