In the years after World War One, the Ku Klux Klan enjoyed a trememndous surge in membership, to the point where they became a political force. This was true nowhere more than Indiana; in 1924, a Klan member won the Republican nomination for, and subsequently elected to, the governor's chair. With this hubris, the Klan head in Indiana, D.C. Stephenson, decided to hold a rally in South Bend. The home of the University of Notre Dame, the choice was intentional - to rally in the home city of what was (even considerd by the school then) as 'America's Catholic university' was an open solicitation for trouble. Which is exactly what the Klan got. In one weekend of May of that year, Klan members and ND students rioted in the streets, and the after-effects for both were long-lasting. In Notre Dame vs. The Klan, Todd Tucker writes of the events leading up to this weekend of violence from the POVs of both Stephenson, and Matthew Walsh, the university's president. Tucker gives backgrounds on the two, their childhoods, and what led each to his particular calling. Stephenson's is not as well documented as he was raised in Oklahoma on a ranch, yet Tucker is able to get enoughh information to get one's interest. Easily the best-written section of the book is the sequence of the weekend's events. Students, Klansmen, the police (caught in the middle in several ways) - all see events unfold differently, and Tucker presents these well. Unfortunately the book has several major weaknesses. Tucker is a Notre Dame alumni, and while not totally negative on Stephenson, he treats Walsh as if he were a candidate for sainthood. In the presentation of the riot, very little mention is made of the everyday people of South Bend. Afterward we get brief pictures of reaction, but what were they doing during the rioting? What were they thinking? Also, the post-event aftermaths for the university and the Klan, as well as Walsh and Stephenson seem to get hurried through (though within a year or two, Stephenson, amazingly, went from the political behind-the-scenes political boss of Indiana to life in prison for second-degree murder). It seems Notre Dame vs. The Klan has the feel of a term paper or a thesis. The research could have been more extensive - this is a fascinating topic, one 99+ of 100 people you ask would not know about. Ticker's effort, regrettably seems to have been rushed to the press.