The United States of America Versus Theodore John Kaczynski

Book excerpt: On January 22, 1998, Theodore John Kaczynski, Montana recluse and accused Unabomber, pled guilty and received three life sentences after a dramatic behind-the-scenes legal struggle. Kaczynski was written off by most as a vicious sociopath or Luddite eco-terrorist, and revered by a few as a modern-day John Brown defending a utopian vision at all costs.In this provocative analysis, Professor Michael Mello, who informally advised the Unabomber defense team, sifts through the media circus, court transcripts, and his own friendship with Kaczynski to expose the conflicts of interest and ideological forces that led to one of the most famous non-trials in legal history. Mello's book is an up-close look at a man who got lost in a system that could not accommodate him because it could not imagine him.