Unabomber: The Secret Life of Ted Kaczynski [Paperback]

Chris Waits (Author), Dave Shors (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

When Ted Kaczynski was identified as the Unabomber, no one was more surprised than his neighbor, Waits. It was only as he followed the FBI agents in their search for evidence that he realized that the gentle hermit who had lived near him for 25 years was guilty of such violent acts. Waits and journalist Shors recount the day-to-day events as Kaczynskis caches were discovered in the wilderness around Lincoln, MT. Some 22,000 pages of Kaczynskis journal, found in his cabin, explained that his motive was revenge. He loved the countryside around him, and he despised the technology he thought was ruining it. His homemade bombs were his means of striking back. Waits regrets that Kaczynskis plea bargaining eliminated the necessity for a trial, for the mysteries of Kaczynskis personality will now never be fully explored. This easy-to-read book contains fabulous color photographs of the Montana wilderness and a fold-out time line. Suitable for public libraries.Frances O. Sandiford, Green Haven Correctional Facility Lib., Stormville, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 322 pages
• Publisher: Farcountry Press (December 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560371315
• ISBN-13: 978-1560371311
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #781,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Specific Groups > Criminals

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Want a book about Unabomber or the Author?, March 26, 2004

By 

mike (north of england, UK.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unabomber: The Secret Life of Ted Kaczynski (Hardcover)

See the title? Well with this book you get to know an awful lot (repeatedly) about how the author new the forests betterthan the unabomber...ad nauseam. This is a book about the author, about 85% and very little about Ted Kaczynski. When you have tired for the umpteenth time of how but for the author we may never have found "Ted's Secret Cabin" you will have to seek out other books to find out about the unabomber.
Is it me but why have the last two books I bought from American authors (last one supposed to be about Tim McVeigh) all about themselves and not the subject matter? Very very tedious book and to be avoided if you want to know much about the unabomber but great if you want to learn how skillful and terrific the author is.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unabomber book offers an intriguing perspective on Kaczynski, December 29, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unabomber: The Secret Life of Ted Kaczynski (Paperback)

"Unabomber: The Secret Life of Ted Kaczynski" was a thoroughly engaging and enlightening read from start to finish.

Authored by Dave Shors and Chris Waits, the book examines Kaczynski's 25 years living in Montana as a true 'mountain man'. The text reveals, among other things, the fascinating details of Kaczynski's encampments, secret cabin, and buried muinitions cashes on Waits' heavily-wooded land.

Offering a glimpse into the mind of the Unabomber are excerpts from his journals. These meticulously kept (and often eloquently written) pages show the reader a man technologically paranoid and vengeful and, at the same time, in love with and in awe of his natural surroundings.

I highly recommend this intelligent and exciting book to anyone in search of first-hand insight into the life and mind of Ted Kaczynski.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Who is the book about?, July 1, 2001

By 

Connie H (Pembroke Pines, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unabomber: The Secret Life of Ted Kaczynski (Paperback)

I learned a lot about Ted Kaczynski from this book. I thought the author tried to make himself the hero of the story. He helped the FBI with certain aspects of the case. Midway through the book, it was no longer about Ted but about the authors involvement in the case. I wanted more info on Ted and less information on the authors's grandstanding.