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

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Summary: Review of biography about Timothy McVeigh
Review: '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

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Summary: american made monster
Review: 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.

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Summary: american made monster
Review: 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.

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Summary: an unauthorized bio
Review: 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.

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Summary: A Great Biography of A Terrible Man
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Biography of A Terrible Man
Review: 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.

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Summary: Tim McVeigh, an agenda so horrifying I do see a Monster
Review: Timothy McVeigh is a native of my hometown of Lockport, NY. In writing this story, the ONLY book-length biography of McVeigh available, I found the reasons behind the OKC bombing, and a large amount of data to support the existence of John Doe #2. McVeigh was not alone! In his trial, the government has chosen to drop the witnesses who can place him at the scene of the crime on April 19, 1995, because they claim they also saw a man with McVeigh, and having no John Doe #2 on trial will hurt the prosecution's case. Ironically, John Doe #2, a terrorist bomber wandering the streets of America today, could save McVeigh from the death penalty. At this point, after attending his trial, I see McVeigh getting life in jail, not the death penalty. Regardless, my book is written from the point of view of a reporter who grew up just five miles away from McVeigh and his family, someone who experienced many of the same things in life as the subject. All-American Monster traces McVeigh's family roots from Ireland to the U.S., looks at his life from birth to trial, tracking his computer hacking days, love of guns, and anti-semetic far right literature, problems and successes with women, family relations, the bomb plot, and, of course, where McVeigh was at 9 a.m. on April 19, 1995. This book has received many positive reviews and has been used as a source by Time magazine, A&E Biography, Playboy, and many other publications. For more info, write to me Brandon Stickney, Prometheus Books, 59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY, 14228. Thank you