Not many non-fiction books can hold my attention for too long. Not unless it’s Medieval or Norse history, a book on horses, a book on real detectives, or just plain weird. Or, unless it’s about crime.

I’ve only dived into a couple other books about criminals, the one about a woman who did studied on serial killers like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacey to understand just how they worked, and the other was about the two men who started the Behavioral Analysis Unit in the FBI. So naturally, I was interested when I saw Hunting the Unabomber on NetGalley. I just had to read it.

The beginning of the book starts out like a story; illustrating what life was like in December of 1992 in California. Then we ease into the life of FBI Supervisory Special Agent Patrick Webb, and we follow his thread of the story (mostly) throughout the book as he laid out details about the monstrous case involving the Unabomber to the author.

The voice of the narrative continued to be engaging, and just sucked me right in. I listened to every detail with rapt attention, even when things got messy for the people mentioned. I already knew quite a bit about the Unabomber, due to the fact that my mom took criminal psychology in college and wrote a paper on Ted Kaczynski. So it was giving me a more in-depth picture of the man who I grew up believing to be this monstrous nightmare.

I found it to be a very enlightening and somewhat puzzling story. No one knows quite what made Ted snap in the end. He just…did, making a conscious decision to start killing. Wiehl portrays all of this without any sort of bias, leaving the reader to make their own conclusions. I’d have to say that this is one that I really liked. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading true crime, criminal history, or is just curious about one of America’s most notorious domestic terrorists.

NOTE: I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley for review purposes only. All thoughts and opinions are my own

This is a highly engaging account of the search spanning nearly two decades, the longest manhunt in US history, to find Ted Kaczynski. I previously read the book written by Kaczynski's young brother, which I still have to review, and I found them to be necessary I realized, once I had finished this one. I recommend reading both to get a fuller picture of the man who would go on to terrorize the country, only to fade into the background while he further perfected his weapon of choice, then to launch more attacks that killed and wounded so many innocent people. While I do not want this to turn into a review of both books, as my focus here is obviously this ARC, I feel like the account written by David Kaczynski is just as important because we learn so much about their childhood and youth. Those aspects of the story matter.

I could not put this book down. I have vague memories of hearing about the Unabomber on the news, and I recall being frightened by the police sketch, I think in part because he looked so normal and could have been any average Joe walking down the street. I was 13 when he was finally apprehended and remember hearing about it, but again only vaguely. My memories are much clearer in regards to events like Waco (1993) and Oklahoma City (1995). I think part of the reason is because Kaczynski operated for so long, with sometimes a few years between bombings, that he was not always front page news. The opposite is true for Waco and OKC; I remember watching footage of the Waco siege day after day, wondering what it all meant and when it would end. And then came the Oklahoma City bombing. I will never forget watching as a twelve year old, the bodies of all those children, all those babies, carried from the wreckage, grown men and women weeping at the sight of the destruction.

Through this thoroughly-researched work then was I able to understand as a adult what I did not as a child: this guy was really fucking dangerous. And he was really, really good at what he did, hence why it took so long to capture him. Kaczynski made everything himself, and what he couldn't make (like batteries) he removed all possible traces of any information that could signal where it was purchased, what factory it was made in, etc. There were no finger prints, no identifying marks of any kind, and he was brilliant enough to be able to create a complex bomb that could handle being tossed about by US mail on its way to its destination, going off when and only when he intended it to. And when I say brilliant, I do mean brilliant. Kaczynski is a certifiable genius, having finished high school at the age of 16 and enrolling in Harvard where he earned his Bachelor's Degree. From there he went on to the University of Michigan for both a Master's and a PhD. He taught at UC-Berkeley until 1969, when he abruptly quit and went off to live in his cabin in Montana. There he would begin his journey, perfecting his bombs as they became more and more complex. Kaczynksi is a math prodigy, a true wunderkind, and there are a few theories as to how he evolved into a terrorist.

As for the writing itself, there was some repetitiveness to the author's words that was bothersome, but not enough to lose a star over. For the most part I do not like when authors insert themselves in the story and here and there this was the case as she referenced her father's work, her time as a prosecutor, etc. I understand this was probably an attempt to provide her own credentials of sorts as to why she should be writing this particular book, but I found it unnecessary. She is an excellent writer and that alone qualifies her, without all the extra. One last thing that bothered me was the sections relating to Comey and Clinton's emails in the epilogue. I understand again that this was kind of a summary of the FBI since the Unabomber's capture, but it was still not needed. While the author is correct in what she said, that it was not Comey's place as the head of the FBI to do as he did in those weeks leading up to the election, it felt very out of place in the book.

Even so, there were many things the author did right. The amount of research and locating of primary sources must have taken an extraordinary amount of work. There were also many interviews with key members of the task force who put their blood, sweat, and tears into this case. As the years went on, getting assigned to UNABOM was seen as the place where careers went to die. Thank goodness for the many men and women who worked tirelessly to track down every lead, and find any scrap of evidence they could. Their effort may not have yielded the information needed to finally identify him, but they never gave up, even when it would have been easy to do so.

Highly recommended.

I loved this book! Found it very hard to put down. I have always been fascinated by the Unabomber, and have read a lot of information about him. But here the author has consolidated all the stories into a cohesive, chronological telling of the decades long story. And she had unique access to the men and women who conducted the hunt. Really compelling reading. She is an excellent writer!

A well researched, interesting and engrossing book that made me discover more about Unbomber and how he was hunted.
An excellent read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Well written, chronological look at the capture of a most-wanted bomber. The details are sufficient and the narrative flows well to keep me turning the pages to find out what happens next during the investigation. Engaging and enjoyable to read. True crime bluffs will enjoy reading this story. This copy would benefit from a final, thorough review by the editor.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own honest opinions.

This is a great story! It was very hard to put down - and thankfully a perfect length. The story was well laid out, and the insight into some never-before-told details was great. It needed just one more sweep by the editor but no major issues.

Very excellent account of the actual members of law enforcement who worked so hard for decades to identify the person who was sending the bombs. Many who were lauded in the press had very little to do with the outcome, the arrest of Kaszinski, but somehow received a load of press attention. And others who worked tirelessly were ignored. I guess that's politics.
The writing is very good, keeps moving the story forward and is detailed. It isn't "and then they did this and then they did that". It is a rich narrative. Even if you've read tons about this case you will be engrossed by Wiel's book.