ebooks One of Us: The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway by Ã…sne Seierstad in History

Review

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful. The Most Powerful Book I've Ever Read!By Don BayBeautifully written by the talented Norwegian journalist Åsne Seierstad; "One of Us" is the story of Anders Breivik who; in 2011; committed the most horrendous mass murder in Norway in modern times. Seierstad draws on official documents; extensive interviews and courtroom observations to detail Breivik's life from his troubled childhood; through his illegal "tagging" and descent into gaming and the paranoid world of anti-Muslim ranting. His fevered bomb-construction and murderous explosive attempt to assassinate the Prime Minister leads him to the island where a group of teenagers are enjoying a summer holiday. The cold-blooded murders of sixty-nine youngsters is so powerful that it had me weeping as if those children were my own.In following Breivik's warped life; Seierstad scrapes away the gloss on Norway's—and the world's—efforts to integrate refugees into society and lays bare the gross failings of Norway's police effort. The trial of the murderer; Breivik; and his early life in prison is part of this engrossing tale. It's absolutely the most powerful book Ive ever read.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Lone-wolf terrorism and incompetent policingBy Ethan CooperONE OF US is the story of a monstrous crime and bizarre act of terrorism. Its culmination is the gruesome 72-page chapter “Friday”; which reconstructs Breivik’s bombing of the Norwegian Prime Minister’s office (eight killed and at least 209 injured) on July 22; 2011 and his massacre a few hours later of 69 people; mostly defenseless teenagers; at a summer camp.ONE OF US is journalism and Asne Seierstad does a tremendous job at presenting the backstory and facts of Breivik’s crimes. As she points out in her epilogue; there is a voluminous record of these crimes; due to police interrogation of Breivik; the prosecutor’s decision to investigate and document each murder; and analysis of Breivik by numerous court-appointed psychiatrists. This record enables Seierstad to present the sequence and details of many murders at the camp and even enter Breivik’s mind during his murderous spree. For example: “He fired at someone swimming. Between the trees he spied two figures. A Norwegian man and an Arab woman; he would later call them. They looked very disorientated; he thought.”I read ONE OF US with several questions in mind. These included:o Who could commit such a heinous deed? Breivik was an ambitious and delusional narcissist who; before committing his crimes; spent five years alone in his room playing intense computer games; visiting lunatic-fringe web sites; and trying to develop relationships with right-wing bloggers. Observed a court psychiatrist: “At his core; there is just a deeply lonely man… We have here not only a right-wing extremist bastard… His personality and extreme right-wing ideology combined in an effort to get out of his own prison…”o What actually happened? Seierstad gets an A+.o Did the police respond competently? Throughout the chapter “Friday”; Seierstad shows how the police reacted as Breivik detonated his bomb and carried on his hour-long massacre. This response was utterly incompetent. But it is also overpowered in the narrative by the egregiousness of Breivik’s actions. As a result; I was pleased when Seierstad; near the end of her book; allowed a father of a murdered boy to recapitulate the policing debacle. “Could one say that the police were inattentive on 22 July? Could one say the authorities were inattentive beforehand? Could one say it was irresponsible that the crew of Norway’s sole police helicopter were all on leave for the whole of July? Could one say that individual police officers had not followed the instructions for a ‘shooting in progress’ situation; indicating that a direct intervention was required? Should anyone be charged with negligence?”Nonetheless; there is a flaw in this book that I found distracting. It is that Seierstad; a journalist; doesn’t do very good character sketches. As a result; her portrayals of the victims of this atrocity are dull and unconvincing. Yes; these were elite and successful teenagers at the Utoya summer camp and Seierstad wants to show respect to them and their parents. But in doing so; she makes the victims virtuously bland.Not an easy read but recommended.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. HauntingBy avid readerIf you're just looking for cheap thrills; you'll probably be impatient with "One of Us;" because I can't remember the last time I read a true crime book with such vivid detail; about both the killer and his victims. I was fascinated by Anders' backstory and how he developed a motivation for his horrible crimes. That said; this book is hardly clinical--Seierstad's description of the massacre left me breathless and petrified.And the fact that the author takes the time and care to tell us about some of the victims' lives makes everything so much more powerful--the only thing I can compare it to Robert Kolker's "Lost Girls;" in which the author *only* can write about the victims' lives (as their murderer is still unknown). Letting us get to know some of the victims makes the inevitable tragedy that much more "real"--and I felt like I was mourning the victims for days and days after I finished reading the book.