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One of Ours: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing
On 4/19/1995, terrorism struck the heartland: A cataclysmic explosion destroyed the Oklahoma City federal building, took the lives of 168 people & injured more than 500 others. It wasn't the work of a secret foreign cabal or a maniacal suicide bomber. Instead, death drove a rented truck. 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 & a recipe for mixing farm fertilizer & 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 US history.
333 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1998
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About the author
Richard A. Serrano
7 books12 followersA native of Kansas City, Missouri, Richard A. Serrano reported on the Hyatt skywalks tragedy, the cause of the collapse, and the ensuing litigation for the Kansas City Times, for which he shared a Pulitzer Prize.
Richard A. Serrano is a Pulitzer Prize–winning former Washington correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. He spent 45 years covering the Pentagon, the wars in Haiti and the middle East, the US Justice Department, the FBI, and the War on Terror.
Serrano lives in Fairfax, VA.
Richard A. Serrano is a Pulitzer Prize–winning former Washington correspondent for the Los Angeles Times. He spent 45 years covering the Pentagon, the wars in Haiti and the middle East, the US Justice Department, the FBI, and the War on Terror.
Serrano lives in Fairfax, VA.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 18, 2019
I read this book before visiting the sight in Oklahoma City. In my country (Netherlands) the events on that day are not well-known anymore. I did remember vaguely what had happened on that day in 1995, but all details were lost. This account brought that back to me. A riveting read and an absolute must (at least for foreigner visitors) before visiting the Memorial.
September 14, 2023
Wry sad book. But things I wanted to know.
May 14, 2015
I'd never read anything beyond contemporaneous news media about the Oklahoma City Federal Building bombing. I had, however, read one book about the Ruby Ridge murders and several about the slaughter at Waco, events which apparently turned Timothy McVeigh towards the event of April of 1995.
Because I'd profile myself as a pacifistic socialist world-federalist kind of fellow, radically at odds with McVeigh's own values, I think it incumbent upon me to challenge my beliefs by reviewing those of others ostensibly opposed to them. Thus, on the world stage, heads of aggressive states, people like Hitler or Bush, interest me, while lesser players like McVeigh are also of concern. How can they believe what they do? How do they justify their violence?
As it happens, I can follow some of their thinking. I share McVeigh's libertarian bent, his concerns about personal privacy and suspicion of big government. I also share what was represented in this book as his distaste for U.S. foreign policy as exemplified by its invasion of Iraq (and he was a participant!). I certainly shared his disgust at what agents of the U.S. government did in Ruby Ridge and in Waco. What I have trouble understanding is how he could take out a federal building occupied by so many--even by his standards--innocents. Then, on reflection, I jump up a step and think of how our commanders-in-chief must think as they order bombing or drone strikes--the daily murders committed in my name about which I only occasionally agonize.
This particular account was written after the sentencing of McVeigh but before his actual execution. In it one will find biographies of the principals and a reconstruction of the events leading up to the bombing.
Because I'd profile myself as a pacifistic socialist world-federalist kind of fellow, radically at odds with McVeigh's own values, I think it incumbent upon me to challenge my beliefs by reviewing those of others ostensibly opposed to them. Thus, on the world stage, heads of aggressive states, people like Hitler or Bush, interest me, while lesser players like McVeigh are also of concern. How can they believe what they do? How do they justify their violence?
As it happens, I can follow some of their thinking. I share McVeigh's libertarian bent, his concerns about personal privacy and suspicion of big government. I also share what was represented in this book as his distaste for U.S. foreign policy as exemplified by its invasion of Iraq (and he was a participant!). I certainly shared his disgust at what agents of the U.S. government did in Ruby Ridge and in Waco. What I have trouble understanding is how he could take out a federal building occupied by so many--even by his standards--innocents. Then, on reflection, I jump up a step and think of how our commanders-in-chief must think as they order bombing or drone strikes--the daily murders committed in my name about which I only occasionally agonize.
This particular account was written after the sentencing of McVeigh but before his actual execution. In it one will find biographies of the principals and a reconstruction of the events leading up to the bombing.
February 1, 2015
Sadly one can empathize with this story of a man who feels betrayed. I found it insightful and frightening. He was as the author says One of Ours. We raised him in this country with its battles upon other nations for oil and drugs and nothing else. The thing that is so shocking is that we do not have more of these or not that we presently know of.
June 25, 2012
Informative, sad, and impartial, this account gives as much in the way of facts as is available about what led McVeigh to destroy the Murrah building and wage war on America.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews