On July 22, 2011, Anders Behring Breivik detonated a bomb outside government buildings in central Oslo, killing eight people. He then proceeded to a youth camp on the island of Utøya, where he killed sixty-nine more, most of them teenage members of Norway's governing Labour Party. In One of Us, the journalist Åsne Seierstad tells the story of this terrible day and what led up to it. What made Breivik, a gifted child from an affluent neighborhood in Oslo, become a terrorist? Seierstad delves deep into Breivik's troubled childhood, showing how a hip-hop and graffiti aficionado became a right-wing activist and Internet game addict, and then an entrepreneur, Freemason, and self-styled master warrior who sought to "save Norway" from the threat of Islam and multiculturalism. She writes with equal intimacy about Breivik's victims, tracing their political awakenings, aspirations to improve their country, and ill-fated journeys to the island. By the time Seierstad reaches Utøya, we know both the killer and those he will kill. We have also gotten to know an entire country -- famously peaceful and prosperous, and utterly incapable of protecting its youth.

"Originally published in Norwegian in 2013 by Kagge, Norway, as En av oss"--Title page verso.

A new life (1979) -- Swirls of light -- Changes in the country -- Silkestrå -- Peeing on the stairs -- Al-Anfal -- Our children -- Young dreams -- To Damascus -- Asking for protection -- A place on the list -- "High quality fake diplomas!!" -- Choose yourself a world -- Three comrades -- Writings -- The book -- How can I get your life? -- Don't make friends with anyone before you get there! -- Patriots and tyrants -- Not just an outfit -- The President's speech -- Poison -- The chemist's log -- All we could dream of -- Summer fever -- I love you -- Friday -- When it's all over -- Does your child have any distinguishing features? -- But never naivety -- Narcissus on stage -- The monologue -- The heart of the matter -- The will to live -- Psycho seminar -- The verdict -- The mountain -- Weaver's heaven -- The sentence.