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 “intensively reported and fluidly written” true-crime account of the heroic security guard accused of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing (Wall Street Journal).

On July 27, 1996, security guard 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. The bomb detonated amid a crowd of fifty thousand people. But thanks to Jewell, it only wounded 111 and killed two, not the untold scores who would have otherwise died.

Yet seventy-two hours later, the FBI turned Jewell from a national hero into their main suspect. The decision not only changed Jewell’s life, it let the true bomber roam free to strike again. Today, most of what we remember of this tragedy is wrong.

In a triumph of investigative journalism, former U.S. Attorney Kent Alexander and reporter Kevin Salwen reconstruct events before, during, and after the bombing. Drawn from law enforcement evidence and the extensive personal records of key players—including Richard himself—The Suspect, is a gripping story of domestic terrorism and an innocent man’s fight to clear his name.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683355243
Publisher:	ABRAMS, Inc. (Ignition)
Publication date:	11/12/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	498
Sales rank:	462,646
File size:	9 MB

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 co-author (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

"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

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