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David Thibodeau

A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story Hardcover – September 9, 1999

by David Thibodeau (Author), Leon Whiteson (Author)

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One of nine survivors of the attack on the Branch Davidian compound in 1993 describes how he came to join the religious community and offers an eyewitness account of the tragedy

Print length

384 pages
Language

English
Publisher

PublicAffairs
Publication date

September 9, 1999
Dimensions

6.5 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches
ISBN-10

1891620428
ISBN-13

978-1891620423
Lexile measure

1160L
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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.

From Booklist

Sometimes self-serving, largely revealing (perhaps not always intentionally), this is an insider's account of life within the Branch Davidian sect of Seventh Day Adventists at Waco. Thibodeau describes how he was drawn to the group surrounding David Koresh, what life was like within the group, and what factors led to the ultimately horrifying demise of most of the members. Thibodeau is one of the four survivors of Waco who weren't sentenced to jail after the raid. He joined the group after Koresh offered him a part in his rock band. Although Thibodeau had many questions, he came to believe that Koresh was a divinely inspired teacher. This narrative defies many of our media-mediated preconceptions of Koresh's followers. Much of the book refutes the division of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and the Justice Department's version of the raid at Waco. Although the information he provides seriously challenges the government's story, his version is weakened by the lack of any citations. Eric Robbins

From Kirkus Reviews

Thibodeau, one of only four Branch Davidians to live through the Waco disaster and not be sentenced to jail, has produced a surprisingly balanced and honest account of his time as a Branch Davidian. Thibodeau, a struggling rock-n-roll drummer, met David Koresh and his right-hand man, Steve Schneider, in Los Angeles. Though initially suspicious of their religious message, Thibodeau eventually moved to Texas to live in Koresh's community. Though the Branch Davidians were branded as a ``cult'' by the media, Thibodeau's engaging, frank, intimate writing forces even the most critical reader to take seriously the religious commitments of Koresh's followers. In a particularly disarming passage, Thibodeau quotes scholar Nancy Ammerman, describing her own shift from viewing the Branch Davidians as a cult to realizing how similar many of Koresh's teachings were to that of many millenarian movements. As Thibodeau notes, had things turned out differently, ``the name `Branch Davidian' might one day have become as unremarkable as `Mormon' or `Adventist,' and David Koresh would be just another William Miller; a patch in the crazy quilt that is American fundamentalism.'' Readers will want to pay special attention to Thibodeau's lengthy treatment of sex among the Branch Davidians, where he discusses the in-name-only marriage into which he entered at Koresh's bidding and his own struggles to observe Koresh's command that men be celibate. He also takes on Koresh's sex life, addressing the leader's practice of taking many women in the community, including Thibodeau's wife, Michelle, as concubines. (Michelle, the younger sister of Koresh's wife, became Koresh's lover at the age of 12, and like the other women in the ``House of David,'' she bore his children.) Neither sensationalist nor defensive, this will make satisfying reading for anyone interested in the April 1993 tragedy. (8 pages b&w photos) (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About the Author

David Thibodeau was born and raised in Maine. He is one of only four Branch Davidians who survived the massacre who was not sentenced to jail. Leon Whiteson is a writer based in Los Angeles.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ PublicAffairs; 1st edition (September 9, 1999)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1891620428
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1891620423
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1160L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.6 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.25 x 9.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #989,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #560 in Religious Cults (Books)
- #1,183 in Law Enforcement Politics
- #1,217 in Law Enforcement (Books)

Customer Reviews:
1,133 ratings

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3 star		7%
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Top reviews from the United States

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L. Pate

The True Story You Probably Never Heard about Waco

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2018

Verified Purchase

We've heard for years, decades really, all of the bad things about David Koresh laced with loaded words like cult, compound, stockpiling, militant, rape, etc. When telling the story at the time and in the following years, the media rarely, if ever, uttered the words freedom of religion, Constitution, 1st Amendment, 2nd Amendment, 4th Amendment. And, after the OKC bombing, Waco was rarely discussed without mentioning its relation to Timothy McVeigh as if the bombing was also the fault of David Koresh and his followers.

Well this book is the other side, the human side, of what really went on before, during and after the 51 day siege at Waco. All the while Maury Povich and everyone else in the media was blaming Koresh for the deaths of all of those women and children, here are some things you were never told (at least not by the media): David Koresh invited the ATF into his home to come and inspect all of his weapons, in the weeks before the initial raid at Mt Carmel, the ATF could have easily arrested David outside of the compound, an ATF agent had been inside the compound several times and warned the ATF immediately before the raid that the people inside Mt Carmel knew they were coming.

And besides being very informative, I thought it was very well-written and interesting.

160 people found this helpful

Helpful

David Miscavige

Great Place to Start

Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2017

Verified Purchase

I wasn't going to write a review but after reading some of the two star reviews I definitely had to help offset the average star rating.

This book was very easy to read. It's written in a conversational tone which really helped it move along as I didn't feel like I was reading a research paper. It's down to earth and I highly recommend it as a starting place for people who want to educate themselves on the Davidians as people as opposed to the caricatures they were portrayed as by the media.

It's essentially an autobiography that starts well before David Thibodeau even meets David Koresh. I feel this gives you a birds-eye-view of the entire situation, or at least as close as you're going to get to an objective retelling of events by someone who was actually inside the compound during the siege. I actually came away from the book with the feeling that the reason David survived the conflagration was to write this book and tell their story.

It's about 350 pages. If you're interested in the topic and have the time you should finish it in just a few days.

Whether you agree or disagree with the group please educate yourself about the situation. Do not just accept everything the government tells you. If they would admit when they are wrong and screw up maybe we as the public would more readily trust them BUT THEY WON'T! Not everything David Koresh was going was legal (statutory rape, some illegal weapons) but the group never deserved to be suffocated with CS gas or burned alive.

206 people found this helpful

Helpful

Felt more like propaganda not a memoir.

Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2019

Verified Purchase

Only read to page 58. Felt the author was more of a defender of David Koresh still trying to promote his cult like behavior. David Koresh’s visions seemed much more like schizophrenic hallucinations used to manipulate his followers. It also really bothered me that the author defended Koresh’s child bride beliefs.

42 people found this helpful

Helpful

Bradley Bevers

Highly Recommended

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2018

Verified Purchase

I watched the new miniseries on Waco on the Paramount network thanks to a recommendation from someone in our reading group, and picked up the two books that the show was based on. This one is from David Thibodeau's point of view, one of only 11 survivors from the disaster at Waco. Reflecting on this tragedy twenty five years later was eye opening. I was only ten when it happened and barely understood what was going on. Looking back now its almost impossible to believe that the American government held a group of citizens under a siege for 51 days and then 70 of them ended up dying. And all of this happened less than two hours from where I live now.

More than any other book I have read, this story makes me want to buy a gun safe and start buying guns soon. There is no doubt that David Koresh should have gone to jail for breaking some laws, but most of the people in the compound had zero culpability for what was happening. I won't get into the entire book, but if you haven't read anything about Waco before watch the show if you can and read this one and the next book. Thibodeau is still obviously traumatized by what happened, but the book comes across more fairly than I expected, especially the epilogue that was rewritten based on the television show coming out. My main critique is that I wish it had footnotes referencing most of the claims made to make it easier to track down the original sources when applicable. Highly recommended.

44 people found this helpful

Helpful

timothy.p.marchant

Provides a balanced view of the siege from a survivor's perspective

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2018

Verified Purchase

I have always been fascinated with the Waco siege and try to read everything I can get my hands on when it comes to the topic. This book so far has provided an in depth look into the Branch Davidians and their beliefs along side the events that lead up to the siege. The book has definitely opened my eyes even further about the event due to new insights I have gained from reading the book. I also thought the book was very balanced due to the fact it was written from a survivor's perspective. I did not feel that any topics were white washed and were presented in a forthcoming manner. I feel this book is a must read for anyone who wants to read more about this tragic event.

42 people found this helpful

Helpful

Bajovane

Very well written and informative!

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2018

Verified Purchase

A very powerful story - one that was way overdue for the telling. It certainly opened my eyes to how our government completely stepped way, way over the line against its own citizens. If they wanted to arrest David Koresh so badly, all they had to do was just wait until he went jogging or went to town. The raid at Mt. Carmel was completely unnecessary. The final assault (and yes, it WAS an assault) resulted in the deaths of 78 people, many of them innocent children. The government accused the Branch Davidians of mass suicide but evidence suggests otherwise. None of it ever had to happen at all. What a tragedy.

44 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

christina s

Worth reading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 7, 2019

Verified Purchase

Fantastic book, dispels the myths, worth reading if you want the true story of waco

4 people found this helpful

Julie

A very different view.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 4, 2021

Verified Purchase

A tough, hard hitting realisation of a perversion of the truth by the American authorities at the time, although the question of David Kiresh sexual predilection fir minors makes me feel ill having teenage daughters. A very good read whether you've seen the TV series or not.

Tim2223

Not good not bad

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 5, 2019

Verified Purchase

Good and bad
Sadly he rambles on too much, good bits interesting but we want to know about Waco not what he ate for breakfast when he was a kid. Too drawn out.

Simon

Interesting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 29, 2019

Verified Purchase

Very interesting bought this after watching the TV series

J. Jackson

Useful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 17, 2019

Verified Purchase

Too much repition

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A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story Hardcover – September 9, 1999

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