Horror in the Heartland
by Daisy Maryles -- Publishers Weekly, 4/16/2001
April 19, 1995: The Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City is nearly destroyed by a bombing that claims 168 lives—the worst terrorist act ever on U.S. soil. Two years later, Timothy McVeigh is convicted of the crime and sentenced to death. Four years after that (April 3, 2001), ReganBooks has published an exhaustive account of this case, American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing. Authors Lou Michel and Dan Herbeck, award-winning journalists and reporters for the Buffalo News, culled their material from jailhouse and telephone interviews with McVeigh that span more than 75 hours, as well as more than 150 interviews with his friends and relatives, victims, law enforcement officials and many others. Not surprisingly, media interest is running high, and the authors have already done numerous national shows (Larry King Live, Today, Primetime Live, CNN Morning News, Geraldo Live, Inside Edition, NPR's Fresh Air, etc.), with several still to come. First serial appeared in Newsweek's April 2 issue, with second to follow in the June Reader's Digest. Currently, 140,000 copies are in print after two trips to press.
With reporting by Dick Donahue.
