Waco: A Survivor's Story

by David Thibodeau, Leon Whiteson, Aviva Layton Narrated by Robert Fass

Overview

The basis of the celebrated Paramount Network miniseries starring Michael Shannon and Taylor Kitsch -- Waco is the critically-acclaimed, first person account of the siege by Branch Davidian survivor, David Thibodeau.

Twenty-five years ago, the FBI staged a deadly raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco. Texas. David Thibodeau survived to tell the story.

When he first met the man who called himself David Koresh, David Thibodeau was a drummer in a local a rock band. Though he had never been religious in the slightest, Thibodeau gradually became a follower and moved to the Branch Davidian compound in Waco. He remained there until April 19, 1993, when the compound was stormed and burned to the ground after a 51-day standoff with government authorities.

In this compelling account -- now with an updated epilogue that revisits remaining survivors--Thibodeau explores why so many people came to believe that Koresh was divinely inspired. We meet the men, women, and children of Mt. Carmel. We get inside the day-to-day life of the community. We also understand Thibodeau's brutally honest assessment of the United States government's actions. The result is a memoir that reads like a thriller, with each page taking us closer to the eventual inferno.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"An extraordinary account of one of the most shameful episodes in recent American history. I wish that everyone in the country could read this book."
—Howard Zinn

"This book gives a rare glimpse of life at Mount Carmel and an account of how that attack contrasts with the 'official' government version. With the renewed interest in this siege, this book is recommended for public libraries."
—School Library Journal

"This narrative defies many of our media-mediated preconceptions of Koresh's followers."
—Booklist

"Thibodeau, one of only four Branch Davidians to live through the Waco disaster and not be sentenced to jail, has produced a surprisingly balanced and honest account of his time as a Branch Davidian. Neither sensationalist nor defensive, this will make satisfying reading for anyone interested in the April 1993 tragedy."
—Kirkus Review

"A disquieting portrait of a religious community and its enigmatic leader."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Honest... [about] whether the excessive force used by our government against American citizens was really necessary."—Lincoln Star Journal

Library Journal - Audio

04/01/2018
After a chance meeting with David Koresh in a California music store, Thibodeau eventually became not only a drummer with Koresh's band but a religious follower. Thibodeau was inside the Branch Davidian complex, Mount Carmel, during the government siege of 1993, and in this account, originally published in 1999, he shares stories of other followers and demands to know why the government acted as it did, putting forth compelling evidence that the attack and siege should not have occurred, especially by the authorities. Thibodeau seems to remain a true believer and genuinely convinced that Koresh's demand of celibacy from all other men in the compound was reasonable, lamenting that being the only sexually active man in the group was "exhausting" for Koresh. Indeed, that aspect seems to be a basic tenet that the author accepts unquestioningly and brings up again and again, something that most listeners will find distressing since in addition to having sexual relations with presumably willing adult partners, Koresh was raping girls as young as 12. Narrator Robert Fass is eminently believable as Thibodeau. VERDICT For those interested, this would be a choice read prior to 25th-anniversary remembrances of the events. ["With the renewed interest in this siege, this book is recommended for public libraries": LJ 10/15/99 review of the PublicAffairs hc.]—Cheryl Youse, Norman Park, GA

Kirkus Reviews

2017-10-17
A survivor of the government attack on the Mount Carmel compound in Waco, Texas, bears witness to the horrific event.To coincide with a forthcoming miniseries about Waco, Thibodeau (A Place Called Waco, 1999) has updated his previous memoir, written with co-author Whiteson (A Terrible Beauty: An Exploration of the Positive Role of Violence in Culture, Life, and Society, 2010). The epilogue to this republication was written with the help of Whiteson's widow. Thibodeau was a 21-year-old rock drummer when he met David Koresh in Los Angeles in 1990. "Not much in my life was going right," he admits, so when Koresh invited him to join his Christian-oriented band, he readily agreed. Soon, he was invited to Waco, where he became fascinated by Koresh's spiritual teachings. Koresh claimed that he had the key to decoding the Seven Seals; he himself "was the incarnation of the sacrificed Lamb" of the book of Revelation. As the leader of the hardscrabble community, he insisted on male celibacy: he alone was allowed to procreate, with any female—even girls of 12—"to generate the inner circle of children who would rule the coming kingdom to be established in Israel." Although Thibodeau's mother believed Koresh was skilled at "mind control" and "instilling extreme paranoia in his devotees," Thibodeau defends the man who, he claims, changed his life for the better. Describing himself as a dreamer with no structure or direction for his life, with Koresh's guidance, he learned to control his "appetites and impulses" and gained "some insight into a more profound way of being." By 1993, the compound became the focus of government surveillance, fueled by testimony from disaffected members who had fled the community, claiming it was a dangerous cult peopled by "armed fanatics" brainwashed by a madman, guilty of gun stockpiling, child abuse, and statutory rape. Only the last charge, the author writes, could be supported. A violent, unjustified siege ended in a conflagration that killed 80 community members.A disquieting portrait of a religious community and its enigmatic leader.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173758712
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	01/02/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

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