AMERICAN SCARE

A vital story for both our history and our present day, AMERICAN SCARE is a riveting exposé of how the Florida government became determined to destroy the lives of Black and queer citizens in the 1950s.

In this fast-paced true crime story, Fieseler places readers in the center of the action, illustrating the shocking techniques the Florida government used to intimidate and break those who they saw as a threat to Florida's white, conservative identity. For almost a decade, the Florida Legislature founded, funded, and supported the Johns Committeean organization using the cover of communism to viciously attack members of the NAACP and queer professors and students. A propulsive, human-centered drama, with fascinating insight into Florida politics, AMERICAN SCARE is a page-turning reckoning of our racist and homophobic pastand its chilling parallels to today. Robert Fieseler is a journalist specializing in marginalized groups and forgotten histories, with stories published in Slate, The Daily Beast, and Huffington Post, among others. He is a National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association Journalist of the Year, a recipient of the Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship, and winner of Columbia Journalism School's First Decade Award. His first book, Tinderbox (Liveright, 2018), received seven awards.