Massacre at Waco: The Shocking True Story of Cult Leader David Koresh and the Branch Davidians

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.

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.