Massacre at Waco, Texas: The Shocking Story of Cult Leader David Koresh and the Branch Davidians (St. Martin's True Crime Library)

Rating:
Summary: Biased and poorly sourced, but interesting.
Review: 'Massacre at Waco' was one of several that came out almost immediately after the burning of Mt. Carmel on April 19, 1993. In essence this book covers the events leading up to and including the fiery end of the Davidians.

The most glaring fault with this book is its extreme bias. When reading about the Davidian "cultists" you almost feel like you are reading of Cthulhu worshippers in an H.P. Lovecraft horror novel. On the other hand the section on the history of the ATF has the feel of being plagiarized from an ATF publicity pamphlet. Perhaps because he is the author of several 'true crime' books Mr. Linedecker does not seem able to look past the simple crime scene aspect of what went on at Waco. He covers Waco as if it had been bank robbery, and seems oblivious to any greater picture.

Other problems with this book are a result of when it was written. Coming out so soon after the fire, many of the myths had not yet been exposed. The apparently untrue myths propagated in this book include: the babies being beaten during the siege, tunnels under and around Mt. Carmel, the brave FBI agent running into the burning building to save Majorie Thomas, and the FBI agents seeing the fires being lit. Events that have come under dispute, such as who fired first in the initial raid, are reported with only the government's perspective, possibly because other viewpoints were not available when this book came out.

This book also has no footnoting, or even a solid sources section. To the extent that sources are made known they are stated in the text and it is often very difficult to figure out where Mr. Linedecker got what piece of information. When you can determine the sources, they appear to all be either mainstream media, government spokesmen, or people with a real anti Davidian axe to grind.

On the plus side, the book is well written. The writing is almost conversational, uncluttered with obscure phrases or references, and it makes for a quick and enjoyable read. Even in its coverage of events it has some good points. If you can get past the astonishingly biased account of the initial raid in chapter one, its history of the early Davidians in chapter two is as good as that given in other books, and more clearly written. The book's main strength, however, lies in its coverage of the intents and methods of government agencies. It does a pretty good job of explaining what the official motivations of the ATF's initial raid were, how the negotiation teams were set up, and it examines the motives (if uncritically) behind the various tactics employed by law enforcement throughout.

Although it has some interesting aspects, because of its deficiencies, I cannot recommend 'Massacre at Waco.' Instead I suggest 'The Ashes of Waco' by Dick Reavis.

Rating:
Summary: Massacre at Waco,Texas is a good read.
Review: Ever since the Waco tragedy happend years ago, I've always wanted to know more about what happend there. This is the very first book that I picked up concerning the subject. While it never really went in depth with things, it did give me an understanding of what happend. I finished this book in one night, believe it or not, but I really enjoyed reading it. Since that time, I've picked up several other books concerning the subject (and you should too after reading this one). Even moreso, check out the documentary.."Rules of Engagement". Each one offers several different sides of the tragedy so you can understand what happend there better.
Overall, this is a good place to start to find out about it. This book is a good read. Definitely. Check it out.

Rating:
Summary: The best book about Waco that I've ever read
Review: I thought that "Massacre at Waco, Texas" was the best account of the events at Ranch Apocalypse that I've ever read. It is a simple, straightforward description of the beginning of the Branch Davidian Cult, the rise of David Koresh as their leader, and the eventual showdown with the ATF. Most importantly, Linedecker tells the story in an unbiased way, in contrast to the numerous versions that have been produced by conservatives and anti-government extremists. Now it is true that the book was rushed into publication shortly after the siege, and consequently contains a small number of factual errors. However, it is overall a well-researched and documented work. For example, consider Linedecker's approach to the issue of Koresh's alleged abuse of children. It is true that he includes the incident with the eight-month-old baby, a story that later proved to be questionable. However, Koresh did regularly beat children and have sexual relations with underaged girls, and Linedeckers backs up these assertions with an impressive array of court documents and testimony from former cult members. Since some of Koresh's defenders have attempted to downplay the reports about his abuse of children, it's obviously important to get the facts straight on this issue. The author also documents the process by which the Branch Davidians obtained and constructed illegal firearms and their plans for a major terrorist attack against the city of Waco.

With that said, I can't pretend that the book is well written. The writing is quite mediocre, with immature word choice, frequent grammar mistakes, and paragraphs that have just one sentence. Linedecker sometimes goes off on tangents that don't really contribute to the story for several pages. He provides long lists of people who were part of the cult, but doesn't really get into their heads to make us understand why they joined the cult. Also, the eight-page photo section doesn't really serve any purpose. Even so, I still recommend this book because I think that it's important for people to understand the truth about the tragic events that took place in Waco in 1993.

Rating:
Summary: The best book about Waco that I've ever read
Review: I thought that "Massacre at Waco, Texas" was the best account of the events at Ranch Apocalypse that I've ever read. It is a simple, straightforward description of the beginning of the Branch Davidian Cult, the rise of David Koresh as their leader, and the eventual showdown with the ATF. Most importantly, Linedecker tells the story in an unbiased way, in contrast to the numerous versions that have been produced by conservatives and anti-government extremists. Now it is true that the book was rushed into publication shortly after the siege, and consequently contains a small number of factual errors. However, it is overall a well-researched and documented work. For example, consider Linedecker's approach to the issue of Koresh's alleged abuse of children. It is true that he includes the incident with the eight-month-old baby, a story that later proved to be questionable. However, Koresh did regularly beat children and have sexual relations with underaged girls, and Linedeckers backs up these assertions with an impressive array of court documents and testimony from former cult members. Since some of Koresh's defenders have attempted to downplay the reports about his abuse of children, it's obviously important to get the facts straight on this issue. The author also documents the process by which the Branch Davidians obtained and constructed illegal firearms and their plans for a major terrorist attack against the city of Waco.

With that said, I can't pretend that the book is well written. The writing is quite mediocre, with immature word choice, frequent grammar mistakes, and paragraphs that have just one sentence. Linedecker sometimes goes off on tangents that don't really contribute to the story for several pages. He provides long lists of people who were part of the cult, but doesn't really get into their heads to make us understand why they joined the cult. Also, the eight-page photo section doesn't really serve any purpose. Even so, I still recommend this book because I think that it's important for people to understand the truth about the tragic events that took place in Waco in 1993.

Rating:
Summary: The infamous siege 'revealed', well, sort of...
Review: It seemed that the ashes of the fire that claimed the lives of David Koresh and his followers had not even cooled when this book about the Branch Davidians, their Living Prophet Koresh, and the tense siege with law enforcement officers appeared on bookshelves at drug stores and supermarkets everywhere. Because of this, Clifford Linedecker's narrative clearly favors the law enforcement side of the tragic events and what inside information into the compound life seems to come from former members with understandly negative opinions about their experience at the compound. Linedecker does relate the fascinating history of the Seventh-Day Adventist splinter group and their long line of Living Prophets, for this the book might prove interesting to True Crime fans, but many of the facts and the characterization of life in the compound has, over time, come into question.