A Financial History of Modern U.s. Corporate Scandals: From Enron to Reform

Book Description

The bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City brought terror to the heartland of America. This book examines the devastating attack on America through firsthand accounts of those who survived and witnessed the bombing and reactions to this act of terrorism.

"All-American Monster": The Unauthorized Biography of Timothy McVeigh

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A Great Biography of A Terrible Man
american made monster
an unauthorized bio
Review of biography about Timothy McVeigh

"All-American Monster": The Unauthorized Biography of Timothy McVeigh
Brandon M. Stickney
Manufacturer: Prometheus Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1573920886

Customer Reviews:

A Great Biography of A Terrible Man.......2004-05-26

I'm mainly writing this review because I wanted to counter some of the negative things that have been said about "All-American Monster." If Stickney has come across to some reviewers as biased, there's a reason for that and that is that all the available evidence pointed to McVeigh's guilt! He later even admitted as much himself, showing no remorse for the children that he killed, calling them, as I recall, "collateral damage." But Stickney's greatest accomplishment here is in fleshing out just how an American war veteran with no truly distinguishing characteristics pulled off the single worst case of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. It's the same thing that has been said about the Nazis, that whole banality of evil thing. McVeigh was a total loser who decided to let his boredom and hatred lead him down a road that caused the destruction of innocent lives. As Stickney has deftly chronicled here, he was no different than any other work-a-day stiff living in any corner of this country--except that he decided to lash out at a perceived enemy (the "government"), that was in reality made up of people just trying to make a life for themselves, thereby gaining himself notoriety and priming the country for the greater human toll of 9/11. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to plumb the roots of evil.

american made monster.......2002-10-26

Although this book is does not take a sympathetic approach to McVeigh's story, it becomes pretty apparent how McVeigh may have been lead astray. He was abandoned by his mother, had an emotionally detatched father, etc. Shows both sides of this tragedy. The tragedy of the bombing and the trajedy of McVeigh's disenchantment with America; especially after he was treated like a human guinea pig by the army. Very interesting book, I couldn't put it down.

an unauthorized bio.......2001-07-14

I got this because I wanted some insight into how the story all came about and definitely more information.I got it here.A lot of questions were answered here,so if you want insight and revelation into what happened and why this book is a good place to start.I liked it because it was so informative.I considered that a book should have a certain amount of information to be able to be fair and the writer is fair to all sides.

Review of biography about Timothy McVeigh.......1998-02-12

'All American Monster', by Brandon M. Stickney, chronicles the life of convicted Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh, from childhhood up to, but not including, his trial. Keeping in mind that his trial had not yet occured, I found it incredulous that the entire book was written on the assumption that McVeigh was guilty. The author even went as far as telling us what McVeigh was thinking as he watched the Murrah building explode. I'm sure writers need to make some assumptions when doing an unauthorized biography, but I found the assumption of guilt a bit unsettling. One has to wonder about how much editing was done from interviews with those that know McVeigh, in order to fit the bias of the author. To his credit, Stickney seems to have put a lot of legwork into this book, and interview numerous people. You get a general idea of who Tim McVeigh was as a teen, but from there on, I don't think the author was able to get past his own political ideas to give the reader an accurate view. Mr. Stickney even went as far as 'correcting' the political views expressed by Jennifer McVeigh, Tim's sister, in a letter she wrote to her local newspaper. A biography shouldn't be used as a personal forum for an author's own beliefs. I found it both irrelevant and unprofessional. Perhaps there just wasn't enough information available, or those who know McVeigh just didn't want to talk about him, but there was a fair amount of repitition throughout the book, and I felt it could have been 100 pages shorter, and nothing would have been missed. In short, although the book had quite a few facts, and a fair amount of research was done, I found the book much too biased to be a truely accurate story of Timothy McVeigh. Thanks, Kary

American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh & the Tragedy at Oklahoma City

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Powerful and intense is an understatement!
More government propaganda
Spoiled by sympathy
Fascinating and scary
You'll agree with his views, but not his actions.

American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh & the Tragedy at Oklahoma City
Lou Michel , and Dan Herbeck
Manufacturer: Harper
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0061065188
Release Date: 2002-01-08

Book Description

Oklahoma City, 9:02a.m., April 19, 1995.A virulent antigovenment radical. A homemade truck bomb. 168 people dead -- including 19 children. More than 500 people injured. Now comes the whole shocking story of a day that lives in infamy --a story every american muct read.

Customer Reviews:

Powerful and intense is an understatement!.......2007-05-13

It's been a while since I read this book but I can tell you that it hit me in the gut. It was a book about Timothy McVeigh, one of America's dispicable criminals. I think the section in the book that struck me most was when the Feds went to his father's house. His father, a proud American, and former military man himself was shocked by the Feds treating him at first as if he was involved with his son's actions. You got the impression that the Feds felt sorry for this man who fathered Timothy and why wouldn't you be? As the Feds got to know the father, their guards went down because they realized that father and son were completely different in their views. A father is a proud American and the son is completely not. You read about how the divorce and his views of his mother helped shape his thinking. His relationship with his sisters and others also gave us insight to this lonely human being who obviously was distraught, mistrustful, and dangerous to his country after serving his country in 1991 Desert Storm. You begin to ask so many questions about why and how this disaster of the bomb going off at the Murrah building in Oklahoma City could have happened. The book answers or provides to clues to understanding him but it doesn't justify his actions. No, he was guilty of a horrendous crime which proved no purpose. He was ready to get arrested, sentenced, and executed. He showed no remorse to the victims, living and deceased, from his actions. Not a tear or a I'm sorry. Nothing, here was a great American soldier who became an American terrorist long before the events of September 11, 2001 crept in to our histories. Lana Padilla, Terry Nichols' former wife, wrote that it would have been easier to accept a foreigner and not a domestic terrorist. She is right! We could have taken it if it was a complete foreigner and stranger to our country! I remember thinking people were saying Middle Eastern terrorists but how wrong, how so wrong.

More government propaganda.......2003-09-07

We can add this book to the numerous articles done by CNN,ABC and NBC and the many other government mouthpieces that have given us plenty of sensationalism and "flexible facts" and biased hype, but very little truth, hard core FACTS and the undeniable evidence that points to a larger conspiracy and a huge government cover up. Just like the networks, the authors of the book put forth only what the government wants the masses to see. You don't get the facts when you read this book, people you get fantasy/fiction. If you want FACTS I suggest you visit the Official Oklahoma City Bombing Investigation team's website. Oklahoma State representative Charles Key has done a wonderful job investigating the bombing and his Final Report provides us with the evidence that didn't make it to trial-the numerous eyewitnesses who were not called to testify despite the important events they witnessed on April 19,1995. McVeigh was NOT the lone bomber and anyone who thinks so just does NOT have the facts at hand. GET THEM. Put this work of fiction down and honor the victims of the OKC bombing by seeking the TRUTH.

Spoiled by sympathy.......2003-08-27

An otherwise fine account of the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Office Building in Oklahoma City is spoiled by being overly sympathetic & uncritical in its portrayal of Tim McVeigh. The book includes very good material about McVeigh, boosted by interviews with him ... & that's also its weakness. Perhaps the interviews drew the authors in a little too much to McVeigh. They didn't cross the line by much, but they did cross it. He is, after all, a mass murderer, even if he is also likeable. The portrayal of McVeigh's father is a particular strength of the book.

Fascinating and scary.......2003-07-09

Books about terrorists and sociopaths always seem to inspire reviewers to use words like "chilling." It may be a cliche, but this massive, exhaustively researched biography of Timothy McVeigh is just that -- chilling. You will be left with a good understanding of how McVeigh did it, and why he says he did it. I would have liked more psychological insights into McVeigh's state of mind, however. How does an intelligent kid from a pretty ordinary blue-collar family go from somewht alienated teenager (nothing atypical there) to decorated soldier to gun nut to obsessed drifter to mass murderer? At one point the book quotes McVeigh's court-appointed psychiatrist who says it's "unfortunate" that McVeigh didn't get some "counseling." Isn't that the understatement of the century!

You'll agree with his views, but not his actions........2003-05-29

I read this book, and it is an excellent study of McVeigh. However, let me point out that I read the hardcover version, which was published before Tim's execution. Still, Tim had many ups and downs of his life. I'm sure that many people, myself included, have some sort of disrespect for the government, and the authors present Tim's case remarkably presented. But instead of using letters to congressmen urging them to change the system, McVeigh decided to take human life to make his case. This shows how extreme hatred of the government can become if one's twisted mind believes that killing is the only way to be heard. Second, I kind of sympathize with some periods of McVeigh's life that I've pretty much led myself, such as isolation from the social world (except for, in McVeigh's case, gun enthisiasts). This is a must read and an alert that any crazy American can fight for rights by selfishly ending promising lives.

Banking Scandals: The S&Ls and Bcci (The Reference Shelf, Vol 65, No. 3)

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Banking Scandals: The S&Ls and Bcci (The Reference Shelf, Vol 65, No. 3)

Manufacturer: H. W. Wilson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0824208420

In Bad Company: America's Terrorist Underground

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Mr. Cop has it all wrong
From a cops' perspective
Outstanding
Essential reading for students of domestic terrorism
Weak case for OKC bombing connection

In Bad Company: America's Terrorist Underground
Mark S. Hamm
Manufacturer: Northeastern
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1555534929

Book Description

The dramatic sieges at Randy Weaver's cabin in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, combined with the FBI's reluctance to admit wrongdoing in those tragic confrontations, fueled a virulent hatred of the federal government that unified previously isolated voices within the extreme radical right movement. As a result, the scores of clandestine paramilitary cells that flourished in the aftermath of Ruby Ridge and Waco formed a loosely knit underground network with a shared goal to violently overthrow the U.S. government.

This gripping volume explores one of the most dangerous of those phantom cells-the Aryan Republican Army (ARA). Based on trial transcripts, interviews, a secret diary, newspaper accounts, and ethnographic research, Mark S. Hamm provides a compelling history of the ARA, its organizers, and the revolutionary group's significance in supporting acts of domestic terrorism, including its previously unrecognized role in Timothy McVeigh's devastating bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. He interweaves his narrative with a penetrating discussion of why people like McVeigh and the ARA members turn hatred into terrorist actions.

Hamm centers his riveting account of the ARA on the troubled life histories of founders Peter Kevin McGregor Langan and Richard "Wild Bill" Guthrie, as well as on profiles of the foot soldiers in the movement. He explores the similar social, cultural, and personal forces that attracted these men to the White Supremacy movement and Christian Identity, a theology that gives the blessing of God to the racist cause, and that drove them on a criminal path to terrorism. Drawing historical parallels with the motives and tactics of Jesse James and his gang's crime spree, Hamm focuses on how Langan and his paramilitary gang committed a string of professionally executed armed bank robberies to finance the overthrow of the federal government through such terrorist attacks as train derailments, assassinations, and bombings.

Hamm concludes this absorbing yet disconcerting journey through America's underground terrorist conspiracy by challenging the government's assertion that Timothy McVeigh acted as a lone wolf in the Oklahoma City bombing. Instead, he offers startling new evidence that connects McVeigh to the Aryan Republican Army.

Customer Reviews:

Mr. Cop has it all wrong.......2004-03-22

Think there wasn't a conspiracy and government cover up in the OKC bombing? I suggest you get 'Secrets Worth Dying For' as soon as it comes out on paperback. I have read the electronic copy from 1stbooks.com and have found it to be the most convincing and ironically credible book regarding the bombing yet. And I say ironically because it is penned by two of McVeigh's prison buddies. He spilled all to them and the story he told them jives SO closely with the known evidence that it's almost SCAREY. Scarey to know that there are rougue organizations in our government that would go THAT far to discredit and destroy the right wing militia movement. Langan was used in this effort BY McVeigh, who was quite obviously a government operative. Guthrie was also used as was Strassmeir. If you think there was not government assistance in this bombing you are sadly naive-you need to take a look at the evidence and the witnesses as well as Cary Gagan's PROOF that he contacted authorities regarding the plan to bomb the Murrah in the months before the bombing. He was ignored, yet no ATF workers showed up for work on April 19,1995. Like I said, read Hammer's book-it is going to blow this case WIDE OPEN.

From a cops' perspective.......2003-02-19

I have not yet completed the book but find it factually interesting. One of the previous reviews faulted the author as attempting to convince the reader that a group of 6 ARA members could elude capture and the reviewer felt this was unlikely. Having arrested one of the ARA members and knowing several of the others (I went to high school with several of them and one lived down the street when I was growing up), I can say his facts are pretty accurate. Guthrie evaded capture for years. There are strong ties with several of these individuals to McVeigh. I disagree with any Government coverup theories and strongly disagree with the author's theories on "macho" militarism regarding the FBI and HRT. After arresting one of the individuals 10 years ago, I was able to look through the ARA garbage he carried with him. The book does give the reader an insight into this dangerous movement. From a "home boy" perspective, the book is interesting.

Outstanding.......2002-08-10

This book is the best, most factual book I have read about the far right conspiracy in America and those who denigrate it must have some sort of ax to grind. Hamm not only backs up his theories concerning John Doe in the Oklahoma City bombing, the photos he presents are indisputable. With all we know of the FBI's incompetence following the 9-11 attack, they can only be complemented for jailing all of these guys, although they didn't seem to know why they were doing it and many of the conspirators are ready to walk out of prison today. If you don't believe this is true, check the book reviews on a book written by one of their own,
Richard K. Hoskins, Vigilantes of Christendom.

Essential reading for students of domestic terrorism.......2002-04-12

In Bad Company: America's Terrorist Underground by Mark S. Hamm (Professor of Criminology, Indiana State University) is a timely, ground breaking, seminal work of impressive scholarship and expertise. Professor Hamm carefuly and meticulously presents an informative survey of one of the most important and potentially lethal American clandestine paramilitary underground organizations -- The Aryan Republican Army (ARA). This was the group associated with Timothy McVeigh and embraces a violent neo-Nazi subculture that compels domestic terrorist activities and attacks against their fellow Americans. In Bad Company presents a complete history of the ARA, including the troubled life histories of its founders, profiles of "foot soldiers" in the movement, the role of the White Supremacy movement and Christian identity in support of a range of criminal acts ranging from tax evasion to assassination. In Bad Company is essential reading for students of domestic terrorism and is as timely as today's newspaper headlines.

Weak case for OKC bombing connection.......2002-01-27

When Hamm sticks to telling the story of Pete Langan and his Aryan Republican Army cohorts, he does a passable job. His sometimes huge jumps in logic to connect Tim McVeigh to the ARA muddy the book. Hamm does not make as strong a case as he thinks when trying to convince a reader that McVeigh was tied to these guys. Hamm's thesis is that McVeigh was a "slash-and-burn" terrorist who didn't have the skill, patience or brains to plan a big project on his own (in his previous "Apocalypse," he makes the case that McVeigh was also a drug addict). Yet the guy sat silently and patiently for six years in prison and went to his death without opening his mouth while Langan told Hamm his story and Richard Guthrie chose prison suicide over time in the slammer. For a not-too-bright "slash-and-burn" criminal, McVeigh did pretty well keeping his mouth shut and being patient. A lot of the connections Hamm makes seem not too well grounded in fact. For example, he discusses a letter he received from McVeigh's Death Row pal David Hammer in reply to one Hamm sent to McVeigh about a robbery mentioned in the book. McVeigh supposedly tells Hammer to write back with the names of guys from the ARA, thereby proving to Hamm that McVeigh is acquainted with these guys. The content of the letter and any follow-up with Hammer or McVeigh then die in their tracks. There's not a lot of good reporting here, just a lot of theories.

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Shows the Duality of Man
Can't put it down!
A Gem
A Moving, Interesting and Highly Recommended Debut
A fascinating story from an intelligent writer.

Flim-Flam Man: A True Family History
Jennifer Vogel
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743217071

Book Description

One frosty winter morning, Jennifer Vogel opened the newspaper and read that her father had gone on the run. John Vogel, fifty-two, had been arrested for single-handedly counter-feiting nearly $20 million in U.S. currency -- the fourth-largest sum ever seized by federal agents -- and then released pending trial. Though Jennifer hadn't spoken to her father in more than four years, the police suspected he might turn up at her Minneapolis apartment. She examined the shadows outside her building, thought she spotted him at the grocery store and the bus stop. He had simply vanished.

Framed around the six months her father eluded authorities, Jennifer's memoir documents the police chase -- stakeouts, lie detector tests, even a segment on Unsolved Mysteries -- and vividly chronicles her tumultuous childhood while examining her father's legacy. A lifelong criminal who robbed banks, burned down buildings, scammed investors, and even plotted murder, John Vogel was also a hapless dreamer who wrote a novel, baked lemon meringue pies, and took his ten-year-old daughter to see Rocky in an empty theater on Christmas Eve. When it came time to pass his counterfeit bills, he spent them at Wal-Mart for political reasons.

Culling from memories, photo albums, public documents, and interviews with the handful of people who knew the real John Vogel, Jennifer has created an intensely moving psychological portrait of a charismatic, larger-than-life figure -- a father who loved her and whom, in spite of everything, she loved back.

Customer Reviews:

Shows the Duality of Man.......2004-05-07

A brilliant book that captures the essence that both good and evil exist in a single person. A criminal and con-artist who is an enemy to victims is a loving father and husband away from that life. It has the same complexity of character that Rikki Lee Travolta used to dissect the actor's life as both nepotistic and self-aggrandizing but counterbalanced with fear and insecurity in his book "My Fractured Life." Jennifer Vogel's dissection of the real man behind the conman is just as moving and equally as poignant. A highly recommended book.

Can't put it down!.......2004-04-05

Gorgeously written, highly compelling. Jennifer Vogel is a deeply complex woman who understood her deeply complex father in a mystical way. This book is riveting. I read it cover to cover in one sitting. One of the best memoirs I've ever read, right up there with ANGELA'S ASHES and CHANGE ME INTO ZEUS' DAUGHTER.

A Gem.......2004-03-09

What I thought would be a kind of cute, whimsical tale about a lovable rogue and his gifted but troubled daughter turned out to be the most compelling story I've ever read about the complex and often conflicted relationships between parents and children. The author is an extremely talented writer who is not the least bit afraid of exploring those internal areas that are sometimes better off ignored. I laud her for sharing so much of herself and her family, and only hope that writing this book was as cathartic for her as reading it was for me. It is rare that a book has such a profound effect on me, but this one blew me away.

A Moving, Interesting and Highly Recommended Debut.......2004-03-07

Jennifer Vogel's dad was not like other dads. Sure he loved Jennifer and her siblings, remembered birthdays, took them fishing and on vacations. But John Vogel was a criminal, a conman and a crook. In FLIM-FLAM MAN Jennifer Vogel shares the story of her complicated relationship with her father --- his life of crime and secrecy, his affection for her and his bloody death at the end of a police chase almost a decade ago.

Estranged from her father for years when he died, Vogel's guilt and sadness fuel this memoir. And so does her love for him and her understanding of his outlaw ways. She tries to get closer to him by examining his childhood (his father was absent and his mother emotionally distant) and his other relationships. Still, this is not a family history in the traditional sense. Vogel gives the reader sketches, impressions of her family more so than details and facts. The result is emotional, fascinating and quite personal.

Vogel's parents divorced when she was a child. Her mother, left to raise three children alone, was the disciplinarian. Her father's mystique grew. The children spent summers with him, driving in his fancy Cadillacs, spending time at his cabin, entertaining guests and having fun. But over the years Vogel pieced together truths about her father. Her mother told her early on that he was delinquent in his child support. To Vogel, his gifts and personality seemed to make up for this somehow. Yet how was she to balance out his other crimes such as arson? And how was she to make sense of the fact that her father had served prison time as a young man for a violent crime? Or what about his justification to rob a corporate retail chain for sociopolitical reasons by creating and passing counterfeit money? Or the armed bank robberies? How could his rap sheet sum up the creative and eccentric man she knew and loved?

It is not just Vogel's father's faults that are laid bare. Jennifer Vogel exposes herself as well. Despite his shortcomings, or perhaps because of them, Vogel felt a propinquity with her father's life of crime; she understood the need to subvert the system and had a distrust of authority. She eventually channels those tendencies in a way her father was never able to, and as she grew up she steered clear of the choices and mistakes her father made.

Moving between childhood scenes and 1995, the year her father was on the run from the FBI and Federal Marshals, Vogel tells the tale of her family with honesty and even humor. At first glance this appears to be a family unlike most, but she proves they share much in common with families across America. FLIM-FLAM MAN is the poignant story of a challenging father-daughter relationship. It is also about the struggle for the American dream: in John Vogel there was a not uncommon sense of alienation coupled with the not uncommon sense of entitlement. Here we read about a man who makes disastrous and dangerous choices his entire life, yet is also a loving and charming father. It is easy to understand why Vogel is so conflicted about him.

This is not exactly a book about forgiveness or recovery or anything quite as simple as that. Jennifer Vogel's short book is emotionally complicated but a joy to read. Both the joy and the complication seems a fitting tribute to the man presented in its pages: a loving and lovable father, and a career criminal. FLIM-FLAM MAN is a moving, interesting and highly recommended debut.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman

A fascinating story from an intelligent writer........2004-03-05

I just read the book and have to admit that I was very pleasantly surprised. I bought it on a whim and was expecting a romaticized, self-absorbed account of the author's experience. Instead, I found the book to tell an honest, well-balanced account of her life, her father's story, and its implications. It's rare that someone in Jennifer's shoes happens to be a great writer; usually, ghost writers have to write for people who have such a story to tell. That Jennifer is so well equipped to tell her story makes this book a pleasure to read.

One of Ours: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing

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down with the crazies
Not new?
Another Biased Author Makes a Buck
A Missed Opportunity
One of the greatest books i've ever read on the bombing

One of Ours: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing
Richard A. Serrano
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0393027430

Amazon.com

Los Angeles Times reporter Richard Serrano, who covered the story of the Oklahoma City bombing from the day it happened through the trial and conviction of Timothy McVeigh, examines McVeigh's background in extremist anti-government politics and retraces the steps that led to the deaths of 168 people and injuries to hundreds more.

Book Description

Abandoned by his mother as a child, betrayed by the army, enraged at the government's tactics at Waco, Timothy McVeigh undertook to avenge what the far right sees as the undoing of America. While the militias and fanatics ranted, McVeigh alone decided to act. He believed he was starting a revolution, but what he did was galvanize a nation against the very hatred he espoused. On April 19, 1995, terrorism struck the heartland of America: A cataclysmic explosion destroyed the Oklahoma City federal building, took the lives of 168 people, and injured more than 500 others. It was not the work of a secret foreign cabal or a maniacal suicide bomber. Instead, death drove a rented truck, and behind the wheel was a young white American male with the barest of knowledge at his fingertips--a driver's license to rent a van and a recipe for mixing farm fertilizer and fuel oil to make a bomb. Timothy McVeigh--son of the working class, an army hero, the kid next door--was about to become the worst mass-murderer in American history. Richard Serrano, a Los Angeles Times reporter, arrived in Oklahoma City with the fire engines still racing to the blast site, and he has never left the story. On the basis of hundreds of interviews, including an in-depth exclusive with McVeigh himself, Serrano takes us along on that wild ride crisscrossing America, as the bomb components are collected and a seemingly normal young man hardens his resolve to save the country he loves at the expense of the government he hates.

Customer Reviews:

down with the crazies.......2004-08-31

serrano has done a fine job describing the cultural circumstances that give birth to a mcveigh. internal dialogue and other inovations in the book truly give us an in on the the man who blowed up OK city. i assume these musings are fairly accurate considering the amount of time serrano spent with mcveigh. serrano may be a faulkner fan. "a light in august" perhaps.
incidentaly, an interview with winston groom, author of "forest gump" reveals that gump is now president of the us; as the book was loosely based on George w bush years ago. down with more of the crazies, president or wild man in an orange jump suit they still love to blow things up.

Not new?.......2001-11-28

From the Columbia Journalism Review - DART to Los Angeles Times reporter Richard Serrano, latest nominee for membership in the Curious Coincidences Club. Serrano's book, One of Ours: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing, published by Norton in 1998, bears a number of striking resemblances to Brandon Stickney's All-American Monster: The Unauthorized Biography of Timothy McVeigh, published by Prometheus in 1996. Similarities between Serrano's unsourced volume and Stickney's extensively referenced work include substantive sentences and overall approach. Similarities also include a couple of trivial, though telling, mistakes -- to wit: "The Last Day," Stickley wrote of a 1980s film about "a notion of nuclear holocaust imbedded in [McVeigh's and his survivalist friends'] heads chronicles World War III's effect on a small town." "The Last Day," wrote Serrano about "[a movie] that took hold of [McVeigh] told the story of the effect of World War III on a small town." As Stickney had discovered after his book went to press, the correct title of the movie is The Day After.

Another Biased Author Makes a Buck.......2001-07-10

This book was written pretty much from the camp of the prosecution and the government's point of view that McVeigh acted alone in pulling off the biggest act of terrorism in American history. The author would have you believe that this 27-year-old drifter who was unable to find steady work had more know-how and ability to commit this act of terrorism than the IRA or any other hard core terrorist organization in the world. Terrorism experts from the UK who have been dealing with terrorist bombings for decades told the defense attorney that a bombing on this scale could not have been perpetrated by just two men. You won't read about this in this book, however, because the author is not interested in such points.

The author's bias comes through in every chapter; he is not, like the prosecution or America for that matter, interested in exposing the whole truth behind this dastardly attack. He just wants to paint the picture that the government wants you to believe and parade the emotionalism of the victims before you to sell a book.

The author also makes no effort to document his sources. You just have to take his word for it that his version of the story is the truth. He goes out of his way to tell you what the individuals involved were thinking, as if he has some amazing power to read minds, or to paint McVeigh and his associates in the worst possible light. In short, this book is not an objective look at what happened that day in 1995.

The fact remains that there is other evidence that was either not allowed in court or was overshadowed by the highly emotional testimony given by the victim's families that really bothers me. Like the fact that their were eight victims who lost their left legs in the bombing but there were nine left legs found. Or the allegation that that a call was made to the Justice Department in Washington by a person claiming to be a "nobody" across the street from the Murrah building immediately following the attack, but this call came in 30 minutes BEFORE it occurred. There are other things too, but no one, it seems, is really willing to detach themselves from their emotions to ferret out the whole truth to what went on that day in April, 1995. Why?

It was tragic that 168 people, including 19 children, died in that blast and it is heartbreaking to think of the loved ones who have lost so much but that is not what this should be about. It should be about finding out the whole truth as to who, what and why however painful for the government and dispensing real justice to those involved. This is supposed to be what the justice system is about not pinning the whole thing on some punk, railroading him in court and then dusting off their hands when he's executed and giving each other hearty slaps on the back and "atta boys" all around for the government.

Read this book but also read "Apocalypse in Oklahoma: Waco and Ruby Ridge Revenged, "Others Unknown: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing Conspiracy", "The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Politics of Terror" and others. They all offer different points of view but they never agree on what the whole truth is or who was involved. The point is that we are not being told the whole story for one reason or another. I am more interested in knowing why this other evidence is being pushed aside by the government and so should you.

A Missed Opportunity.......2001-03-01

Richard Serrano's account of the events leading up to the Oklahoma City bombing provides an overview of Timothy McVeigh's journey from rural upstate New York through his stint in the Army during the Gulf War to his brutal acts at the Murrah Office Building in Oklahoma.

What is frustrating about this book is Serrano's mixing of fabricated internal diaglogues and thoughts into the text of a non-fiction account. Serrano's visceral hatred of all guns and the people who own and shoot them also permeates the entire book.

Serrano on McVeigh as a young boy learning to shoot with his grandfather: "The rifle stock, pressed against his (McVeigh's) shoulder, the barrel squared, the squint of his eye, the glimmer of the target, and then, more than anything, more than bullet or boy, the sound of its (the gun's) voice. Here was true freedom."

Unless Serrano owns a time machine AND is psychic I'm not sure what a passage like that is doing in a book that claims to be non-fiction. Serrano's shallow pop psychology and his attempts at mind reading, combined with the appalling lack of footnotes, mar a book that had the potential to be the definitive account of a terrible tragedy.

One of the greatest books i've ever read on the bombing.......2001-01-18

I'm 17 and i've read up on the Oklahoma city bombing ever since it happened April 19, 1995. So far this is one of the greatest books i've ever read on the bombing, and beleive me i've read alot of them. It gives you step by step accounts of Timothy Mcveighs life, his family, his years of service in the United States Army, and after his time in the gulf war when driffted away from his family and his government. I couldnt put this book down,i rarely read anything unless it has to do with the OKCB, survival or military combat and martial arts.

Apocalypse In Oklahoma: Waco and Ruby Ridge Revenged

Average customer rating:

So Good, And Yet So Bad
Solid overview of Oklahoma City bombing
Intriguing but Not Convincing
Apocalypse In Oklahoma
Wonderful Discovery

Apocalypse In Oklahoma: Waco and Ruby Ridge Revenged
Mark S. Hamm
Manufacturer: Northeastern
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1555533000

Book Description

In a work that is sure to stir controversy, Mark Hamm argues that the force used by the FBI to end the sieges at Randy Weaver's cabin in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, fueled the radical right's suspicion and hatred of the federal government and provided one of the motives for the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building. Apocalypse in Oklahoma offers a gripping narrative of the events of April 19, 1995, along with profiles of suspects Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols and a detailed description of their activities in the period leading up to the blast. Hamm frames these accounts with a penetrating analysis of the key players and ideologies involved, providing an absorbing and disquieting look at the ultra right wing organizations and beliefs behind the deadly bombing in Oklahoma City.

Customer Reviews:

So Good, And Yet So Bad.......2004-03-31

Rather than simply repeat the perfectly useful book reviews already available here, I'll simply highlight a few strengths and weaknesses as I see them...

STRENGTHS:

Hamm's description of the actual morning of the event, including accounts of those inside the building at the time of the blast, their suffering, and sometimes their gruesome deaths, is absolutely gripping. Without wallowing unnecessarily in graphic details, he brings the horrors of that day into painful focus and full color. Such painful recollections are certainly appropriate, but definitely not for the squeamish.

He also gives a fascinating and understandable picture of some of white supremacy groups and odd religious groups which were connected, at least peripherally, to events at Ruby Ridge and Waco. The backgrounds on Ruby Ridge and Waco are decent enough to give the rest of his story context, but because of the controversy behind each of these, some readers may wish to pursue them in more depth elsewhere. As with the bombing itself (or the Kennedy assassination, or Area 51, or whatever), the facts may be in dispute and conspiracy theories abound, so this is hardly the final word. Hamm gives a plausible account, however, and makes no effort to justify the actions of the individuals or agencies involved in each.

His basic portrayals of McVeigh, Nichols, and other characters associated with the bombing are engaging and plausible. While certainly subject to dispute (like anything biographical), Hamm at least gives us some explanation for the who, what, why & how behind such a nightmare.

WEAKNESSES:

Hamm simply ADORES President Clinton throughout the first half of the book. He compares him to JFK and praises his leadership time and time again. Perhaps he simply wants to seem fair and balanced when he later criticizes some of Clinton's actions, but the initial homage is so lavish I found myself embarrassed for the author. It nearly derailed his narrative.

He's much less fond of President Bush (#41), and clearly abhorred the Gulf War of 1990. The loaded language he uses and the portrayal of the entire conflict as a "massacre" of presumably innocent men, women, and children, is again a rather embarrassing detraction from the subject at hand. He all but directly blames the armed forces and the Gulf War for McVeigh's involvement in the Oklahoma City Bombing, and refers repeatedly to McVeigh's "post-traumatic stress disorder" without so much as a footnote justifying such a diagnosis. He openly despises the NRA, guns, the army, and anything remotely associated with them. Such venom comes close to discrediting the rest of his work.

Finally, while his investigations are generally thorough, Hamm tries to fill in uncertainties with 'speculation'. This he takes to a whole new level. The liberties he takes with the POSSIBLE relationship between McVeigh and Nichols in the army are troubling to say the least. Even worse are his forays away from journalism into not only political science, but psychology, theology, sociology, pathology, and anything else that helps him conveniently fill in the blanks. Sometimes it's better just to identify the unknowns as unknowns.

These huge leaps of logic and major assumptions with few or no justifying footnotes are absolutely maddening--especially since this recklessness alternates with the truly persuasive and occasionally moving sections of the book.

SUMMARY: This is a decent foundational narrative for the main (known) players involved in the OKC Bombing. I didn't feel like I'd wasted the time I spent reading it, but I'll continue looking for a satisfying history of this terrible event. Mr. Hamm has some journalistic skill... it's just that his issues are showing and tend to stain an otherwise impressive work.

Solid overview of Oklahoma City bombing.......2003-08-26

Despite the overwrought title, "Apocalypse in Oklahoma" is a sober look at the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and at Timothy McVeigh. The book is superior to "American Terrorist" (Lou Michel & Dan Herbeck) in that it portrays McVeigh even-handedly where "Terrorist" gets too close to McVeigh & is at times overly sympathetic towards him. "Apocalypse" is refreshing in resisting the temptation to get drawn into silly conspiracy theories. The book's greatest weakness is an unnecessarily negative, broad-brushed, ill-informed portrayal of the U.S. Army & soldiers. It is clear that Hamm lacks knowledge about the Army. As a soldier, I found his portrayal inaccurate, verging on offensive. If the characterization of the Army had been more accurate, I would have given the book more stars. Otherwise, the book is a solid broad description of the bombing & the events & personalities surrounding it.

Intriguing but Not Convincing.......2001-06-29

Who bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and why? Was it just a meth snorting, ex-soldier, down-and-out, government-hating punk, or is there more to this than that? Could the government itself be behind the attack or at least involved in some way? If you want a serious look at these questions then this book is definitely NOT what you want to read.

I found this book to be a very well written and clear reporting of the party line that Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols were solely responsible for the OKC bombing; them and no one else. This could be, but there is significant other evidence and testimony to the contrary that the government just doesn't want to address head on and this book doesn't either. The author does address some of this other evidence but only in the most cursory and unconvincing fashion. For instance, an Air Force general with a background in weapons systems claimed in writing that the bomb McVeigh supposedly used could NOT have done the kind of damage inflicted on the A. P. Murrah Federal Building and that there must have been more or different bombs involved. This stunning claim is waved off by the author with a single valueless sentence: "This thesis is disputed by physicists on the grounds that the five-thousand-pound truck bomb did have the capacity to blast upward and outward, like a balloon". What kind of "evidence" is that? Who are these physicists and why should they be believed? It's things like this (and there are other examples) that make this book seem like government spin doctoring and not a serious look at who is behind the biggest single act of terrorism on U.S. soil and why it was committed.

The author addresses the Ruby Ridge and Waco incidents in a similarly odd way. He does say that the government botched both of those raids but he does so in the absolutely least offensive and most excusable way to downplay the government's mistakes. He leaves out critical details, downplays significant events and gets some things completely wrong that are not disputed facts regarding these cases. This kind of writing lacks credibility in my mind.

This author would have you believe that everything's just fine now that McVeigh has been caught and that you are a twit if you believe anybody but the government. Don't fall for this and, for that matter, don't fall for every conspiracy theory you hear either. By all means read this book but also read others like "The Oklahoma City Bombing and the Politics of Terror", "Others Unknown: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing Conspiracy" and others and then THINK about what is or isn't the truth based on credible evidence. There's more to this than we're being told and the folks who died in this attack deserve better from us than to just shrug our shoulders and go back to what we were doing just because the government says it's OK now.

Apocalypse In Oklahoma.......2001-04-18

This book was poorly researched, and is lacking in factual content. The Ruby Ridge incident was described with many errors, and the fact that this book was written 5 years after the incident occurred, when many of the actual facts were known, and proven in court, the author should have had the facts on this issue straight. If you are thoroughly knowledgeable about what happened at Ruby Ridge, you can begin to realize that this book is biased, and full of untruths. From the point of the Ruby Ridge description on, I did not take the book as factual or objectively written.

Wonderful Discovery.......2000-12-10

I must admit that I was late to discover this book. What a pleasant surprise. Dr. Hamm presents important and insightful facts into the terrible crime that far too many researchers overlooked. History will treat this book well. It is a must read for any person who wants to understand the motivations behind McVeigh and his "brotherhood." JD Cash

Average customer rating:

Good but outdated overview of the OKC Bombing
Important Questions
JIM KEITH: NOBEL PRIZE FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM
what a great insight! truth is out there folks!

Okbomb!: Conspiracy and Cover-Up
Jim Keith
Manufacturer: Illuminet Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Conspiracy Theories | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1881532089

Customer Reviews:

Good but outdated overview of the OKC Bombing.......2007-05-31

This is a good overview of the Oklahoma City bombing that points out the multitudes of holes in the governments official version of what happened. The only fault this book has is that so much more has come out that even further debunks the "official" story since OKBOMB! was published. Even in the past few months new facts have surfaced that point in the direction of OKC being an "inside job" and its already been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the "offical" story is bunk.

Important Questions.......2004-02-08

Jim Keith poses many important questions that are not asked in any other publications: Were more than McVeigh and Nichols involved? What role did any right-wing patriot groups play in the Oklahoma City bombing? Where did the federal government come up with their version of events? What really took place on April 19, 1995? Keith illustrates that there are simply more questions than true answers for this issue and there is always more than one set of facts and interpretations. It is understood by law enforcement personnel that eyewitnesses most often don't make particularly good witnesses. However, Keith puts together a pretty convincing argument that there is more to the federal story than meets the eye. Regardless of that premise, and even if every witness and person that was quoted or interviewed in this book was completely wrong, these are still very crucial and important questions that need to be asked. Readers may want to supplement this work with other relevant pieces such as Stephen Jones' "Others Unknown" or "American Terrorist" by Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck.

JIM KEITH: NOBEL PRIZE FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM.......1999-11-27

Mr.Keith made only one error. He failed to contrast the amount of explosives used & the number of fatalities to similar atrocities. The 1996 city centre Manchester, England IRA bomb. 3.300 lbs of explosives. No fatalities COMPARISON BETWEEN McVEIGH & THE IRA

What was the length of time it took the Provos to kill 168 folk via bombings.

From June 1970 to October 1993, the Provos killed 615 folk in their terrorist bombings.

The average time it took them to kill 168 people:

SIX YEARS FOUR MONTHS

So it was fortunate for the good folk of Northern Ireland that Mr. McVeigh failed to offer his "services".

what a great insight! truth is out there folks!.......1998-12-14

thank you keith for shedding light on what really goes on out in the world..I know people in the military who tell me secretly about all of this and understand what you are saying and they dont like the government, secret societies or deceit either..thank you!

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