The Lynching: The Epic Courtroom Battle That Brought Down the Klan

The prolific Leamer (The Price of Justice)swiftly traces the entwined lives of three Alabama men%E2%80%94civil rights lawyer Morris Dees, Gov. George Wallace, and top Klansman Robert Shelton%E2%80%94during and following the civil rights movement. Bookending this tripartite biography are two legal cases concerning the 1981 murder of Michael Donald, a young black man lynched by United Klans of America (UKA) members in Mobile County. The ensuing investigation and criminal trial reveal lingering sympathies for white supremacy. During Shelton's time as imperial wizard, Klansmen had attacked Freedom Riders in collusion with local cops and bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church. Leamer details Shelton's privileged relationship with Governor Wallace, who rode populist racism into the state's executive office and ran for president, showing how Wallace stoked rage against integration while carefully distancing himself from racist violence. As a student, Dees worked for Wallace's gubernatorial campaign and had even defended a Klansman in court. By the time he files a civil lawsuit against Shelton and the UKA over Donald's death, intending to bankrupt the organization, Dees is a changed man. Leamer's slice of American civil rights history prefers courtrooms and the Capitol to churches and the streets, with Dees%E2%80%94a cunning and tenacious lawyer doing dangerously unpopular work%E2%80%94playing hero. This well-written, suspense-filled book vividly evokes themes from the ugly, not-so-distant past. Agent: Joy Harris, Joy Harris Literary Agency. (June)