Wrath of Angels: The American Abortion War

by James Risen, Judy L. Thomas

Abortion has been at the emotional center of America’s culture wars for a generation. Ever since the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision, abortion has in many ways defined American politics, creating an ideological demilitarized zone between liberals & conservatives. Above all, the 25-year war over abortion has been responsible for the most significant social phenomenon of our times—the political & cultural mobilization of Evangelical America. Furthermore, it's served as the lightning rod for the most intense & prolonged debate on the issue of separation of church & state since the founding of the nation. Now for the 1st time, in a compelling narrative, Wrath of Angels traces the rise & fall of the anti-abortion movement & reveals its critical role in the creation of the Religious Right. The book explores why the passionate battle to end abortion failed to achieve its goal & yet in the process became one of the most important & least understood social protest movements of the 20th century. The anti-abortion movement was the catalyst that convinced Protestant fundamentalists to end their long cultural isolation, leaving their pews for the streets. While they failed to change the law, they were transformed themselves, emerging as one for the most potent political forces in America at the end of the century. James Risen, an investigative reporter for the LA Times, & Judy L. Thomas, a reporter for the Kansas City Star, are widely acknowledged as the leading journalistic experts on the anti-abortion movement. Their narrative history captures all the drama of the abortion battles of the past 25 years & reveals how a movement with its roots in the Catholic left’s antiwar protests of the 1960s was gradually transformed into a rallying point for the newly muscular Religious Right. Wrath of Angels documents the origins of the use of civil disobedience in the anti-abortion movement & offers the definitive explanation of why the movement ultimately descended into violence—& collapsed as a political force. It tells the story of the shootings of abortion doctors in the 90s & draws upon exclusive interviews with the anti-abortion extremists who have been convicted of these crimes. Anti-abortion activism represents the largest social protest movement since the 60s. With objective clarity, Risen & Thomas unleash the stormy wrath of angels, the volatile eruption of fundamentalist fury into American politics.

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, History, Politics, Religion

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 7, 1998

About the author

James Risen covers national security for The New York Times.

He was a member of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting in 2002 for coverage of September 11 and terrorism, and he is the coauthor of Wrath of Angels and The Main Enemy: The Inside Story of the CIA's Final Showdown with the KGB.

He lives outside Washington, D.C., with his wife and three sons.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an exhaustive history of the anti-abortion movement from the late 1960s through the late 1990s. It is fascinating in that it traces the rise of violent extremist terrorism out of the initial fervent commitment to nonviolence by the early actors. It is gross and difficult to spend so much time mired in the details of these heinous people, but it is important to study how they organize so that we can out-organize them.

[Kenna McNally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started as a textbook for domestic extremism class. Incredibly in-depth and interesting. Only took this long to finish because I was in a weird reading lull. Highly recommend to anyone interested in the reproductive rights movement, especially from 1973 to about 1995.

[Letitia · Rating 3 out of 5]

On a personal level I have almost too much to say about this and I think I shall reserve that for a different time and possibly a blog. On a literary level, I don't have much to add to reviews that already exist, except to say I think this is now too dated to be of much use. It needs a serious re-write in order to still be relevant.

One of the things this book does with thoroughness that I was not a fan of is detailing personal profiles of big names in the early pro-life movement. I did not find particular value in this, since it's not why I read the book, but for those who really want to dive into "who were these folk and how did they start protesting and eventually bombing abortion clinics?" this might be interesting.

In terms of broader national trends, narratives, and policy, this book is less useful. It starts out in that arena but quickly moves into an almost macro level approach to understanding the lives and psyches of people who propped themselves up as advocates of the unborn. A steady descent towards justification of violence is evident, but the philosophies behind it never fully explored, since such extremists are almost always portrayed as mentally disturbed in some way.

In summation, I did learn a bit, but most from the beginning and end. I was shocked to be reading quotes from George Tiller in the present tense, and finally realized that this was written before he was assassinated, so it really has lost some of its value over the years as violent action against abortionists has somewhat waned, but with the exception of explosive and notable upsurges. Probably only interesting to those who want to explore this on an academic and historic level.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a good, mostly unbiased work about the history of Operation Rescue and the directg action wing of the pro-life movement.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating commentary of the rise and fall of national anti-abortion demonstration movements in the United States. My husband suggested I read this after our church's pastor shared videos of his participation in clinic rescues in the 1980s. In the end, it is a tale as old as time: money and fame became more important than a cohesive vision and humble leadership. A fairly quick read & insightful look in to part of our nation's history re: abortion.

[Nicole Arias · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unflinching look at the rise of the volatile anti abortion movement who employed any means necessary tactics to bolster their cause and deny women their right to choose.

[ASC Library]

363.46 Ris

[Rebekah Kohlhepp · Rating 3 out of 5]

In chapters dedicated to specific people and events, Risen and Thomas document how the anti-abortion movement started off copying the sit-ins of the civil rights era and ended with the murders of numerous abortion doctors and clinic employees.

The first character that we meet is the oxymoronic Catholic anti-abortion liberal John O’Keefe, the mostly-forgotten anti-nuclear pacifist who catalyzed the entire movement. I started off wary of O’Keefe, since he was an anti-abortion activist, after all, but by the end of the book, I realized that by comparison, O’Keefe’s work was mere child’s play.

From O’Keefe’s nonviolent movement cropped up less patient players like Michael Bray, who was one of the first to bomb abortion clinics, and Joseph Scheidler, who managed to make violence against clinics more widespread while never putting himself in harm’s way by actually doing it himself.

Read more: https://sheseeksnonfiction.blog/2022/...

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another pro-choice book club choice - and a good one. This is the history of the anti - choice movement after Roe and up until the mid 90's. It's a worthwhile read for anyone interested in issues of choice. The book starts in the 70's with what envisioned as 'sit ins' similar to those in the civil rights movement - but it rapidly becomes violent with clinic bombings and arson, until finally doctors and members of their staff are murdered.

The gripping part of this book was the ending chapters on Operation Rescue and Wichita. It's worth reading the history of the harrassment Dr. Tiller went through before his recent murder.

I liked the background the author gives on leaders of this movement, often times going back to their childhood. It gave me an insight I hadn't known before. These people have some sad stories, and unfortunately because of that they've become dangerous.

Anyway - a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the subject.

[Josh · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book and would not recomend it to anyone that does not like facts for a whole book this book is not a quick read at 380 pages of facts after facts after facts. This book doesn't really have a plot at all but if it does have a plot then it is about how a non-violence activist who started a non-violence abortion protest group. The group is relatively non-violent until bombers penetrate the ranks and destroy the abortion protest group and sickly twist it into a radical abortion group. They get arrested by the police many times. When they go into court they use the defense of doing one thing that is illegal to stop something worse from happening. So they say that bombing the buildings was to save the babies lives and to stop the murder. Some judges bought it while others strongly opposed it this lead to a great controversy and just tore apart everything in america.

[A.J. Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the definitive work on the history of the Pro-Life Movement in America. A must read for anyone who is interested... and a fascinating tale of life, death, justice, society, ethics, murder, and activism.

[Krista Danis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors approach a politically unapproachable topic with effective nuetrality, shedding light on the inner workings and psychological profiles of anti-abortion activism and violence.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I thought the book would cover a general history of the abortion issue, including its current legal status, it actually gave a lot of detail I'd been looking for but hadn't expected to find. With the rise of Operation Rescue and the early mass movements to overturn Roe v. Wade, Randall Terry became a prominent spokesman for the forces opposing women's reproductive rights. I'd long wondered where he'd come from; what early experiences had formed his ideology, and what made abortion the focus of his life and political activity. Risen provides this information, as well as backgrounds on other movement celebrities, giving the reader insight into those men who oppose women's freedom in general. That the political power of conservatives, who would limit women's rights to those they had in 1950 has gone mainstream, is no surprise. That this book was prescient about how that could happen surprised me.