A Sniper in the Tower: The Charles Whitman Murders [Paperback]

Gary M. Lavergne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1997

The bodies kept falling, the blood was real, and the man on the deck, a consummate actor for a number of years, was no longer acting.

On August 1, 1966, Charles Joseph Whitman ascended the University of Texas Tower and committed what was then the largest simultaneous mass murder in American history. He gunned down forty-five people inside and around the Tower before he was killed by two Austin police officers. During the previous evening he had killed his wife and mother, bringing the total to sixteen people dead and at least thirty-one wounded. The murders spawned debates over issues which still plague America today: domestic violence, child abuse, drug abuse, military indoctrination, gun control, the insanity defense, and the delicate balance between civil liberties and public safety.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A true crime classic, Gary M. Lavergne's book gives the most complete analysis of the man who climbed the tower at the University of Texas in 1966 and shot 45 people, besides killing his wife and mother the night before. Also revealed is the shocking information about Whitman's family life; he was not the all-American young man gone suddenly insane as he was depicted in the media. Instead, the dark secrets of his relationship with his father and his father's own violence is woven into this account of calculated evil. This book has been hailed by experts as an excellent depiction of a case that defined mass murder, the largest mass murder in U.S. history at that time. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In the summer of 1966, America lost its innocence when two mass murders were committed. In Chicago Richard Speck murdered eight student nurses, and 19 days later, on August 1, Charles Whitman gunned down people from the tower at the University of Texas at Austin, killing 16 and wounding 31. Lavergne, director of admissions and guidance services of the College Board's Southwest Regional Office, attempts to answer this question by writing the first full historical analysis of the event. Using primary sources and photographs, the author has done an excellent job of describing Whitman's murdering rampage. Was it caused by his domineering father, a brain tumor found during an autopsy, or both of the above? Lavergne examines these explanations and others as to why Whitman committed such a terrible deed. A good choice for true-crime collections.?Michael Sawyer, Clinton P.L., Iowa
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: University of North Texas Press (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574410296
• ISBN-13: 978-1574410297
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #126,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gary M. Lavergne was born in the small Southwestern Louisiana Cajun community of Church Point where he attended a parochial elementary and a public high school. He was the son of a policeman and a cafeteria worker in the elementary school Gary attended. In all of his messages and presentations, Gary draws from his unique, rich Cajun background.

Gary earned a B.A. in Social Studies Education (1976) and a M.Ed. (1981) in Secondary School Teaching from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In 1988, he earned an Education Specialist degree (Ed.S.) in Educational Administration and Supervision from McNeese University in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Today, Gary is the Director of Admissions Research and Policy Analysis in the Office of Admissions at The University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of numerous Admissions Research reports for the University of Texas. In March of 2001 he gained international attention with his New York Times Op-Ed piece entitled "Is This the End of the SAT?"

Gary has been published in regional, national, and international scholarly journals. His award-winning book, A Sniper in the Tower: The Charles Whitman Murders, has received rave reviews from best selling authors and many of the nation's largest and most respected dailies and trade magazines. On August 1, 2006, the Austin American Statesman called Sniper the definitive account of the Texas Tower Tragedy.

Gary's second book, The Bad Boy from Rosebud was released in July of 1999. Dan Rather of CBS News called it "classic crime reporting." The paperback version of Bad Boy from Rosebud was released by St Martin's Press in November 2001. It is still available and is entitled Bad Boy.

Gary was also a featured author for Southern Scribe and the 1997, 1999, and 2003 Texas Book Festivals. He was also chosen to moderate sessions for the 2004 and 2009 festivals.

His third book is entitled Worse Than Death, and is the story of the largest mass murder in the history of Dallas, Texas.

Just recently Gary announced that his third book will be entitled Before Brown and will be an account of the events surrounding the dramatic 1950 civil rights case Sweatt v Painter. Pamela Colloff of Texas Monthly said that the manuscript was "Vivid, absorbing, and gracefully written... Gary Lavergne's gifts as a storyteller bring Sweatt's journey, and the context of his struggle, alive. With a novelist's eye for character and detail, Lavergne gives us an intimate portrait of Sweatt... Before Brown is both a monumental work and a great read. Sweatt's story is one that every American should know."

Gary Lavergne is a member of the Texas Institute of Letters and has appeared on DATELINE NBC, the Today Show, the History Channel, Biography, American Justice, and The Discovery Channel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating story, July 8, 2000

By 

Tim Hrenchir (Topeka, KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Sniper in the Tower: The Charles Whitman Murders (Paperback)

For 96 minutes in August 1966, Charles Whitman rained death on the University of Texas campus, shooting 45 people from the 28th-floor observation deck of its bell tower. The ex-Marine shot people more than 400 yards away and put two bullets through the fabric of an airplane flying overhead before two Austin police officers killed him. If this sounds like the makings of a great story, it is -- and Gary Lavergne is just the man to tell it. Lavergne's well-researched book delves into Whitman's past to reveal how he evolved into a person who could kill 16 people. The author then cranks the story-telling into high gear by delivering a blow-by-blow account of Whitman's reign of terror. Lavergne's words are accompanied by many interesting photos, including one taken of the tower as Austin residents fired back at Whitman 12 minutes before his death. I read this book in one sitting. My favorite part was the last chapter, which detailed Lavergne's interviews 30 years after the event with the two men who killed Whitman. The literary picture he paints of long, tall Texan Houston McCoy -- whose life since his heroic act has been anything but happy -- was really compelling.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meticulously Well Stated!, May 2, 2004

By 

JMack (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: A Sniper in the Tower: The Charles Whitman Murders (Paperback)

Some true crime books are not well written. In terms of the total product, this is without a doubt the one of the best true crime books written. Gary Lavergne meticuliously researched the events of August 1, 1966 in Austin, Texas. The book is worthy of the envy of other true crime writers.

Lavergne details the significant events in the life of Charles Whitman in the days leading to the massacre. Whitman's abusive homelife leads him to join the marines, leaving his family behind. Whitman struggles to find his niche. His continual search to better the success of his father became obsessive. The obsession grows to the point where he feels that he is a success at nothing. Lavergne's account is factual without skewing from personal opinion or theories. His objective view is important when he tells the controversial information behind the killing of Charles Whitman and the end to the massacre. Rather than taking the of Ramiro Martinez or Houston McCoy, Lavergne prefers to make the point that they both got the sniper. Similarly, little attention is paid the the brain tumor that a select few believe cause Whitman to initiate his attack on the University of Texas Campus.

I am particulary appreciative of the endnotes at the end of each chapter. Because there was a lot of research into the project, many sources were used. It makes more sense to have the sources listed at the end to the chapters so they are more readily available to the reader. The book is easy for those interested in the topic to enjoy.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars factually frightening, February 9, 2001

By 

Jim (Philly) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sniper in the Tower: The Charles Whitman Murders (Mass Market Paperback)

This book reads very quickly and easily. It is SO well researched and organized that I skipped the Time Life Books version of the Whitman story. The split second action and microscopic details are all here. It will make your heart race if you imagine what Houston McCoy and Ramiro Martinez must have felt.