Brendan’s Alternate Tagline:
Pissing off soldiers back from World War II seems like a bad strategy.
Quick synopsis for The Fighting Bunch:
The story of the Battle of Athens, where armed soldiers back from World War II took on a corrupt local government.
Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like:
Only 139 cars were made during all of World War II in the U.S.
Fun Fact for History Nerds:
A judge named Sue Hicks is in this book. He was part of the inspiration for the song, “A Boy Named Sue.”
My Take on The Fighting Bunch:
Please allow me to document how stupid I am. I read Chris DeRose’s Star Spangled Scandal and loved it. I looked to see what else he wrote and came across The Fighting Bunch. Then, I read the tag, Battle of Athens, and thought wow, I didn’t realize a bunch of World War II vets went to Greece and started a rebellion.
I didn’t realize that because it didn’t happen. The subject of the book is Athens, Tennessee. Also, I am an embarrassment of a history nerd. Admittedly, I don’t think many people know about this episode in history.
It all reads like a movie. McMinn County, Tennessee was run for years by a totally corrupt government. The most egregious voting crimes (among other crimes) were commonplace by the police, and no one was doing anything about it. In 1946, the soldiers of McMinn County started coming home from war. They were met by a political machine that told them to get in line and shut up. This was a mistake. I won’t say more. You should read it for yourself.
Chris DeRose writes this in short, straightforward style. This is a book that even non-history nerds will love.
Verdict:
A book that reads like a movie. A great one at that. Buy it here!
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