A Sniper in the Tower: The Charles Whitman Mass Murders

Some true crime books are not well written. In terms of the total product, this is without a doubt the one of the best true crime books written. Gary Lavergne meticuliously researched the events of August 1, 1966 in Austin, Texas. The book is worthy of the envy of other true crime writers.Lavergne details the significant events in the life of Charles Whitman in the days leading to the massacre. Whitman's abusive homelife leads him to join the marines, leaving his family behind. Whitman struggles to find his niche. His continual search to better the success of his father became obsessive. The obsession grows to the point where he feels that he is a success at nothing. Lavergne's account is factual without skewing from personal opinion or theories. His objective view is important when he tells the controversial information behind the killing of Charles Whitman and the end to the massacre. Rather than taking the of Ramiro Martinez or Houston McCoy, Lavergne prefers to make the point that they both got the sniper. Similarly, little attention is paid the the brain tumor that a select few believe cause Whitman to initiate his attack on the University of Texas Campus. I am particulary appreciative of the endnotes at the end of each chapter. Because there was a lot of research into the project, many sources were used. It makes more sense to have the sources listed at the end to the chapters so they are more readily available to the reader. The book is easy for those interested in the topic to enjoy.

This book reads very quickly and easily. It is SO well researched and organized that I skipped the Time Life Books version of the Whitman story. The split second action and microscopic details are all here. It will make your heart race if you imagine what Houston McCoy and Ramiro Martinez must have felt.

For 96 minutes in August 1966, Charles Whitman rained death on the University of Texas campus, shooting 45 people from the 28th-floor observation deck of its bell tower. The ex-Marine shot people more than 400 yards away and put two bullets through the fabric of an airplane flying overhead before two Austin police officers killed him. If this sounds like the makings of a great story, it is -- and Gary Lavergne is just the man to tell it. Lavergne's well-researched book delves into Whitman's past to reveal how he evolved into a person who could kill 16 people. The author then cranks the story-telling into high gear by delivering a blow-by-blow account of Whitman's reign of terror. Lavergne's words are accompanied by many interesting photos, including one taken of the tower as Austin residents fired back at Whitman 12 minutes before his death. I read this book in one sitting. My favorite part was the last chapter, which detailed Lavergne's interviews 30 years after the event with the two men who killed Whitman. The literary picture he paints of long, tall Texan Houston McCoy -- whose life since his heroic act has been anything but happy -- was really compelling.

As a UT grad, I always wondered what really happened that day in 1966. Mr. Lavergne has set the record straight in this riveting account. He has also really captured the feel of Austin and the UT area. Now I know why the tower was closed the whole time I was there. Read this book and you WILL be there. Superb job of reporting.

I attended the University of Texas, and have been a resident of Austin since 1977; this crime has held a tight grip on my psyche for many years. (Currently, I live across the park from the site where Whitman and his wife lived before moving to their last home in south Austin, so Charles Whitman is never far from my thoughts.)The story and the book that details the mayhem caused by Charles Whitman represent one of the top true crime episodes in the history of America. This was one of America's first mass murder stories in the era dubbed "The Media Age." The carnal horrors of Vietnam presented on the six o'clock news by the broadcast media closely paralleled the impact felt by the horrified followers of the Tower killings.Lavergne does a fine job of detailing the early life of Whitman and the events that led to his premeditated madness. The Kennedy assassination, the Speck murders, and Whitman's killing spree woke and shocked America from its contented and homogenized post-Eisenhower dream. Innocence was truly lost in 1966 that day in Austin, Texas, under a scorching August sun. I don't believe in the theory of "closure"; any event that must encompass the concept of closure will always be so painful that the person involved will never completely forget that tragic incident. For the people affected by the Whitman murders or any other earth-shattering event, closure is an inane concept.