NetGalley ARC | Hunting the Unabomber: The FBI, Ted Kaczynski, and the Capture of America's Most Notorious Domestic Terrorist

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a highly engaging account of the search spanning nearly two decades, the longest manhunt in US history, to find Ted Kaczynski. I previously read the book written by Kaczynski's young brother, which I still have to review, and I found them to be necessary I realized, once I had finished this one. I recommend reading both to get a fuller picture of the man who would go on to terrorize the country, only to fade into the background while he further perfected his weapon of choice, then to launch more attacks that killed and wounded so many innocent people. While I do not want this to turn into a review of both books, as my focus here is obviously this ARC, I feel like the account written by David Kaczynski is just as important because we learn so much about their childhood and youth. Those aspects of the story matter.

For those unfamiliar with the case, perhaps because you are too young to remember, or you reside outside of the US, I will quickly recap Kaczynski's crimes. In the late 70s the Unabomber, as the media began calling him (from the FBI name UNABOM, because he was sending BOMbs to UNiversities and Airlines) began sending bombs to random recipients. These arrived both by mail and hand-delivery from the bomber himself. Eventually a task force was created, which would go on to include 150 people working the case, chasing down every possible lead in the hopes of finding the person responsible. The difference between Kaczynski and so many other domestic terrorists is that for the most part he was nearly silent for much of the time that he was sending his devices to his victims. No demands, no wish to speak to authorities. Simply, destruction. It was not until 1995 when Kaczynski penned his 'manifesto' and sent it to various news outlets, insisting it be published, otherwise his spree would continue. More tips than ever came in once the document was published in full, but the big break in the case would not come from an anonymous tipster. Instead, Kaczynski's sister-in-law read it in the paper and showed her husband, David. They went back and forth over whether or not Ted was capable of something so terrible and finally decided to go to the authorities. Within the year the Unabomber would be in custody and his reign of terror over. He eventually pleaded guilty in exchange for a life sentence without the possibility of parole and will live the remainder of his life behind bars.

I could not put this book down. I have vague memories of hearing about the Unabomber on the news, and I recall being frightened by the police sketch, I think in part because he looked so normal and could have been any average Joe walking down the street. I was 13 when he was finally apprehended and remember hearing about it, but again only vaguely. My memories are much clearer in regards to events like Waco (1993) and Oklahoma City (1995). I think part of the reason is because Kaczynski operated for so long, with sometimes a few years between bombings, that he was not always front page news. The opposite is true for Waco and OKC; I remember watching footage of the Waco siege day after day, wondering what it all meant and when it would end. And then came the Oklahoma City bombing. I will never forget watching as a twelve year old, the bodies of all those children, all those babies, carried from the wreckage, grown men and women weeping at the sight of the destruction.

Through this thoroughly-researched work then was I able to understand as a adult what I did not as a child: this guy was really fucking dangerous. And he was really, really good at what he did, hence why it took so long to capture him. Kaczynski made everything himself, and what he couldn't make (like batteries) he removed all possible traces of any information that could signal where it was purchased, what factory it was made in, etc. There were no finger prints, no identifying marks of any kind, and he was brilliant enough to be able to create a complex bomb that could handle being tossed about by US mail on its way to its destination, going off when and only when he intended it to. And when I say brilliant, I do mean brilliant. Kaczynski is a certifiable genius, having finished high school at the age of 16 and enrolling in Harvard where he earned his Bachelor's Degree. From there he went on to the University of Michigan for both a Master's and a PhD. He taught at UC-Berkeley until 1969, when he abruptly quit and went off to live in his cabin in Montana. There he would begin his journey, perfecting his bombs as they became more and more complex. Kaczynksi is a math prodigy, a true wunderkind, and there are a few theories as to how he evolved into a terrorist.

As for the writing itself, there was some repetitiveness to the author's words that was bothersome, but not enough to lose a star over. For the most part I do not like when authors insert themselves in the story and here and there this was the case as she referenced her father's work, her time as a prosecutor, etc. I understand this was probably an attempt to provide her own credentials of sorts as to why she should be writing this particular book, but I found it unnecessary. She is an excellent writer and that alone qualifies her, without all the extra. One last thing that bothered me was the sections relating to Comey and Clinton's emails in the epilogue. I understand again that this was kind of a summary of the FBI since the Unabomber's capture, but it was still not needed. While the author is correct in what she said, that it was not Comey's place as the head of the FBI to do as he did in those weeks leading up to the election, it felt very out of place in the book.

Even so, there were many things the author did right. The amount of research and locating of primary sources must have taken an extraordinary amount of work. There were also many interviews with key members of the task force who put their blood, sweat, and tears into this case. As the years went on, getting assigned to UNABOM was seen as the place where careers went to die. Thank goodness for the many men and women who worked tirelessly to track down every lead, and find any scrap of evidence they could. Their effort may not have yielded the information needed to finally identify him, but they never gave up, even when it would have been easy to do so.

Highly recommended.

NetGalley ARC | The Kidnap Years: The Astonishing True History of the Forgotten Kidnapping Epidemic that Shook Depression-Era America

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I would have given this five stars if there were not so many damned exclamation points.

Naturally when one thinks of kidnappings in the 1930s, the first case that almost always comes to mind is that of Charles Lindbergh's twenty-month- old son, Charles Jr. That case is discussed extensively throughout the book, while other less high-profile cases are also given equal footing.

One thing I really appreciated about this book is that it was more or less chronological, and did not tell each kidnapping story individually. As the author moved through the decade when his epidemic was at an all-time high, we see which cases overlapped, and sometimes had to wait several sections for any kind of resolution. I personally liked this, as it was as realistic as one can get without having actually lived through it.

There is such a blend of themes here and they are woven together well. The Great Depression is in full swing and families are struggling to simply survive. Prohibition was coming to an end, so those who made their living that way were seeing income dry up as quickly as the country was supposed to when the law went into effect in 1920. On top of that the likes of Dillinger, the Barkers, and so many others were terrorizing the country, sometimes opposed by police and sometimes assisted. The constant message though, was one of desperation and despair that drove so many to attempt or carry out these crimes.

While it would be impossible to recount every single case, there are enough discussed here to really give the reader a feel for what it felt like to live through such a time. Most of the time the victims or survivors were held for ransom. Some were lucky enough to see their families again, though they were scarred for life from the experience. Others were not, and only in death were reunited with loved ones.

I found it especially difficult to read about the children who were kidnapped for far more nefarious reasons than ransom. The story of Grace Budd was absolutely heartbreaking and I feel so terribly for her parents and siblings. It is a horrific case and one I would rather not dwell on much here or I will probably start crying again, just thinking of the anguish her parents felt and the blame they put on themselves for believing the lies they were told and allowing their beloved daughter to go to the birthday party for a man's niece, the man whom they had only recently met.

As one would expect, we see ol' Hoover trying to insert himself into any investigation he could. Even when, and maybe especially because, his agency often came under fire for being incompetent and out of control. He wanted to be seen at apprehensions and discoveries in order to portray himself as the one who was cleverly solving these crimes and in full control, that the newspaper reports were wrong.

I found it especially interesting to read of how many families contacted police to inform them of the kidnappings, but also asked they stand down while the family also contacted those who might, shall we say, have connection to the world in which the kidnappers moved in. More than one case detailed in this book was solved this way and it should not have surprised me. After all, many wealthy families had some underworld contacts for a variety of reasons, and sometimes those contacts were able to make far more progress than law enforcement. One must also not overlook the corruption that permeated some police forces, so many were right to not trust those supposedly sworn to protect them.

The plethora of exclamation points aside, the author does a fantastic job transporting the reader back to this turbulent period where no one was truly safe from the epidemic, whether rich or poor - it merely depended upon the perp's purpose for the kidnapping. Most were for ransom, and more were returned to their families than not - here, at least. I can't speak for the statistics overall, but from the cases presented in the book only.

Any reader interested in this period will find value in this book. I hesitate to use the word 'enjoy' because how does one enjoy a story about kidnapping and murder. I think, however, everyone gets the point. Highly recommended.