Asa Carter and Forrest Carter couldn’t have been more different. But they shared a secret.

The Education of Little Tree, by Forrest Carter, is an iconic best-selling book, with a message about living in harmony with nature, and compassion for people of all kinds. But the story behind the book is very different. It begins with the most infamous racist political speech in American history.

This week on the podcast, the true story of the untrue story of The Education of Little Tree.

This story originally aired on This American Life in 2014.