A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story [Hardcover]

David Thibodeau (Author), Leon Whiteson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1999

For the first time ever, a survivor of the Waco massacre tells the inside story of the Branch Davidians, David Koresh and what really happened.. When he first met the man who called himself David Koresh, David Thibodeauwho had never been religious in the slightestwas drumming for a rock band that was going nowhere fast. Intrigued and frustrated with a stalled music career, Thibodeau gradually became a follower and moved to the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. He remained there until April 19, 1993, when the compound was stormed and burnt to the ground.In this book, Thibodeau explores why so many people came to believe that Koresh was truly divinely inspired. We meet the men, women and children of Mt. Carmel. We get inside the day-to-day life of the community. Thibodeau is brutally honestabout himself, Koresh and the other membersand the result is a revelatory look at life inside a cult. But A Place Called Waco is just as brutally honest when it comes to dissecting the actions of the United States government. Thibodeau marshals an array of evidence, some of it never previously revealed, and proves conclusively that it was our own government that caused the Waco tragedyincluding the fires. The result is a memoir that reads like a thrillereach page taking us closer to the eventual inferno.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Anyone fascinated or horrified by the story of the Branch Davidian sect and the storming of their Waco, Texas, compound by law enforcement authorities in April 1993 will want to read David Thibodeau's compelling first-person account. Thibodeau, one of only nine Branch Davidian survivors of the attack (in which 74 people--including several children--were killed), begins by telling readers what brought him to Waco. We meet David Koresh as Thibodeau first met him: a fellow rock musician, an abused child from a troubled family who didn't finish high school and was fond of guns but loved to talk about the Bible. The memoir offers what appears to be an honest portrayal of life among the Branch Davidians, including the sham marriages in which men were expected to be celibate while Koresh had sex with most of the women--and girls as young as 12 years old. Thibodeau strongly denies other charges of child abuse within the community; children were punished and spanked, he says, but not beaten.

The second half of the book details the Branch Davidians' dealings with federal agents. In light of subsequent government admissions, including a partial recantation in 1999 of previous denials that the tear gas used in the assault could have been incendiary, Thibodeau's detailed account of the storming of the compound and the fire that followed is chilling. Why did people follow Koresh? As Thibodeau remembers an early conversation with one of his followers, previously a theology student in England, "He has the answers to my questions." But A Place Called Waco ends with more questions than answers. --Linda Killian

From Library Journal

If the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) badly mishandled the events at Ruby Ridge in 1992, its handling of the Waco incident the next year was even worse. Thibodeau, one of the nine survivors of the siege at Waco, met David Koresh by chance at a Los Angeles music store and was invited to join his followers at Mount Carmel in Waco, TX. Thibodeau gives the reader an inside look at life at Mount Carmel, revealing, for instance, that Koresh had sex with most of the women there, including children as young as 14. When the ATF learned that weapons were stockpiled at Mount Carmel and that it was only a matter of time before Koresh would use them against the government, it joined the FBI in an attack that left 74 people dead. 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.AMichael Sawyer, Northwestern Regional Lib., Elkin, NC
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins Publisher; 1 edition (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891620428
• ISBN-13: 978-1891620423
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,699 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tragedy at Mt. Carmel, August 6, 2004

By 

Bryan Carey "Bryan Carey" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story (Hardcover)

Most everyone knows about the federal government's disastrous debacle at Waco, Texas back in 1993. We have watched the testimonies, the congressional investigations, and the flames engulfing the building that housed the Branch Davidian religious sect. Some of us have even read books on the event, and many have been written. This book, written by survivor David Thibodeau, is one of the best yet.

Thibodeau was right there, in the middle of the standoff with ATF and FBI agents, so his perspective is unique from others who have written about the event from the outside. Starting with the time when he first met David Koresh while playing in various bands in Los Angeles, Thibodeau talks about his interest in the Branch Davidians and explains what got him involved in the group; why he became interested in religion after never having much interest or instruction during his youth; why he decided to follow Koresh and his teachings; why he decided to stay at Mt. Carmel during the siege; how he handled the media and press following his escape from the fire; and his post- Mt. Carmel life, touring the country as an informational speaker.

Thibodeau has a lot of anger to share in this book, not toward Koresh or the other members of the religious group, but toward the press and the U.S. government. He fully admits that Koresh wasn't perfect and that certain actions taken by Koresh (like sleeping with young girls) wasn't right and should have landed him in jail. But above all, he is most scornful of the media and the U.S. government. The members of the media acted like lap dogs during the siege, reporting on anything told to them by the ATF and FBI as if it were absolute truth. Thibodeau and the other members of the Davidians were saddened and angered by, for example, the reference to their group as a cult and the reference to their building as a compound. The various government reporting agencies promoted these terms to turn the public against the Davidians. Thibodeau is correct in his assertions about the government's actions in this area, and he makes some good points about this. It is true that Koresh himself was a little strange, but he was no real threat and the things he taught were hardly radical. If his teachings qualify the Branch Davidians as a cult, then many mainstream Protestant groups would also be cults. It is known, too, that the FBI deliberately prevented the release of a video tape that featured the different members of the group talking to the camera about their families and lives because the FBI was worried that, once the public saw this tape, they would see that these people were pretty ordinary and it would sway public opinion over to the Davidian's side.

The government's handling of the investigation was purely political, with Democrats taking the side of the ATF and FBI, in order to protect the Clinton administration, and the Republicans taking the side of religious freedom in order to make Clinton and his administration look bad. Thibodeau talks about how sickening it was to watch this unfold. No one really seemed to care about truth or justice. All they cared about was protecting their own fellow politicians or making the opposing politicians look bad.

The writing in this book is excellent, and Thisbodeau was very wise in making the decision to hire a professional editor to help with the work. Other victims of well- publicized tragedies have also written books, but many of them rely on their own amateurish writing skills to carry them through, often resulting in a book that is sub-par at best and that often fails to be as effective as it could have been. The writing in this book, thanks to the assistance of Leon Whiteson, is nearly flawless and it kept my attention throughout the reading.

Thibodeau spends his time touring the nation now, giving speeches to different groups around the country about what happened and what needs to be done in the future to prevent any more Wacos. He shows some strong courage in writing this book, openly admitting that certain actions taken by his own friends were wrong and were deserving of punishment. But he places the bulk of the blame on the ATF and FBI for starting all the trouble in the first place. Like Ruby Ridge, Waco is yet another example of what can happen when government power goes unchecked. And Thibodeau makes a strong case for reigning in the power of government in this well- written, personal book about the tragedy at Waco that killed more than eighty people.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars David Thibodeau does not want to convert you., September 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story (Hardcover)

I, like many, was subjected to a very biased view of what happened at Mount Carmel in 1993. Because the notion of such an unconventional religion scared me, I allowed myself to accept that one-sided negative view without question. After reading this book, however, I learned that you don't have to agree with the rules and practices of the Branch Davidians to realize that there was NO NEED for the actions undertaken by the government of this country. You may expect a biased view to come from someone who lived by David Koresh's teachings, but Mr. Thibodeau is remarkably objective considering his experiences. The parts of this story that will infuriate you are based on documented fact regarding the ATF, FBI and Department of Justice. Read with an open mind. We owe it to those people who died in this siege to hear their story.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Insider's Look at the Waco Tragedy, April 9, 2000

By 

Tori Eshleman (Calgary, Alberta) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story (Hardcover)

My hat goes off to David Thibodeau for his riveting rendition of the tragedy at Waco. Thidbodeau has a unique perspective as a member of the religious community that came under seige and also one of the few not imprisoned in the aftermath.

Amazingly, Thibodeau does not present an "all or nothing" approach to the the scenario. He deserves high commendation and praise for his willingness to look at himself, his former leader, his friends and family within the group as well as the government officials involved with the tragedy from a critical perspective. He lets no one off (least of all himself) with a simple cursory glance and attempts to help the reader understand the tragedy from a fresh perspective.

This was a truly enlightening book and I highly recommend it to anyone with more than a casual interest in religious freedom or the events that occured at Mt. Carmel in 1993. Congratulations Mr. Thibodeau, in spite of the agony you have endured, you have succeeded in applying a vivid human face and a balanced view to a very complex and difficult situation.