This book is an incredible account of a dark time yet pivotal time in our history. 1866, a group of black suffrage supporters were protesting their way to the Louisiana constitutional convention. Tensions ran high when a group of ex-Confederates and their sympathizers clashed with the group. Shots were fired and a total of 38 were murdered. Hollandsworth gives us a detailed analysis of that brutal day. He describes why it happened and what the end result was. We also see a lot of implications it has on the local and national level.

In "An Absolute Massacre," he tells the story in a great narrative that puts the reader in with the main characters. The reader gets a sense of the angry, fear, confusion, and horror of that sad day.

So many native New Orleanians are ignorant of this event. I recommend this to anyone who wants to study the history of the U.S. or New Orleans, or wants to study the history of the struggle of black Americans and abolitionists. ( )