James Corcoran

The story of Gordon Kahl, tax resister and Christian Identity whack job, who ended up in a shootout with U.S. Marshals who attempted to arrest him. Kahl survived and fled, two Marshals were killed and another was seriously wounded as was a deputy sheriff.

What I found particularly interesting was Corcoran's description of the farm crisis of the 80s and its causes. Financial crisis has a way of pushing some people towards radical political views and groups, expect to see more of this in coming days.

Corcoran managed to write a pretty balanced book without attempting to excuse the actions of Kahl and his compatriots. I've read a lot about right-wing fringe groups so nothing here came as a shock to me, but if you don't know much about such groups this isn't the worst place to start although there are better ones.… (more)

The book covers the background and hunt for Gordon Khal as well as the trial of those who stood with him on that fateful day of the shootout. I would have to say that the author kept it fairly even between the opposing parties in telling their sides. I still to this day believe that Gordon Khal did the right thing and the government was bloodthirsty and completely out of line in their handling of the situation from beginning to end. In fact during those years a number of incidents were handled very very poorly.… (more)