The Book of Matt

The Real Story of the Murder of Matthew Shepard

By: Stephen Jimenez, Andrew Sullivan - introduction

Narrated by: Paul Fleschner

“Methamphetamine was a huge part of this case... It was a horrible murder driven by drugs.” (Prosecutor Cal Rerucha, who convicted Matthew Shepard's killers)

On the night of October 6, 1998, 21-year-old Matthew Shepard left a bar with two alleged “strangers”, Aaron McKin­ney and Russell Henderson. Eighteen hours later, Matthew was found tied to a log fence on the outskirts of town, unconscious and barely alive. Overnight, a politically expedient myth took the place of important facts. By the time Matthew died a few days later, his name was synonymous with anti-gay hate. The Book of Matt, first published in 2013, demonstrated that the truth was in fact far more complicated - and daunting. Stephen Jimenez’s account revealed primary documents that had been under seal, and gave voice to many with firsthand knowledge of the case who had not been heard from, including members of law enforcement.

In his Introduction to this updated edition, journalist Andrew Sullivan writes: “No one wanted Steve Jimenez to report this story, let alone go back and back to Laramie, Wyoming, asking awkward questions, puzzling over strange discrepancies, re-interviewing sources, seeking a deeper, more complex truth about the ghastly killing than America, it turned out, was prepared to hear. It was worse than that, actually. Not only did no one want to hear more about it, but many were incensed that the case was being re-examined at all.”

As a gay man Jimenez felt an added moral imperative to tell the story of Matthew’s murder honestly, and his reporting has been thoroughly corroborated. “I urge you to read [The Book of Matt] carefully and skeptically”, Sullivan writes, “and to see better how life rarely fits into the neat boxes we want it to inhabit. That Matthew Shepard was a meth dealer and meth user says nothing that bad about him, and in no way mitigates the hideous brutality of the crime that killed him; instead it shows how vulnerable so many are to the drug’s escapist lure and its astonishing capacity to heighten sexual pleasure so that it’s the only thing you want to live for. Shepard was a victim twice over: of meth and of a fellow meth user.”

©2013, 2020 Stephen Jimenez (P)2021 Truth to Power

Critic reviews

"An award-winning journalist uncovers the suppressed story behind the death of Matthew Shepard.... As Jimenez deconstructs an event that has since passed into the realm of mythology, he humanizes it . . . Investigative journalism at its relentless and compassionate best." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Be prepared to encounter a radically revised version of the life and death of Matthew Shepard... This riveting true crime narrative will appeal to readers of books such as Norman Mailer's The Executioner's Song." (Library Journal, starred review)

"Jimenez is careful to point out that his goal is to understand Shepard as a complex human being and make the fullest possible sense of his murder, not to suggest in any way that he deserved his horrific fate.... Jimenez’s problem is that he has trodden on hallowed ground. America, as John Ford cannily observed in his western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, is a country that likes to build up its heroes and villains and rarely appreciates having the record corrected to restore them to the stature of ordinary, fallible human beings. By now, Shepard’s story has been elevated close to legend, and Shepard himself to a near-messianic figure who suffered for the ultimate benefit of the rest of us.... Many of Jimenez’s central contentions are shared by the prosecutor in the case, Cal Rerucha, and by police officers who investigated the murder." (The Guardian)

nothing but truth

when I started the book I thought he was going to spend the entirety blaming conservatives and regretted the purchase. I was wrong. Jimenez only reports the truth. No political bias. No agenda. It was so refreshing and well written. My family is from the midwest. My brother attended WyoTech and I've been in every single town you mentioned. Thank you for reporting honestly and attempting to shed light on a huge problem that plagues America.

The Painful Truth, Or At Least Closer To It

I grew up in Laramie, and know a couple of people tangentially involved in this story. But, the real point to be made is about the aspects of this story that were glossed over, ignored, or disputed though true. The book does not deny the tragedy, it simply tells a more comprehensive story. Matthew’s death will continue to symbolize hate, but truth will always be more complicated and less pure than legend or myth. Well sourced and told in a fair and even compassionate manner, Jimenez dedicated a large part of his professional life to seek truth. That he received so much pushback is a shame, his motivations seem good to me.

So many failures

While a good book it is so hard to extract any hope from this read. While Matthew’s tragedy may not have been a hate crime it was a crime filled with hatred.

Fascinating Research

This book is not homophobic as it is written and researched by an openly gay man.. Jimenez has spent over 20 years gathering facts and incidence including interviews even to the length of visiting prisons. Matt Shepard did not deserve what happened to him and McKinney and Henderson deserved punishment but this was not a hate crime but a situation where drug dealing, drug trafficking, and drug addiction is involved. I was an LGBT supporter when I first saw the Matt Shepherd documentary. Matt Shepherd's mother admitted her son used meth just not in the town where he was murdered. Matt also was arrested at 15 for sexually assaulting two 8 year old girls which was never mentioned at the trial or public media who was all about forcing the gay rights and gay victim agenda. Matt was not as innocent as the media portrayed.

Very well read

Excellent narration. Refreshing and fair account. Would like to read more by this author and listen to other books this narrator has done.

ch 34 snipped

the ending of chapter 34 is cut off. fix that and I'll fix my review