CBR18 Bingo: Map – We follow the Harp brothers’ rampage across maps of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi – and the brothers’ troubles started with land ownership disputes.
On the heels of the American Revolution, Wiley and Micajah Harp went on a violent rampage across Tennessee and Kentucky, but while their crimes may have seemed inexplicable to their contemporaries, they may be tied to the dark realities of the newly promised American Dream.
I had never heard of the story of the Harps before, and I knew next to nothing about post-Revolutionary Appalachia, so I learned a lot about both of these subjects in this book.
This is an excellent micro-history in that through these crimes, we learn an awful lot about the political and social climate in which they took place, and how they are interlinked. The author makes the case that the Harps have more in common with the spree killers of the 20th and 21st centuries than serial killers, killing out of rage against society. And while there were bright points to the newly minted American dream, there was also the same dark side which we grapple with today as well.
The author also did a good job of humanizing the victims and their families, making you really comprehend their pain and loss even across the centuries. Unfortunately, since the crimes took place so long ago and were so scantily or falsely documented, we do end up with some loose ends surrounding some key players, but that really can’t be helped.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
