HOMEGROWN: JEFFREY TOOBIN BOOK TALK

HOMEGROWN: A Conversation with Jeffrey Toobin

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Hotel Santa Fe, 1501 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, NM, 87501 USA

Join us!

5:30 p.m. Social (complimentary hors d’oeuvres with cash bar)

6:00 p.m. Book Talk

7:00 p.m. Book Signing

Presented by Global Santa Fe, a co-sponsorship with Collected Works Bookstore

When mention is made of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, most think of the 168 deaths, including 19 children killed in the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building. You may also recall the emotionless picture of Timothy McVeigh when he was escorted out of the courthouse on April 21, two days after the bombing. The consensus then was that McVeigh was a lone wolf. That was not the case. 

Jeffrey Toobin’s Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism traces how McVeigh who for a while appeared to have a promising military career became radicalized, recruited Terry Nichols, and planned the tragic bombing.

What distinguishes Toobin’s work is that in addition to interviews with people who had significant roles in the investigation and prosecution including Bill Clinton and Merrick Garland, Toobin was granted access to McVeigh’s attorney’s files (65 boxes) which detail hours of interviews between McVeigh, his attorneys and others. 

How McVeigh came to believe that bombing a federal building was an act of patriotism is not unlike the justification expressed today by the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. The motivation to resort to violence and to initiate what former radio host, Rush Limbaugh, called a “second violent American revolution”,  is meticulously described. That many of the incendiary magazines and books, e.g., The Turner Diaries that motivated McVeigh in the 90’s continues to enjoy wide circulation should be a warning to us all. 

In addition to a discussion of Homegrown, given Toobin’s years of reporting on the Supreme Court, our conversation will also address his thoughts on the Court’s swing to the right and how might Chief Justice Roberts handle the ethical questions that have stained this session.

Toobin, a magna cum laude Harvard Law School, is the bestselling author of 11 books including The Oath and The Nine. For nearly two decades, he reported and was chief legal analyst for CNN.

Global Santa Fe, a non-partisan, 501c(3) educational organization dedicated to stimulating dialog and diplomacy about current foreign affairs. For more information visit www.globalsantafe.org. This event is presented by Global Santa Fe, a co-sponsorship with Collected Works Bookstore visit  www.collectedworksbookstore.com. 

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