Book Review: 'Charlottesville'

Decades before the violent Unite the Right rally in 2017 in Charlottesville that drew white nationalists protesting the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue, the city was targeted by a white supremacist who hoped to ignite a race war. To understand the 2017 Unite the Right rally, Deborah Baker writes in "Charlottesville: An American Story," readers have to go back to 1956 and John Kasper's trip to Charlottesville to protest school integration. That historical context combines with a vivid narrative of the 2017 demonstrations to give readers a better understanding of the combustible atmosphere that converged on Charlottesville. The narrative is the heart of Baker's comprehensive history, including details of Heather Heyer's killing by James Alex Fields Jr. — who kept a framed photograph of Adolf Hitler by his bedside and drove his car into a crowd of counter protesters. Baker's writing style delivers an on-the-ground feel of what it was like in Charlottesville, including a harrowing account of the night torch-wielding white nationalists marched through the University of Virginia's campus. But Baker also dives into the history of key players in the events that day, including white nationalist leader Richard Spencer and Zyahna Bryant, who initiated the petition to remove the statues of Lee and Stonewall Jackson from the city's parks. She also explores the shortcomings by authorities, including officials who credulously took white nationalist organizers at their word. Baker's research and eye for detail give "Charlottesville" the historical authority necessary for understanding the tragic events that occurred over those two days.