Memories of the Branch Davidians: The Autobiography of David Koresh's Mother [Paperback]

Bonnie Haldeman (Author), Catherine Wessinger (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2007

The 1995 event at Mt. Carmel shocked all of America and has since spawned a plethora of books regarding the "truth" about the Branch Davidians. Memories of the Branch Davidians is the story told from the inside. The oral history of Bonnie Haldeman, the mother of Vernon Howell (David Koresh), it offers an intimate, first-hand account of how a boy named Vernon Howell became David Koresh. Haldeman paints a picture of Koresh that could only be told by one who knew both his greatest strengths and his deepest faults.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Cathy Wessinger's presentation of Bonnie Haldeman's oral history is an invaluable source of information for those endeavoring to learn more about a religious community that was virtually wiped out in an unprecedented standoff with the federal government in 1993. Wessinger has toiled to compile these stories for the historical record and provide researchers with rich insights into the little-known lives of sect members and its leader, David Koresh. --Stuart A. Wright, Professor of Sociology and Assistant Director, Office of Research, Lamar University

In Memories of the Branch Davidians, Catherine Wessinger's insightful interviews with Bonnie Haldeman provide a rare glimpse into David Koresh's childhood and his emergence as the spiritual leader of the Branch Davidians. In this plain-spoken account of her life and her son's life, Bonnie Haldeman puts a human face on David Koresh and his followers, offering a needed corrective to the predominantly stereotypical portrayals of the Branch Davidians. --Dr. David G. Bromley, Professor of Religious Studies and Sociology, School of World Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University

In the many analyses of the Branch Davidian tragedy, what are missing are precisely these autobiographical voices of the "Branch Davidians" themselves. In Bonnie Haldeman, the mother of David Koresh, we hear their voice. --James Tabor, Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte

In the many analyses of the Branch Davidian tragedy, what are missing are precisely these autobiographical voices of the "Branch Davidians" themselves. In Bonnie Haldeman, the mother of David Koresh, we hear their voice. --James Tabor, Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte

In Memories of the Branch Davidians, Catherine Wessinger's insightful interviews with Bonnie Haldeman provide a rare glimpse into David Koresh's childhood and his emergence as the spiritual leader of the Branch Davidians. In this plain-spoken account of her life and her son's life, Bonnie Haldeman puts a human face on David Koresh and his followers, offering a needed corrective to the predominantly stereotypical portrayals of the Branch Davidians. --Dr. David G. Bromley, Professor of Religious Studies and Sociology, School of World Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University

About the Author

Bonnie Haldeman is the mother of David Koresh and a surviving Branch Davidian. She lived, traveled, and worked with the Branch Davidians in Texas, California, and Hawaii from 1985 until 1991. She currently lives and works in the Tyler, Texas area. Catherine Wessinger (Ph.D. University of Iowa) is the Rev. H. James Yamauchi, S.J. Professor of the History of Religions in the Religious Studies Department, Loyola University, New Orleans. She is the author of How the Millennium Comes Violently: From Jonestown to Heavens Gate, editor of Millennialism, Persecution and Violence: Historical Cases, and co-general editor of Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: Baylor University Press (September 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932792988
• ISBN-13: 978-1932792980
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,536,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!, March 4, 2008

By 

Wendi Taylor "TexasChristian" (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Memories of the Branch Davidians: The Autobiography of David Koresh's Mother (Paperback)

There are plenty of books on the market with dry presentations of facts and figures about the tragedy that has come to be known simply as "Waco." This book shows the people and the lives that were touched by the tragedy. It is both informative, and heartbreaking.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, April 4, 2010

By 

Lucky Charm (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Memories of the Branch Davidians: The Autobiography of David Koresh's Mother (Paperback)

I expected to gain a better understanding of what David was about and how he came to be the leader of the Branch Davidians but unfortunately I found myself unable to follow the ramblings of his mother. There was no clear timeline. She was back and forth and all over the place and when I got through reading it I didn't feel like I had gained that much knowledge on the subject.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, primary source material about the Branch Davidians, October 5, 2008

By 

Matthew D. Wittmer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Memories of the Branch Davidians: The Autobiography of David Koresh's Mother (Paperback)

This work is an authoritative and reliable account about the Branch Davidian group at Mt. Carmel outside of Waco, Texas who were almost all killed in the tank assault and fire that consumed their church and home on April 19th, 1993. It is the first of three survivor autobiographies slated for publication by editor Catherine Wessinger that sheds light on what life was like in the group that studied with David Koresh. Wessinger has enabled Bonnie's oral history interviews to become accessible source material in this published book format. First hand accounts from survivors who remain aligned with the group's theology have not yet received balanced press coverage in the mainstream print and media world (with the exception of survivor David Thibodeau's account published by Public Affairs in 1999) in comparison to the federal government perspective that saturated the global landscape during the siege and has unfairly colored popular opinion about the nature of the Branch Davidians to this day.

While scholarly material and critical perspectives about Davidian history and law enforcement tactics employed during the siege have permeated a variety of special interest periodicals, academic journals, and the documentary world ("Waco: The Rules of Engagement", "Waco: A New Revelation", "The F.L.I.R. Project" just to name a few), Bonnie's autobiography provides the general public with the survivor's voice. In this respect, her account opens an opportunity to learn about the Branch Davidians from the perspective not of an investigator, a scholar, an activist, a theologian or third party, but of a mother who deeply loved and misses the community she was an intimate part of. Her account is extensively footnoted with rich supplemental material researched by the editor, which helps to provide an even greater context for the many people, places and events recounted in this important testimony whose time has definitely arrived.