Thomas Dixon (1) (1864–1946)

Leopard's spots is famous for being one of the most racist novels of all times. When I heard of it I added to my queue so that I could try to see from inside someone else's head. Due to the recent political climate, I moved it to the front of the queue because I wasn't certain how much longer reading a book like this would be legal.

I was honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed the book. It was odd, I actually kept forgetting that he KKK were the protagonists. The idea that they actually justified the lynching of a black man, simply because he asked permission to kiss a white woman in the first "book" or that the red shirts beat another black man to death for brushing against a white woman, and that they seem to honestly feel this is entirely justified is flabbergasting.

That being said the story actually had me turning the page. The author claims the first "book" of the three contained within this work (the whole work is the first in a larger trilogy) is entirely true. After reconstruction the Republican Party gains complete control of the North Carolina government when former slaves get the vote. If you look past the race portion it actually becomes a universal story. Of how government corrupts. Of how those that have been oppressed so often reply to oppressions of themselves to oppressing others when they have power.

The second and third portions the author seems to agree are entirely fictional. Particularly the second "book" is focused on a romance between a rising member of the Democratic Party who had been orphaned in the first book, and the southern belle of an old guard member of the Party.

Unfortunately the conclusion was given away by simply reading the table of contents, so you may enjoy it better if you skip the table of contents.… (more)