Ambush at Ruby Ridge : How Government Agents Set Randy Weaver Up and Took His Family Down (Hardcover)

by Alan W. Bock (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Before the Waco incident, the cause celebre for those who feel U.S. federal law enforcement agencies have become worse outlaws than their quarries was the case of Randy Weaver, a white separatist (not supremacist) living with his family on Ruby Ridge in remote northern Idaho. According to Bock, after a government stooge baited Weaver into an illegal gun sale, U.S. marshals and the FBI laid siege to his home and shot his 14-year-old son and his wife to death. A marshal died, too, but at trial, the jury acquitted Weaver and family friend David Harris of murder. Meanwhile, defense attorneys had exposed a swamp of arrogant government misconduct. Bock stands squarely with Weaver's defense, but his report is no intemperate partisan rant. It is a thoroughgoing account of the siege, the events that shaped Weaver and led to his running afoul of the government, the government's and major news media's characterizations of the affair, the trial, and the uncertain aftermath of an appalling case of law enforcement overkill. Better, it is unputdownably engrossing. Ray Olson

Review
" A courageous and important expose." -- Liberty Magazine, February 1996

" Bock has fashioned a straightforward indictment of a federal government out of control." -- The San Francisco Chronicle, November 1995

" This is the most complete account availabe, written in an absorbing and galvanizing style. Dont miss it." -- The Orange County Register, December 1995

"Alan Bock has written a great book on perhaps the most important civil rights case of the 1990's. Americans should read Ambush at Ruby Ridge to learn how dangerous and dishonest the federal government has become." -- Jim Bovard, Author, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, September 1995

"Bock gives you a vivid understanding of the Weavers, Fed bosses, their assassins, the trial, media coverage, everything. Bock doesn't portray Weaver as a hero or the feds as devils. He shows the feds were just doing their job, which makes the story so scary. Bock's path-breaking, blow-by-blow account reads like a thriller." -- Laissez-Faire Books, 1996

"Bock has done a fine job on the trial, offering documents and the lawmen's conflicting testimony. He also produces a provacative final chapter not about Ruby Ridge, but about other Ruby Ridges around the country, cases in which federal law agencies have trampled upon citizens' rights." -- The Grand Rapids Press, January 1996

"If you think government is part of the solution, here is proof that it is often a major part of the problem. Letting the facts speak for themselves, Alan Bock calmly tells the shocking story of the wholly unnecessary deaths meted out by U.S. agents on Ruby Ridge in the Idaho panhandle in August 1992. When a thing like this can hapen in modern-day America, it's time to ask why, and make sure it never happens again." -- William A. Rusher, former publisher, National Review, 1995

"Mr Bock supplies an excellent account of how and why the government's initial investigation grew into a full-fledged paramilitary siege involving 400 armed agents. Ambush at Ruby Ridge is a useful resource, with some thought-provoking commentary." -- The Washington Times, Sept 1995

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 281 pages
• Publisher: Dickens Pr; 1st Printing edition (October 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880741482
• ISBN-13: 978-1880741481
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #750,619 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, May 22, 1999

By A Customer

Dean Koontz wrote the forward for this book and I found it alone, is worth the price. Koontz's command of the language and his opinions were extremely well-written. Something that should be published on its own. As for Mr. Bock, he told it like it was. There was no elaboration of the information he reported. And there was no attempt to voice his own opinion until the very end. The additional cases he listed were terrifying in chronicling the abuses of the federal government. This should be recommended reading, no, mandatory reading, for everyone who believes their government is above reproach. Hats off to Mr. Koontz and Mr. Bock, I was greatly impressed.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This could happen to you., January 4, 2000

By	Doc Holliday (U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

Well written factual account of the standoff at Ruby Ridge which cost Vicki and Sam Weaver ther lives. This book should be required reading by everyone that thinks the government is fair and just. If this dooesn't make your blood boil, maybe you should check your pulse!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ambush At Ruby Ridge, January 31, 2001

By	"yoco" (, New York USA) - See all my reviews

On August 21st 1992 A group of six U.S. Marshals dressed in camouflage and armed with fully automatic machine guns with silencers (Which would land an ordinary citizen in federal prision for about 30 years) attempted to serve a warrant on Randy Weaver for selling an illegal shotgun. In the process a U.S. mashall was killed and they shot Randy's 14 year old son in the back as well as his dog. In the stand off that followed Rady's wife was killed with a bullet to her head while holding her baby, Randy and a friend would also be shot.

"Ambush at Ruby Ridge" is a straight foward retelling of the events at Ruby ridge. It is a very fair and balanced accout of what happened it niether demonizes nor glorifies Randy Weaver and his religous and/or political belifes as so many others have done with regard to this incident. Never the less one is hard pressed to not be outraged at the heavy handed tactics used to bring a minor felon to trail and the censorship and propaganda tactics used to cover up the excessive use of force involved.

Ambush at Ruby Ridge is an excellent book esp. for any one interested in Police butality, goverment oppression or human rights violations.