Inside the Cult [Paperback]

Mark Breault (Author), Martin King (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1993

Book

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Signet (June 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451180291
• ISBN-13: 978-0451180292
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,726,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book tells what happened and, to some extent, why, July 6, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Inside the Cult (Paperback)

This book, while not a literary masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, tells my story as it happened. I was a member of the Branch Davidians from 1986 to 1990 and Koresh, who was then Vernon Howell, was a very good friend of mine. After all the publicity, including the siege, fire, and trial, there have been may documentaries and publications claiming to tell the truth about the Branch Davidians. This book pulls no punches. It tells of life in the cult exactly as it was. If you want information about the FBI during the siege, you can get some from this publication, but there have been more thorough works written since then. This book is probably best read in conjunction with one of the more reputable books on the subject.

"Inside the Cult" is told from the inside. It also tells of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms investigation as it unfolded. I kept a rather extensive diary from the beginning of my association with Koresh, to his firey end in April 1993. In addition to the facts, this book also gives the thoughts, perceptions and consequences of various events as they took place. If you want the truth about what the Branch Davidians were really like under Koresh's rule, then this book will give you that information.

I have tried to be objective and accurate. An appendix at the end gives a more thological history of the book. I rate the book 8/10 because it does not include detailed theological information about the group. Why? At the time, I did not thing anyone would be interested. The theology is very complex and detailed. So the book isn't perfect. But I'm on-line, I'm here, and I usually answer whatever questions people have.

Marc Breault, author of Inside the Cult

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't explain the behavior of the Feds, May 3, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Inside the Cult (Paperback)

One question that isn't answered is why -- if the Feds wanted David Koresh so much, and if they wanted to "protect the children" as they have claimed ad nauseum -- they didn't arrest Koresh when he was in Waco relatively alone, as he traveled there quite often (and without a lot of people with him).

Doesn't make any sense to me . . . If I was going to stop someone that was allegedly as depraved and as dangerous as he is now made out to be, then I would wait for him to leave the "compound." The Sheriff of Waco, among many others, have said that Koresh had traveled into town quite frequently (and no, he didn't surround himself with human shields). He would have been easy to arrest without fanfare.

The Feds instead chose to bring in a whole "battalion" of folks and create a big media event.

Personally, I wouldn't trust what this guy says in the book.

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars One sided and VERY questionable, July 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Inside the Cult (Paperback)

One of many of the publications I have researched on the topic of Koresh and Branch Davidians, Included are many questionable allegations, and what I find to be at least one very blatent example of the author's having fabricated a story to cause David Koresh legal problems. It is clear that this book would not have been published as is, were David Koresh alive and able to sue Mr. Breault over several, if not all of Mr. Breault's slanderous and defamatory statements. This book should be read with a BIG grain of salt, if read at all. This book is for those who are hungry for sensationalistic gossip that only a non thinker will blindly accept without question. I found it insulting that Mr. Breault seems to expect that we accept his claims with no proof to back them up, as there is no proof to back his claims. I question his intent, especially regarding a letter the book includes, that Mr. Breault had written from Australia, and had sent to a Texas congressman in 1992. In it, he alleged that the Davidians were a Jonestown type group about to commit suicide on a date Mr. Breault included in the message. The date was a full year before the botched raid in 1993. Now we know who was the first to coin the Jonestown comparison, though in reality there is no justification for this comparison. On the day Mr. Breault claimed this was to happen, the Davidians were engaged in a game of football and were also enjoying go-cart rides. When they heard about Marc's claims they laughed. Mr. Breault has admitted in a court of law that he had a personal vendetta against David Koresh, and also fails to include in his book that he was kicked out of the group for misconduct. Clearly a bias and disgruntled ex-member who cannot be relied upon as a credible witness. There are MUCH better sources for researchers looking into this matter.