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Oklahoma City

“Nobody can fault the bombing victims for the desire to pin their grief and rage and loss on readily identifiable culprits, and to see those culprits punished swiftly and severely. But when law enforcement agencies and higher government institutions allow that same emotional response to guide their actions – or, worse, allow themselves to exploit the victims’ raw emotions to cover up mistakes and lash out dishonestly at their critics – then the truth suffers, and with it the most salient qualities of a civilized society.”

okcitycoverOklahoma City: What The Investigation Missed — And Why It Still Matters, published in 2012, punctures the myths surrounding what remains the single worst act of domestic extremist violence on American soil and retells the story based on the exhaustive official record and on interviews with almost all the major players in the investigation as well as members of the radical far right. The book features a compelling cast of eccentric, fractious, funny and paranoid characters driven to declare war on ZOG, the “Zionist Occupied Government”. And it paints a picture of startling official dysfunction prefiguring the failures in the run-up to 9/11. Law enforcement agencies could not see past their own rivalries and underestimated the seriousness of the threat. As a result, they squandered opportunities to penetrate the radical right and prevent the bombing; they also failed to answer the question of who inspired the plot and who else was involved.

Buy it here.

Acclaim for Oklahoma City:

“Extraordinarily well-researched… The book brilliantly deconstructs the investigation.”

— EDWARD JAY EPSTEIN, WALL STREET JOURNAL

“The story of the Murrah building bombing receives its most comprehensive accounting yet… It is a cautionary and at times startling tale, filled with bizarre characters from the outer fringes of American political life, with continuing relevance today.”

— MICHAEL ISIKOFF, THE DAILY BEAST

“Impressive… Enough freak-show touches to keep an FX drama stocked for three seasons.”

— LAURA MILLER, SALON

“A nonfiction book that is often stranger than fiction and is compelling throughout. When reviewing novels, I worry about revealing too much and thus serving as a spoiler for those who intend to read the book. I feel like that in this review, because the drama builds.”

— KANSAS CITY STAR

Published in Books

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