Helga without the H

Five star review, originally published here on August 22nd, 2025.

It’s been a long time since I last read an academic book for fun. But I’m glad that I jumped back in, because this book was fantastic. I read a LOT of academic books about transnational crime, mafias, global justice systems, etc. back in my school days. One thing I learned back then is that college professors might be subject matter experts, but rarely are they competent writers. Fascinated material is often presented in a way that is so dry, convoluted, or repetitive that it takes effort to get through it, let alone comprehend it or even, God forbit, take an interest in it. This book is not like that.

I’m certainly not claiming that Bacon has written an immersive popular nonfiction ala Erik Larson or Mary Roach. Quite the opposite. Bacon’s strength in this work is its simplicity, which is exactly what is needed in an effective academic text. She breaks down complex concepts into a clear, easy-to-digest argument with well-explained supports. She outlines exactly what this book will show, how, and when, and then she executes this plan to the letter. There is certainly plenty of repetition, but it occurs exactly when it needs to: to remind the reader of where we are on the roadmap so we do not get lost.

This book gave me a lot to think about. In addition to learning about the history of these terror groups, and in analyzing Bacon’s arguments about the types of leaders after a transition (TIP: Bookmark the chart early on that lists the Leadership Archetypes. I kept forgetting which was which for longer than I’d like to admit and had to keep checking back or using context clues, I found myself constantly comparing and contrasting Bacon’s examples and arguments to other, non-terrorist groups that I’ve studied (cults, mafias, etc.) and wondering how/when her arguments do/don’t apply to these groups, and why that might be. I appreciated the section at the end that suggested what further research could be done on this topic, because there is certainly much more to explore.

My only regret with this book is that I’ve waited a few weeks before sitting down to review it, because I was exploding with more detailed reactions and examples while reading it, and am now forgetting a lot of it* (no fault of the book- I just have the memory of a sieve.) But I fully intend to return to this book for reference as I work on my next novel, where they will be a group of bad guy experiencing regime change, and Bacon’s work is the perfect source to help me navigate how to chart that regime change in a realistic way.

UPDATE: Wouldn’t you know it, right after finishing this review I found my Kindle highlights, which has started sparking my memory. Here are a few points that stuck out to me:

“Unlike the business world, succession is not just about power, prestige, or profit. Succession for terrorist leaders is about understanding how the founder’s framing communicates the mission to the members, would-be recruits, constituents, and adversaries—and if it will be effective again. Succession for terrorist leaders is about understanding which tactics worked and which did not. Succession for terrorist leaders involves making choices to survive.”

“There are opportunities to discredit fixers, signalers, and visionaries by highlighting their hypocrisy and even betrayal of the organization’s founding frames and methods. Notably, in interviews with disengaged White supremacist extremists, researchers have identified frustration with hypocrisy as one (of many) drivers of disillusionment with the movement.”

“The Second Klan emerged out of a long history of racist violence in the United States; the organization “spread, strengthened, and radicalized preexisting nativist and racist sentiments among the White population.” Indeed, the Second Klan did not innovate its method of racial terror; rather, it adopted the common tactics of lynchings, floggings, and tar-and-feather parties, which date back to the early nineteenth century. Therefore, its how—the repertoire of action—drew on U.S. history and the social environment. Unpacking the Klan’s Violent Tactics Rather than employing violence in pursuit of change, as many groups do, the Second Klan used terrorism and the threat of terrorism to enforce the status quo: enclaves of authoritarian rule in the American South along with pervasive discrimination in the North, Midwest, and West. The Klan deployed this calculated violence to uphold systemic White supremacy and Protestant hegemony at every level of society—from the franchise to schooling, housing, and commerce. In this sense, the Klan “was conservative, not revolutionary. It was a defender, not a critic of what it saw as the American way of life.” The group’s how, and particularly its violent tactics, reflected this reality.