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A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story

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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.

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.

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.

I am always interested in why people do the things they do, and this book answers the question of why someone like David Thibodeau became part of the Mount Carmel community. I think the author tries very hard to be unbiased. I didn't understand everything Koresh taught, but I think it's important to read about all sides of the Waco story. I think the author accomplishes his stated purpose of trying to make the world understand that this was not about a bunch of wackos, but about real people with real spiritual needs under the leadership of a flawed man.

When you finally discover that you have been mislead by the media and the government for six years, only then can you start to realize the real story. This book forced me to see another side of the story that I was not able to see before.

This book, by one of the few Waco survivors, paints a very disturbing portrait both of life within the doomed compound and more shockingly of the actions of the U.S. government. To justify its egregious use of force, the government leveled many outlandish charges at David Koresh and his followers. Thibodeau convincingly refutes most of them. However, the sect's leader did subject his followers to some truly eldritch practices, and credible allegations suggest he was guilty of engaging in sexual relations with underage girls. He should have been arrested for this illegal act, and the local authorities should also have prosecuted any adults who were aware of such a heinous action and remained silent. Neither the FBI, the ATF nor the federal government in any capacity typically get involved in statutory rape cases. Unfortunately for all the victims of this pogrom, the incident happened right after the appointment of attorney general Janet Reno who seemed desperate to show off her macho power.

One of the government's tiresome claims was that the attack was necessary to prevent child abuse. The actions taken belie this fallacious defense. To force the final confrontation, Reno's raiders sprayed the complex with a potent form of tear gas recently rejected by the U.S. Army as inhumane. This was accompanied by sniper fire, a tank assault and the suspiciously started conflagration. Willingly murdering several little children in an unprovoked dragoon does seem to reduce Clinton and Reno's repeated vocal concerns for the children to shameless hypocrisy. The Constitution does not allow for this type of treatment of those who fall out of favor with our leaders, even when the victims are suspected-or convicted felons. Unfortunately that document has largely been ignored by our current president and his epicene attorney general. If they followed it, they could not justify confining, nearly starving, and then obliterating a group of American citizens. Six decades ago in Europe another elected leader provided similar treatment to those he deemed unworthy. He imprisoned them in places like Dachau and Auschwitz.

Mr. Thibodeau has written a historic document in this book. He managed to stop the natural urge to preach. This book would never once have interested me but now I realize we are all guilty if we remain apathetic. Well done Mr.Thibodeau! Let's get proactive before WE lose OUR freedoms too! THANK-YOU David!

This book, along with "The Ashes of Waco" by Dick Reavis should be required reading for the American Press, Congress, and all Americans who value Freedom. The inhabitants of Mt. Carmel were not crazy, they were religious. More than 80 Americans died in Waco because they held religious beliefs that differed from the established "norm". If you buy "A Place Called Waco" you won't put it down till you've finished. David's book is straight from the heart. It's a fascinating read, detailing life in Mt.Carmel before,during and after the Fiasco, as experienced by a survivor.

If you believe everything you see and hear on t.v. this book is not for you It is the authors account of his life in Mt. Carmel and the governments, cover up of the fiasco it caused in Waco. Very well written and fair. Koresh didnt always wear a white hat.

David Thibodeau, in writing this book, has said that he wanted to present a balance account of the almost total annihilation of the religious community known as Mount Carmel, home for the Branch Davidians. (Eight adults and one teen survived.) I believe he did exactly that. Thibodeau had been a late comer to this community, brought in by its charismatic leader David Koresh. But, he was there long enough to witness the good and the bad that existed and he ended up being a survivor of the carnage. He does not try to whitewash the possible illegal weapons charge or the definite statutory rape and child-endangering acts that were committee there. On the other hand, he doesn't paint the Feds with an all-tarnishing brush either, as he admits he doesn't know who fired the first shots (or if in the last climatic attack any shots were fired) and he doesn't know how the fatal fire was begun. What he does is present a detailed description of overkill as he explains how the government used tanks, deadly and inflamable teargas, and bullet-strafing helicopters to attack this group of 62 adults and 21 children huddled in their ramshackle structure. Ironically, he considers much of the blame falls on the newly-appointed Attorney General Janet Reno, who in her first days of administration didn't want to appear soft in the face of the bullying tactics of the FBI and the ATF, and thus capitulated to their massive attack plans that were put into affect just days before Koresh had promised to surrender. Thibodeau gives us, I believe, a true accounting of the life lead by the citizens of Mount Carmel, the overpowering attacks of our government, and the cover-up investigations that follow. I would hope that one of the results of this book would be to help assure that there are no more such incidents in America's future. Mr. Thibodeau, a job well done.