Blood in the Soil

A True Tale of Racism, Sex, and Murder in the Volatile South

By: Carole Townsend

Narrated by: Allan Robertson

Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Blood in the Soil is the first book about the investigation into the shooting of Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt and his country attorney in Gwinnett County, Georgia, in 1978. But this book is not primarily about Larry Flynt, or even his shooter, the serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin, though both men are of course important characters in the story.

This true account is told alternately from the perspective of Detective J. Michael Cowart and by following Franklin's life from childhood through his execution. The monster that was Joseph Paul Franklin was the result of a perfect storm of circumstances, which included poverty, cruel abuse as a child, the detestation and mistrust between blacks and whites, integration, and the hate groups that operated and recruited openly. Detective Cowart tells the story of his first introduction to Franklin, and the cat-and-mouse game that ensued. A self-proclaimed truth-seeker, the detective had to appear to befriend Franklin to get him to provide enough information to prosecute him in the Flynt shooting. In the course of developing this rapport, Cowart gains astonishing insight into many of Franklin's other cold-blooded killings and crimes, and his twisted justification for them.

This book tells of a very real struggle between right and wrong. It details with stark honesty the terrible truths that characterized the South during the volatility of the sixties and seventies, and of the ugly reality that lies just beneath the veneer of a beautiful region known for its warm hospitality. Along the way, it examines some hard lessons about life, trust, and compromise.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2016 Carole Townsend (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Very Timely and Very Readable

My preference is for non-fiction books to be handled as good historians do. That is, that words are not put into anyone’s thoughts and mouths. Hence, four stars, rather than five.

That said, this book is written in a way that makes the reader want to keep reading, even though the reader surmises the ending. Carole Townsend knows how to write. In addition, Allan Robertson can really do a great job of narration!

If only humankind would learn not to hate.

Excellent

The book is outstanding if not overly thorough. The epilogue is worth the entire reading experience. However, as one who can no longer read and must listen to books, the phlegmy voice is extremely irritating. and at times, not understood. I almost sent it back because of that

A Special Treat For True Crime Aficianados!

The narrator is mesmerizing. Reminds me of the first time I heard Keith Morrison narrating true crime TV episodes. It is akin to having a story-teller of mastery in your head, a friend you know so well that all you need to do is listen.

The story itself flows almost like a novel, but of course we all know the end as it already happened Carole Townsend is an excellent writer.

The ONLY slight issue I had was when Franklin was strapped to the gurney. Oh, it made for wonderful story-telling as I'm sure we'd all like to know what goes through the minds of monsters such as this, however there is no way anyone could report honestly on what was going through his mind, or what he used as a mind. However it does make for fluid story-telling.

Listen to the audio sample (my personal favorite is quality noise-cancelling headphones). The absolutely delicious icing on the cake is the PDF file with photos the author so thoughtfully provided. I'd give this whole thing 10 stars if I could.

finally a book with a good narration

this is one of the very few books that I've listened to so far where the narration was actually great

Tons of embellishment but well written

The book presumes to have known every thought at ever moment the killer had in his life. The whole thing is embellished almost to the point of a novel, but it is well written nonetheless and well performed. If you like a novelized version of true crime this is for you.

Author is IGNORANT and HATEFUL

Great book if you can look past the author’s ignorance and obvious hatred of the south. I don’t know where the author gets the idea that the south has any more racial hatred than any other part of the world!! The Democratic hate machine has been practically defeated in the south as much as the rest of the country.

Hate

It is everywhere. You never know who you may meet. Some are up front and some lurk in the background. All we can do is be more observant.

They Walk Among Us

This is the true story of Joseph Franklin. Scary man indeed, so full of hatred.

Lots of writing, no substance.

I didn’t love the way this book was written. The author seems to really love their own words, though, and all you get here is a lot of words and not much substance. And what substance there might be feels very much like it was inspired by every crime movie I’ve ever seen. I would not recommend this book, but I will say this: I saw a review here on Audible that claimed the author was too liberal, as well as some other benign comments to that effect. I don’t define myself by my political affiliation, and I don’t really care what strangers feel in that regard, but I am afraid that reader thinks that basic human rights are a ‘liberal’ thing. The only comments that even remotely fit what I was expecting were to the effect that interracial couples don’t deserve to be murdered, that slavery existed, and that freedom of speech means everyone’s speech, not just the speech we agree with (and that last comment is not the author’s sentiment, but a belief held by one of the killer’s victims).

True South

I learned a lot about how the south was back in the 60s 70s. I don't like how the n word is thrown around in this book as it is my last favorite word in the English vocabulary. We all bleed red.