When you think young, educated, white American, do you think “terrorist”? I'll bet many of you have experienced boredom, and it's boredom that led to the formation of an American terrorist group – the Ku Klux Klan. You may have always thought of the K.K.K. as a horrible invisible empire that committed hateful crimes – and it was. But did you know that it began with six Confederate soldiers who survived the Civil War and could think of nothing better to do? The K.K.K. was simply a club of pranksters and party-crashers until it realized its power and grew into an empire that committed heinous acts in the name of white supremacy.

In Susan Campbell Bartoletti's They Called Themselves the K.K.K., we see how six men searching for something to give their lives meaning founded the Ku Klux Klan.

Bartoletti does a wonderful job using historical information and personal accounts from the late nineteenth century to guide the reader through the beginnings of the K.K.K. and its expansion. Her thoughtful use of primary sources transports the reader to another time and allows us to become an eyewitness to the inner workings of an American terrorist group.