Hooded Americanism: The First Century of the Ku Klux Klan: 1865 to the Present by David Chalmers records the history of the Ku Klux Klan in a rather candid way, from its creation following the Civil War until the early sixties. The author begins the book quite forcefully by discussing in detail many acts of violence and displays of hatred in the United States. It is important to demonstrate that the Klan rode hard throughout the country, not just the Southern states. The book's first chapters focus on the creation of the Klan in 1865. It goes on to discuss the attitudes of many Americans following the U.S. Civil War and how the war shaped a new nation. The majority of the book is used to examine many states and express the political influence of the Klan on both local and state governments. The author begins with Texas and Oklahoma, then geographically traces the history of the Klan, ending with New Jersey and Washington. The author points out that the KKK did not just commit acts of violence against minorities, but also exercised political power. He continues to discuss the Klan's impact on the civil rights movements in the 1960s and various other major political controversies between the 1920s and 1970s. Towards the middle of the book, David M. Chalmers focuses on portraying the feelings of state governments and legislatures, as well as ordinary citizens towards the Klan. To do this more effectively, the author uses excerpts and quotes from editorials and newspapers, along with several dozen images. The book's conclusion was primarily used as an overview of all the major incidents and deaths involving the Klan and how their persistence has allowed them to still exist today despite a lack of resources and support. Hooded Americanism is a fact-based book, written with very little opinionated input from the author. It was clear that David Chalmers wrote this book to inform people about the Klan and their history, not to share his own opinions. This book is a formal essay for several reasons. Of course, the author never uses “I,” “me,” or “my” throughout the book. The author's lack of personal emotion makes this book very dry. Although the book's sentences were clear, without unnecessary adjectives or emphasis, they were very long and included technical words.