Every Last Tie: The Story of the Unabomber and His Family

Ever since reading news in the mid 1990s about how the Unabomber was apprehended, I've wondered about his brother's decision to turn him in. The Unabomber's death revived this curiosity and led to this book. It is a short read told methodically and carefully. Achieving that tone is a remarkable feat by this author, who is not a writer by training. The story and the way he tells it offer so much insight into the disintegration of a brilliant but troubled mind, and the ethical quandary from his brother's suspicions. The afterword by the psychiatrist is a bit dated after so many mass shootings and terroristic murders, but it well describes the no-way-out mentality of a person like the Unabomber. Sadly, many families with children who don't or can't adapt well socially will be able to relate to this compassionate description.Compassion is threaded through this memoir, and it is not flinching in the facts of the violence. If our society could look at our problem with violence and mental health with a fraction of this compassionate insight, we and our generations to come would be so much better off. Chalking up these actions to "evil" is simplistic and wrong, and prevents further soul-searching about what all of us can do to reach out and meet the vast needs of humans on the fringe.

Very open and personal story by the brother of the unabomber. Very heart wrenching account of David Kaczynski and his wife. He wrestles with the idea that his brotherTed might be the FBI most wanted bomber. He then has to decide how to tell his aging but very loving mother the news.A good portion of the book is autobiographical about Davids life. Much of it is relating his Buddhist faith, his childhood and his struggle coming to grip with the situation around Ted. He tells of his parents and family history, how he met and eventually wed his wife, and his feelings.You can really feel Davids heart ache and loss over the discovery that his brother really is the unabomber. His brother Ted has disowned his family over the years and David reaches out to him to no avail. He even goes on a speaking tour against the death penalty. He clearly loved his brother very much.The last 30% or so of the book is written by a forensic psychiatrist. He is all over the place frankly. He discusses many things mostly mass shootings. He talks in depth about Adam Lansa (Sandy Hook) and although it is interesting, it feels disjointed and out of place. Really nowhere is he discussing Ted Kaczynski from a medical stance.I understand he is a close friend of the author, and he is being supportive. ... but it is a distracting addition to this book. He also discusses at length his Buddhist faith and career. This is interesting but doesn't feel like his career etc. belongs in this book.The first half of the book is moving, but overall I walked away frustrated with the last third of the book. The author of the book skips over many things like the courtroom events and trial, and details of the pursuit and interaction with the FBI during the manhunt. These things would have been fascinating to hear about from the authors perspective. I was disappointed they were briefly mentioned or glossed over.Understandably this is Davids story to tell and he can tell it Any way he feels fit. This is a healing act for him. I get that. But an editor should have urged more in certain areas rather than a friend adding his story to the last third of the book. Not trying to sound uncaring but it is "fluff"at the end and it distracts from a important story the author David was trying to tell.It would be more impactful if the book had ended short without the added last bit. It doesn't ruin the message but it makes it murky. It is possible I walked in expecting something quite different, but the last parts of the book by the guest author just don't resound with the rest of the story well.

I have been interested in the horrific yet fascinating Unabomber story for quite some time, so it was with great anticipation that I purchased this book from amazon. While "Every Last Tie", does offer some insight into Ted's upbringing, overall I found it came up short in providing the in depth perspective that I had hoped for and would have expected from the Unabomber's brother and one time confidant.One aspect of the book, that both troubled and puzzled me, was it's account of how the author struggled to see Ted as a potential suspect in the Unabomber murders, and his vast praise for his wife Linda in ultimately solving the case through her persistent belief that Ted was the Unabomber. Maybe I'm missing something, but if I had a brother who walked away from a potentially brilliant career as a math teacher, who lived alone in a primitive dwelling without electricity and running water, who had written essays expressing his anti-technological beliefs, who had no friends, who wrote letter's back home that were increasingly filled with hate toward his parents, and who clearly had an ability to create sophisticated bombs, I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to at least consider him a suspect in the Unabomber killings. I mean, it was not like Ted was living some conventional existence and had never shown any deep anti-social tendencies at any point in his life. Ultimately, rather than praising the author and his wife, I found myself shaking my head in disbelief at their reticence in naming Ted as a suspect, when so much was at stake.

Going in it should be made clear that Ted Kaczynski is not a focal point in this book. He remains on the periphery throughout, and appears only as a side character to compliment the stories of the other members of the Kaczynski family. The first chapter is the most relevant to the Unabomber, recounting the author's struggle in deciding to report his suspicions about his brother to the FBI. The second chapter is devoted to Wanda Kaczynski, the third to Theodore Kaczynski Sr., and the fourth to the author's wife, Linda. Ted does not receive a chapter devoted to him alone. These sections take up just short of 60% of the book, with the remainder being an 'afterword' written by a doctor who the author befriended.Although this section is entitled 'afterword', it is more like a second part of the book - and most of this part does not focus on the Unabomber case. Much of it is spent discussing either the state of mental health services (or lack thereof) in the American penal system, as well as the legacy of mass public shootings in the U.S. and how these also relate to mental health. It is an interesting series of essays, but does not feel fitting in a book that has the subtitle: "The Story of the Unabomber". The author discusses his own forays into spirituality and psychology, which seem more based on his own interpretations of these precepts than the established lore but the story of his own healing after his brother's arrest is the most important take-away from these sections rather than an education in psychology or spirituality.Several illuminating photos of Ted as a young man are included in the centre-fold. The author's take on Ted Kaczynski and his crimes is that they were motivated solely by mental illness - the political and ideological aspects of the Unabomber killings are almost completely disregarded. Several great anecdotes about Ted's youth are included, and considering how brief the book is it is worth reading for these alone. I am quite a slow reader, and I was still able to finish this one within the course of three days. The lack of focus on Ted is likely in no small part due to his self-imposed exile from the Kaczynski family (the title, 'Every Last Tie', being a reference to a phrase Ted used in a letter to his brother about severing every last tie from his family). This book is worth reading, just know the focus is not on Ted Kaczynski as an individual but rather his youthful environment and his subsequent impact upon those closest to him.

Interesting as background to the writings of Ted Kaczynski. The author, Kaczynski’s brother, is remarkably insightless about the dynamics of the family and how well they illustrate the psychological tropes that his older brother critiques in his manifesto and other essays.