A Terrible Thunder: The Story of the New Orleans Sniper [Paperback]

On December 31, 1972, revelers gathering in downtown New Orleans for the New Year's celebration found themselves running for cover as a sniper opened fire. The shooter targeted police officers, killing several over the following week before a final showdown on the roof of a hotel, where he was killed. Journalist Hernon's 1978 title unfurls the story of sniper Mark James Essex, a U.S. Navy veteran who declared war on white society. A solid title for true-crime collections.A Terrible Thunder is more than just another fashionable journalistic rehashing of a crime. In its depiction of Essex's abrupttransmogrification it raises questions about the accumulated effect of petty but persistent injustices and about the individual's capacity to endure aggrievement.On New Year's Eve in New Orleans, 1972, Mark Essex began one of the most violent and deadly sniper attacks on policemen that any American city had ever seen. Before it ended one week later, hundreds of armed police and an assault helicopter would be called to a burning downtown hotel to battle phantom gunmen who refused to be killed.Peter Hernon is an editor for the Chicago Tribune. Author Resides in Chicago, IL.