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The Fighting Bunch: The Battle of Athens and How World War II Veterans Won the Only Successful Armed Rebellion Since the Revolution Audiobook
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The incredible, untold story of the WWII vets who overthrew their corrupt hometown government—the only successful armed rebellion on US soil since the War of Independence.
Corrupt politician Paul Cantrell was in complete control of McMinn County, Tennessee, his whims enforced by the violent Sheriff Pat Mansfield and his deputies. On Election Day, Cantrell and the sheriff seized the ballot boxes and brought them to the jail "to be counted" in secret. Soldiers came home from World War II to find their community in the grips of this corrupt political machine. These veteran soldiers, who became known as "The Fighting Bunch," armed themselves and lay siege to the jail as the National Guard closed in. After six hours of gunfire and dynamite blasts, Boss Cantrell and Sheriff Mansfield fled the state. The deputies surrendered. The ballot boxes were opened and counted. The GI slate was elected, and the story buried.
This episode in US history has never been more relevant, but has never been fully told. After years of research, including exclusive interviews with the remaining witnesses, archival radio broadcast and interview tapes, scrapbooks, letters, and diaries, author Chris DeRose has reconstructed one of the seminal—yet untold—events in American election history.
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“This is an especially timely tale in a year of social and political turmoil. The pulse-pounding narrative of ‘The Fighting Bunch’ takes us to a place in America where the struggle against evil did not end when the war did and once more people of good will had to take a courageous stand.”
— Tom Clavin, New York Times bestselling author
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“Fascinating and incredibly timely…A warning for those tempted by power or complacency…Don’t screw with democracy, the ballot box, or angry GIs.”
— Jim DeFelice, New York Times bestselling author -
“History’s best lessons are sometimes forgotten, and…it’s likely you never knew about it beforebu—t once you’ve read this book, their act will resonate in your mind forever.”
— Jeff Guinn, New York Times bestselling author
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About Chris DeRose
Chris DeRose is the author of several books of history, including Founding Rivals: Madison vs. Monroe, the Bill of Rights, and the Election that Saved a Nation and The Presidents’ War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them. He has appeared on over sixty television and radio shows and spoken to audiences around the country, including addressing members of Congress at the US Capitol.
About David de Vries
David de Vries, an Earphones Award-winning audiobook narrator and veteran stage actor and director, spent three years in the cast of Wicked and was the last Lumiere in the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast. He has also appeared in numerous films and voiced commercial campaigns for companies large and small, including American Express, AT&T, UPS, Motorola, Georgia-Pacific, Delta Airlines, Coca Cola, and Ford, among others. He can be seen in a number of feature films, including The Founder, The Accountant, Captain America: Civil War, and Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. On television, his credits include House of Cards, Nashville, and Halt and Catch Fire.