Richard Jewell: And Other Tales of Heroes, Scoundrels, and Renegades

by Marie Brenner

Now a major film from Academy Award–winning director Clint Eastwood— starring Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, Olivia Wilde, and Paul Walter Hauser​!

This collection of captivating profiles from Vanity Fair writer Marie Brenner spans her award-winning career and features larger-than-life figures such as Donald Trump, Roy Cohn, Malala Yousafzai, and Richard Jewell—the security guard whose dramatic heroism at the bombing of the 1996 Olympics made him the FBI’s prime suspect.

Previously published as A Private War , Marie Brenner’s Richard Jewell tells a gripping true story of heroism and injustice. In the early morning hours of July 27, 1996, three pipe bombs exploded at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, killing one person and injuring 111 others. Hundreds more potential casualties were prevented by the vigilance and quick actions of security guard Richard Jewell, who uncovered the bombs and began evacuating the area. But no good deed goes unpunished.

Desperate for a lead, investigators and journalists pursued Jewell as a potential suspect in the case, painting him as an obvious match for the infamous “lone bomber” profile. Accused of being a terrorist and a failed law enforcement officer who craved public recognition for his false heroics, he saw his reputation smeared across headlines and broadcasts nationwide. After a months-long investigation found no evidence against him, the US Attorney finally cleared Jewell’s name. Yet Jewell would not be fully exonerated in the eyes of the public until the actual bomber confessed in 2005, just two years before Jewell’s premature death at the age of forty-four.

In Richard Jewell , veteran journalist Marie Brenner brilliantly chronicles Jewell’s ordeal to share the story of an ordinary man whose life was shattered by a false narrative. This collection also includes Brenner’s classic encounters with Donald Trump, Roy Cohn, Malala Yousafzai, Marie Colvin, and others.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Audiobook

352 pages, Paperback

Published December 10, 2019

Reviews

[Andrea]

I didn’t realize that no additional research or writing had been done on any of these Vanity Fair features. They appear to have just been reprinted verbatim in this collection, which should in no way be called “Richard Jewell” (his story, written a year after the Atlanta Olympic bombing and now terribly outdated, is just one article of many). Ugh. I did enjoy the article on Malala and I learned plenty about the civil rights movement and the tobacco industry, but I could detect no common thread tying all the articles together. The writing is sharply constructed and the research thorough, but the narration is distractingly discordant and filled with glaring mispronunciations (it’s cummerbund, not cumberbun).
2.5 stars

[Lori]

Didn’t realize this really wasn’t about Richard Jewell. I also enjoyed the President Trump bashing in the introduction (eye roll). Not a very entertaining book and a misleading title.

[Noah]

Collections of investigative journalism is not my usual genre, but it was at a Little Free Library so I picked it up. Honestly, not much to say about this — it was pretty stilted, wooden, and uninteresting.

[Billy DaKid]

Garbage. I didn't vote for the President, but the author's biased, unhinged hatred for him in the introduction made it impossible to respect her opinion enough to read the other 290+ pages. Comparing the President to the Duvaliers and Hitler? Talking about the WASP hierarchy? She is writing to her audience and it isn't me.

[Malachi Antal]

picayune journo tales

[Cristy McCormick]

I had much higher hopes for this book. I thought it would be a much more in depth look at the various stories within it, however it turned out to be a slightly longer version of a newspaper headline. I was hoping to learn more, especially about Richard Jewell. Unfortunately this was a classic form of read/ regurgitate. I didn't learn anything new about any of these stories than what I had already known from reading other articles throughout the years in misc places.

[Judy]

This is basically a compilation of her best magazine articles. Not well written in my opinion and since they were not updated, you have to keep in mind that they were written during the time of each of the events and she takes for granted that you know what is being discussed. Interesting points on the rolls of media in the events, though.

[Leslie]

This was not the book I wanted to read at all. This is a collection of previously published essays that aren't all that interesting to be honest. Definitely look elsewhere for information about Richard Jewell's ordeal and the Olympic bombing.

[Ken Branham]

A couple of the journalism pieces I found quite interesting. However one of her the arguments she presents is that investigative journalism and news presentations need to be non-bias but she is one of the worst. And the title is very misleading - should have been “Another anti-Trump Book”.

[Bailey Koeppen]

The title and description are misleading. Not really the story of Richard Jewell

[Jacqueline Alvarez]

I picked this book as I wanted to read about Richard Jewel, who is such a tragic figure. But this book, is a compilation of Ms. Brenner's articles from Vanity Fair, the magazine. That least three of those articles where the basis for movies. I was so engaged by the stories in the book. There was the story of the female reported who was so brave and who inspired so many with her stories about Syria and the down trotted. Her name escapes me at the moment. Plus there was some articles that she had written about Donald Trump. How shady and outright mean, he has his whole family are. She was not fooled by his smoke and mirrors act, there were so many that we're but then I remember my sister buying the "Art of the Deal" and even I watched him on Oprah. I did not like him, but I had no idea the extent of what a horrible person he is.

[rndgmoat]

A collection of reprinted magazine articles by Marie Brenner, all as they originally appeared without any contemporary revision or addition. This makes some of the articles feel a little dated, but overall Brenner is a great journalist who excels at giving you the "full picture" behind a news event. Some of the stories are more engaging than others but this was a decent audiobook listen.

[Lissa]

Wish this cover had kept its original title: A Private War. The story covering Richard Jewell was one of 6 others detailing people in the news that Ms. Brenner wrote about for the New Yorker or Vanity Fair.

[Erin O'Hara]

This book should not at all be called “Richard Jewell.” Only approximately 80 pages is about him. The rest of the book is a series of other articles written by the author. I didn’t particularly enjoy any of them. I found the author’s writing to be very hard to follow, and I didn’t quite understand the point of any of the article.