Homegrown

March 6, 2023
Toobin (True Crimes and Misdemeanors) delivers an eye-opening study of Timothy McVeigh’s bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. Drawing on the defense team’s internal records, interviews with McVeigh’s family members, and other primary sources, Toobin recounts how McVeigh became obsessed with guns when he was young; grew fixated on the white supremacist novel The Turner Diaries, whose protagonist bombs an FBI building; and joined the Army in 1988, meeting his future coconspirator Terry Nichols on the first day of basic training. After serving in the First Gulf War, McVeigh was largely aimless upon his return stateside. Angered by the federal government’s handling of the 1992 Ruby Ridge standoff, the 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Tex., and Bill Clinton’s signing of the 1994 assault weapons ban, McVeigh and Nichols believed the government had declared war on gun owners and planned to strike back, assembling the materials to make a bomb that killed more than 160 lives, including 15 children. Toobin also delves into McVeigh’s anti-tax convictions, veneration of the Declaration of Independence, and conspiracy thinking, building a persuasive case that the bombing was motivated by beliefs that have come to dominate right-wing politics. It’s a tragic and edifying account of the road to domestic terrorism.

June 10, 2024

Just days after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building, Gulf War veteran Timothy McVeigh showed no remorse. McVeigh was responsible for killing 168 people and injuring many more, all because he wanted to take down the federal government. Enraged by the government's handling of standoffs at Waco and Ruby Ridge, McVeigh also abhorred immigration and women's rights movements and longed to make America great again, long before that sentiment became a campaign slogan. Journalist Toobin (True Crimes and Misdemeanors) draws upon thousands of interviews, tapes, and legal documents, providing an in-depth, heart-wrenching look at this horrific event. Toobin provides a measured and skillful narration of his work, noting that McVeigh's actions paved the way for the January 6 insurrection. Toobin's thoughtful analysis allows listeners to see similarities between the two events, particularly how grassroots movements were galvanized to overthrow the government. VERDICT Toobin's authoritative chronicle, which allows the facts to speak for themselves, is as unsettling as it is powerful. A timely and impressive account of the roots of domestic terrorism.--Elyssa Everling

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