The Suspect: An Olympic Bombing, the FBI, the Media, and Richard Jewell, the Man Caught in the Middle

by Kent Alexander, Kevin Salwen

Overview

The Suspect is the masterful true-crime account of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing that captured the world’s attention and the heroic security guard-turned-suspect at the heart of it all.

Basis for the Warner Bros. film Richard Jewell, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde, and Paul Walter Hauser

On July 27, 1996, a hapless former cop turned hypervigilant security guard named Richard Jewell spotted a suspicious bag in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park, the town square of the 1996 Summer Games. Inside was a bomb, the largest of its kind in FBI and ATF history. Minutes later, the bomb detonated amid a crowd of 50,000 people. But thanks to Jewell, it only wounded 111 and killed two, not the untold scores who would have otherwise died. With the eyes of the world on Atlanta, the Games continued. But the pressure to find the bomber was intense. Within 72 hours, Jewell went from the hero to the FBI’s main suspect. The news leaked and the intense focus on the guard forever changed his life. The worst part: It let the true bomber—Eric Rudolph—roam free to strike again.

What really happened that evening during the Olympic Games? The attack left a mark on American history, but most of what we remember is wrong. In a triumph of reporting and access in the tradition of the best investigative journalism, former US Attorney Kent Alexander and former Wall Street Journal reporter Kevin Salwen reconstruct all the events leading up to, during, and after the Olympic bombing from mountains of law enforcement evidence and the extensive personal records of key players, including Jewell himself.

The Suspect, the culmination of more than five years of reporting, is a gripping story of the rise of domestic terrorism in America, the advent of the 24/7 news cycle, and an innocent man’s fight to clear his name.

Includes color photographs

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419735271
Publisher:	Abrams Press
Publication date:	12/01/2020
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	649,496
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Kent Alexander was the US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia at the time of the 1996 Olympics. He spent hundreds of hours in meetings with the FBI about the bombing, and ultimately, he wrote and hand-delivered Jewell’s clearance letter.


Journalist Kevin Salwen was a longtime Wall Street Journal reporter and editor, who ran the paper’s southeastern section during the Olympic Games. He is the coauthor (with his daughter, Hannah) of The Power of Half: One Family’s Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back.

Editorial Reviews

Domestic terror, white nationalism, FBI profilers, a trial by punchline in the infancy of twenty-four-hour news cycle—what happened in Atlanta’s Centennial Park during the ‛96 Olympics still echoes like a bomb blast today in this engrossing and meticulously researched ticktock about the railroading of Richard Jewell and the killer who almost got away.

New York Times bestselling author of The Good Nurse and The Breakthrough - Charles Graeber

The Suspect is a fascinating reconstruction of the Neo-Gothic tale of Richard Jewell, the security guard who was memorably and unjustly implicated in the 1996 bombing at the Atlanta Olympic games. Meticulously reported, bracingly written, full of memorable and bizarre characters, the book casts a wary eye on the worlds of law enforcement and journalism, and their multiple failures in this tale. It’s a story with no winners – except for readers of this terrific book.

bestselling author, staff writer at the New Yorker, and senior legal analyst at CNN - Jeffrey Toobin

The Suspect is a fascinating reconstruction of the Neo-Gothic tale of Richard Jewell, the security guard who was memorably and unjustly implicated in the 1996 bombing at the Atlanta Olympic games. Meticulously reported, bracingly written, full of memorable and bizarre characters, the book casts a wary eye on the worlds of law enforcement and journalism, and their multiple failures in this tale. It’s a story with no winners – except for readers of this terrific book.”—Jeffrey Toobin, bestselling author, staff writer at the New Yorker, and senior legal analyst at CNN

“Intensively reported and fluidly written, 'The Suspect' details the years-long search for the real killer...It is a cautionary tale about the fallibility of the storied feds, the role of luck in breaking big cases, and the conflicted choices faced by the media even at the dawn of the digital age.”—The Wall Street Journal

"From questionable FBI tactics to the role of the press, The Suspect lays bare how Jewell became their unwitting victim in the rush to solve the biggest and most public crime of the era. It is a cautionary tale that reminds us that criminal investigations are often lengthy and painstaking, ill-suited for today’s media frenzy. The Suspect is an important, highly relevant book."—Janet Napolitano, President of the University of California, Former United States Secretary of Homeland Security, and

“Domestic terror, white nationalism, FBI profilers, a trial by punchline in the infancy of twenty-four-hour news cycle—what happened in Atlanta’s Centennial Park during the ‛96 Olympics still echoes like a bomb blast today in this engrossing and meticulously researched ticktock about the railroading of Richard Jewell and the killer who almost got away.”—Charles Graeber, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Nurse and The Breakthrough

From the Publisher

"From questionable FBI tactics to the role of the press, The Suspect lays bare how Jewell became their unwitting victim in the rush to solve the biggest and most public crime of the era. It is a cautionary tale that reminds us that criminal investigations are often lengthy and painstaking, ill-suited for today’s media frenzy. The Suspect is an important, highly relevant book."

President of the University of California, Former United States Secretary of Homeland Security, and - Janet Napolitano

Intensively reported and fluidly written, 'The Suspect' details the years-long search for the real killer...It is a cautionary tale about the fallibility of the storied feds, the role of luck in breaking big cases, and the conflicted choices faced by the media even at the dawn of the digital age.

The Wall Street Journal