Freedom's Detective: The Secret Service, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Man Who Masterminded America's First War on Terror

by Charles Lane

Overview

"This is a powerful, vitally important story, and Lane brings it to life with not only vast amounts of research but with a remarkable gift for storytelling that makes the pages fly by." -Candice Millard, author of The River of Doubt and Hero of the EmpireFreedom's Detective reveals the untold story of the Reconstruction-era United States Secret Service and their battle against the Ku Klux Klan, through the career of its controversial chief, Hiram C. WhitleyIn the years following the Civil War, a new battle began. Newly freed African American men had gained their voting rights and would soon have a chance to transform Southern politics. Former Confederates and other white supremacists mobilized to stop them. Thus, the KKK was born.After the first political assassination carried out by the Klan, Washington power brokers looked for help in breaking the growing movement. They found it in Hiram C. Whitley. He became head of the Secret Service, which had previously focused on catching counterfeiters and was at the time the government's only intelligence organization. Whitley and his agents led the covert war against the nascent KKK and were the first to use undercover work in mass crime-what we now call terrorism-investigations.Like many spymasters before and since, Whitley also had a dark side. His penchant for skulduggery and dirty tricks ultimately led to his involvement in a conspiracy that would bring an end to his career and transform the Secret Service.Populated by intriguing historical characters-from President Grant to brave Southerners, both black and white, who stood up to the Klan-and told in a brisk narrative style, Freedom's Detective reveals the story of this complex hero and his central role in a long-lost chapter of American history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982645489
Publisher:	Harlequin Audio
Publication date:	04/09/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Charles Lane is a Washington Post editorial board member and op-ed columnist. A finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing, he was the Post's Supreme Court correspondent prior to joining the editorial board. He has published two previous books, including The Day Freedom Died, which the New York Times called a "riveting...legal thriller." As editor of the New Republic, he took action against the journalistic fraud of Stephen Glass, events recounted in the 2003 film Shattered Glass. He has also worked as a foreign correspondent in Europe and Latin America; his articles have appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and the New York Review of Books, among other publications. He is a frequent commentator on TV and radio.

Jonathan Yen is a commercial voice-over artist and Earphones Award-winning audiobook narrator. He was inspired by the Golden Age of Radio, and while the gold was gone by the time he got there, he has carried that inspiration through to commercial work, voice acting, and stage productions. From vintage Howard Fast science fiction to naturalist Paul Rosolie's true adventures in the Amazon, he loves to tell a good story.

Editorial Reviews

This audiobook chronicles the battles freed slaves faced as they sought to exercise their new rights after the Civil War. Of particular menace was the recently created Ku Klux Klan. Federal efforts to thwart the Klan were led by the Secret Service and its controversial leader, Hiram Whitley—“the man who masterminded America’s first war on terror.” Jonathan Yen is an engaging narrator. His warm voice suits the material, which has more the tone of a story than a history. The audiobook is extensively researched, but the level of detail occasionally creates a challenge. Listeners are left wondering what some points have to do with the overall thrust of the work. The pace of later chapters quickens, making listening more pleasurable and easier to follow. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

MAY 2019 - AudioFile

This audiobook chronicles the battles freed slaves faced as they sought to exercise their new rights after the Civil War. Of particular menace was the recently created Ku Klux Klan. Federal efforts to thwart the Klan were led by the Secret Service and its controversial leader, Hiram Whitley—“the man who masterminded America’s first war on terror.” Jonathan Yen is an engaging narrator. His warm voice suits the material, which has more the tone of a story than a history. The audiobook is extensively researched, but the level of detail occasionally creates a challenge. Listeners are left wondering what some points have to do with the overall thrust of the work. The pace of later chapters quickens, making listening more pleasurable and easier to follow. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

MAY 2019 - AudioFile