Three Weeks in October: The Manhunt for the Serial Sniper [Paperback]

Charles A. Moose (Author), Charles Fleming (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 7, 2004

In this New York Times bestseller, Charles A. Moose-the police chief who led one of the most suspenseful manhunts in American history-takes readers behind the headlines into the notorious "D.C. sniper" case that held the nation spellbound.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

During the first three weeks of October 2002, 14 random people were gunned down in the suburbs outside Washington, D.C., setting off the largest manhunt in American history. Through it all, Montgomery County Police Chief Moose was the face America watched. He was comfortingly there, on television, before people went to work in the morning and when they got home at night. But as soon as the snipers were no longer generating news, Chief Moose began making news himself. And when he decided to write a book about those three notorious weeks, a full-scale controversy erupted over the propriety of "exploiting" these events for financial gain. Eventually, he decided to resign from the police department. Written in short, awkward sentences, his book lacks polish, but its raw honesty and idiosyncratic charm more than compensate for the hurried prose. Despite the title, Moose adds very little to the story of the shootings he lets you know what he did and how he felt about it, but there are no sizzling revelations. Most of the book tells his own remarkable story in a gutsy, endearing, no-nonsense way, from growing up in an all-black neighborhood in North Carolina in the 19TKs to his unlikely entry into law enforcement and his even more unlikely rise to the top of the profession. Moose writes unapologetically about his mistakes and personal hardships, his views on leadership and his struggles with racial prejudice, and about his loving wife and how he keeps his uniform looking so sharp. Moose also takes up his own defense, cutting through all the hubbub to show that behind the provocative headlines was little more than a simple, heartfelt man just trying to do the best job he could.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

A very candid story...well worth reading. (Washington Post) Gutsy...endearing...no-nonsense. (Publishers Weekly)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Signet (September 7, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451212797
• ISBN-13: 978-0451212795
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #794,006 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Needs professional touches, October 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Three Weeks in October (Hardcover)

I live in the Washington, DC area and remember all the details of the sniper case. I was pregnant at the time and terrified. I found this book to be choppy and repetitive. He says the same things over and over again - in the next sentence, paragaph, page, chapter, over and over again. He often writes in phrases instead of full sentences. It's the way he might speak, but it doesn't read well. There are a few grammatical errors and a mention of a "Washington Wizards hockey game" - it's a basketball team!

There were no major secrets revealed about the investigation. Everything had made it out into the press. He doesn't even seem to reveal his thoughts as surprises unfolded, saying that it wasn't his place at times. To his credit, he does seem honest about his feelings for the most part. I just felt that he left out his unique perspective on the most interesting aspects of the investigation.

The chapters alternate between his life and the investigation. It's effective. The race issue seems to come up in every part of his life, and I'm sure it is always a factor (I too am a minority) but for all of his accomplishments (which he's not shy about telling!) I would have liked for him to put the racial aspect in a more positive light, than with the bitterness alternating with ambivalence that I found through most of the book.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars One of the worst books of this type I've read..., September 16, 2003

By 

Colton McLaughlin (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Three Weeks in October (Hardcover)

Self-serving and, above all else, boring. Moose provides precious little insight into crimes that terrorized a city and the nation. It is hard to imagine someone not being able to tell a compelling story about the shootings, but somehow he does. Moose is as adept an author as he was a public spokesperson during the crisis. Save your time reading "Three Weeks in October" and simply pat the former police chief on the back, though you'll have to wait for him to stop doing it himself - which is all Moose's 335 pages add up to.

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Moose is jaded by his own prejudices, September 21, 2003

By 

david weigle (Mechanicsville, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Three Weeks in October (Hardcover)

As someone who was directly affected by the sniper shootings (I live in Hanover County, Virginia, where the Ashland shooting took place) I found this book pathetic and Chief Moose even more so. Moose fails to admit fault for just about anything and blames race for everything. Further, it is extremely obvious this book was rushed to print as there were glaring errors in it which a little research would have corrected. First, I had a good laugh when Moose discussed the white, good old boy, southern police here in the Richmond area and how they were prejudiced against a black northern police chief. The Richmond city police department is led by Chief Andre Parker, a black man who was hired from Illinois. In fact, the last 3 police chiefs in Richmond have been black and a white person has not held the position in about 20 years. Sheriff Stewart Cook of Hanover County was the voice of the combined law enforcement effort here in the area, but he worked very closely with Chief Parker as well as the other chiefs in our area to protect the citizenry.

Also, Moose says Ashland is south of Richmond. Ashland is about 20 miles north of the city of Richmond.

This book is like Moose's handling of the sniper incident. Full of mistakes, ineptitude and a rewriting of history. Moose bungled the investigation so badly that the police, ATF, and FBI in Virginia had no choice but to try and tackle the task on their own. Moose's abuse of the media to get his name and face on TV caused deaths rather than prevented them.

The worst thing about the book is when anything negative happens to Moose, he constantly screams racism rather than accepting responsibility for his own shortcomings and moving on. Even the back of the book jacket starts off with how he was born a black boy in the segregated South. This from a man with a checkered past of his own on race relations.

Chief Moose, get over it and move on. The best thing you did was leave your position so that competent leadership could hopefully prevail.