Customer Reviews

Hunting Eric Rudolph

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
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This account of Eric Rudolph was very interesting. I found the book a little more interesting than the average reader probably will because he was born in my hometown, I lived in B'ham and I was also vacationing in Murphy in the summer of 98 when the fbi had helicopters and officers searching the entire nantahala area.The only complaint I have about the book (and it's minimal) is that I thought that they spent too much time on details about his family in the middle of the book and it kind of slowed down the pace. Having said that, the pace is still as good as any fiction novel/mystery novel i've ever read. If you enjoy a fast paced, puzzle solving-type story, this book is right up your alley.

With Hunting Eric Rudolph, Henry Schuster- one of the country's foremost news producers and experts on terrorism- uses his cinematic eye and newsman's nose for detail to bring to life the series of crimes that set the tone for our fearful twenty-first century. Gracefully written, with economy and personality, a storytellers flair: think In Cold Blood with exhaustive footnotes.

Mike Sager
Writer-at-Large
Esquire

Hunting Eric Rudolph is an awesome read. The authors deliver the story of Rudolph's entire life, often with an insightful and somtimes humorous backdrop. It goes in depth to explain the reasons for Rudolph's perplexing psyche and the culture in which it was cultivated.

The real value of the book however is the context in which it is delivered. Schuster explains why this story was not only significant in our past, but what we can extract from it to prevent similar types of domestic terrorism in our future. Thoroughly researched and masterfully presented, this was definitely a book that I could not put down.

A great read about Eric Rudolph, serial bomber and fugitive. The authors use an energetic narrative style and an acute sense of the absurd as they recount the circumstances of the bombings, delve into the bizarre background of Rudolph, and expose the monumental fumbling of the case by the feds. Touching portrayals of the victims of the bombings remind us that years after the events, those involved still suffer.

The title of the book, Hunting Eric Rudolph: An Insider's Account of the Five-Year Search for the Olympic Bombing Suspect, is an accurate description of what the book covers. While the book is an utterly absorbing and well told story, Henry Schuster and Charles Stone have substantially limited their account to just the bombings that Rudolph perpetrated, as well as to the government's pursuit of him during the time that he was a fugitive. If you are interested in just that aspect of the story, this is definitely the book for you. The story is absolutely dramatic and totally riveting.

However, if you are interested in the fiasco that engulfed Richard Jewell, or the legal proceedings that eventually produced Rudolph's plea agreement, the authors only peripherally discuss those issues, which they should have, as those elements were really ancillary to Rudolph's crimes and ultimate capture. Indeed, just the injustice done to Jewell should be the subject of a book. But Hunting Eric Rudolph, in and of itself, is well worth reading.

On a personal note, through reading the book, I discovered a number of things that I had previously not known. For example, on the day that the Centennial Park bombing occurred, I was attending classes at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia and after having watched the morning news, I went to the school's cafeteria and found that basically everybody had gone. The majority of the center's student population had been deployed to Atlanta for the remainder of the Olympics.

As the news developed, after it had been reported that the bomber had made an anonymous telephone call warning of the device, but before Jewell had been named as a suspect, there was speculation that the bomber had not actually intended to hurt anyone, but had simply wanted to scare people instead. Through reading the book, I discovered just how far off that was. Schuster and Stone graphically described Rudolph's intensions, not only in Atlanta, but in Birmingham as well. The portion of the story describing Rudolph's deliberate targeting of Police Officer Robert Sanderson, who was working security at an abortion clinic, dispelled any myth as to what his intensions actually were. The book is a fantastic read and should serve as a warning as to what a fanatical lone wolf is capable of.

A true account of all that transpired moment by moment. Nothing spared and nothing left out. This book is the real deal. If you want to know more about Eric Rudolph and his man hunt this is the book. It reveals all the twists and turns up until his capture. You will be shocked, appaled, and in the end will know all that happened. This book also reveals all the man power, time, and know how to bring him to justice. Give this book a read and you will need to know no more on the subject...

The authors present their extensive research with an entertaining style. Henry Schuster has spent much of his life reporting on terrorism and closely followed the Rudolph criminal proceedings. Charles Stone was involved with the manhunt and provides details from the point of view of one of the hundreds of law enforcement agents determined to bring Rudolph in. I would also like to suggest "Life's Been A Blast," written by one of the bombing survivors. "Life's Been A Blast" (available on Amazon) provides the view of someone who was standing in direct aim of one of Rudolph's bombs and lived to tell about it.

This is a gripping story, very well-told. From that bomb explosion at the Atlanta Olympics, through the Richard Jewell madness, and then subsequent attacks on abortion clinics, this tale is told with the detailed knowledge of a true insider -- an agent on the case -- with a skilled journalist's perspective and context. The psychological profile of Rudolph, the criminal mastermind,gives it special depth. Schuster and Stone really deliver. I enjoyed it immensely.

This is one of the best true crime books I've read in a long time. Really well done. Highly recommended!