Using extensive primary source material, Rosenau expertly weaves together court records, newspaper interviews, law enforcement reports, and interviews with retired FBI agents who worked on the case to put together a compelling narrative of the rise and fall of M19 ... This multifaceted work will appeal to readers with an interest in U.S. national security, U.S. domestic terrorism, radical left-wing militancy, and U.S. law enforcement.
... tells the compelling and sobering tale of M19 with hardly a hint of the sensationalism its bombastic title promises ... As such, it provides a well-balanced, clear-eyed view of an underground organization 'totally and profoundly influenced by the revolutionary movements of the sixties and seventies' that formed in 1978 to wage war on U.S. imperialism and racism ... It’s particularly in the tone that Rosenau strikes in his narrative that Tonight We Bombed the U.S. Capitol stands in stark contrast to Bryan Burrough’s widely read Days of Rage (2015). Burrough’s bracing and often darkly humorous work narrates the history of the Weather Underground, the Symbionese Liberation Army, the Black Liberation Army, and other 1970s radical organizations in lavish detail. Burrough consistently goes for the dramatic jugular that Rosenau studiously avoids ... It’s to Rosenau’s credit that his account of deeply sobering political violence proves consistently compelling without ever striving to titillate, exploit, or entertain.
... the welter of names can feel difficult to track, though the list of members and associates helps ... the author relies on skilled, detailed research to outline both the goals and violent practices of the revolutionaries ... An intriguing history that holds relevance to domestic terrorism in our current era.
... gripping, meticulously researched ... This fascinating chronicle of a dark slice of American history deserves a wide audience. Rosenau is off to a strong start.
