In Black Klansman, Ron Stallworth, who was the first ever black Police officer in Colorado Springs, details how in the late-1970s he launched an undercover investigation into the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, in order to gain intelligence on and prevent their activity. Owing to a rookie error at the offset, he ended up having regular phone conversations with local leaders and even the national director, David Duke, whilst his (white) colleague Jim attended Klan meetings using Stallworth’s name.
- As a whole this book provides a compelling insight into a remarkable undercover operation that gives shocking revelations about some highly powerful men who (unbeknownst to their bosses) were Klansmen. Yet it is also bemusing that this operation would have looked so different had Ron Stallworth not made the ultimate rookie error, and fair play to him for his honesty and humility concerning his various mistakes and naiveties during the operation.
- With much of the prose being in narrative form, Ron Stallworth provides fascinating insights into how his operation played out, and we find ourselves utterly horrified by the Klan activity and awful bigotry therein. Yet equally, we cannot help but find ourselves stunned by how easily Stallworth managed to dupe Klan leaders.
- As he recounts his operation, Ron Stallworth gives fascinating insights into undercover policing – namely the techniques and considerations, particularly as there are so many ways in which the officers involved can easily encroach into illegal territory without even meaning to, and describes how they were applied to his operation.
- A really interesting thought from Ron Stallworth that challenges the reader’s perception of a successful Police operation, as he describes how success is not necessarily measured by the number of arrests, but can be determined by what crimes were prevented.
- Although they are fortunately on very minor points/details, Ron Stallworth did make a few typos here and there, a couple of which result in illogical descriptions. In fairness to Stallworth though, even the most experienced authors make typos, but I am surprised that the editor never picked up on them when proofreading.
VERDICT: MUST
Pete Kirkpatrick's Reviews 