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emilyhope7's review against another edition
Well written and interesting but too disturbing/dark for me right now
fourestxx's review against another edition
4.0
Koresh: The True Story of David Koresh and the Tragedy at Waco offers a really fascinating and (in my opinion) balanced insight into the history of David Koresh and the events that occurred at Mount Carmel during the 1993 siege.
The author delves into the backstory of Koresh (then Vernon Howell) and his abusive childhood, following his journey through religious exploration in young adulthood to his position as the Leader of the Davidians.
What I found most interesting were the interviews and comments of other people, both at the time and from the present day reflecting back….Davidian survivors, the family members of those lost in 1993, the Government agents present for the standoff and even David’s former love interests.
These details helped to present a well-rounded picture of both the Davidians themselves, their place in history (alongside other tragic events such as Jonestown) and the building of government mistrust in the US.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The author delves into the backstory of Koresh (then Vernon Howell) and his abusive childhood, following his journey through religious exploration in young adulthood to his position as the Leader of the Davidians.
What I found most interesting were the interviews and comments of other people, both at the time and from the present day reflecting back….Davidian survivors, the family members of those lost in 1993, the Government agents present for the standoff and even David’s former love interests.
These details helped to present a well-rounded picture of both the Davidians themselves, their place in history (alongside other tragic events such as Jonestown) and the building of government mistrust in the US.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
glennarochelle's review against another edition
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Overall a solid biography of Koresh with a lot of insight into his life as Vernon Wayne Howell, and his early days as David Koresh - the kinds of things that didn’t cement themselves in the public consciousness in the aftermath of Waco - but at times the style was a bit too colloquial for me. There was also one glaring factual error that I spotted during reading (Kiri Jewell, Koresh’s youngest and perhaps best known SA victim, was 10 when she was assaulted by him, not 13 as written) that makes me wonder which other facts may have been misrepresented accidentally or otherwise.
But, based on what I know of Waco it was a fair account that accurately portrays the carelessness and cruelty of some of the decision makers in the ATF and FBI that led to the completely botched raid while also not giving the Davidians the pass that so many people who blame the government tend to. Talty recognizes there is a lot of nuance in this situation - both sides can actually be wrong, and in the conflict between the Davidians and the government, they both were.
I wish the epilogue about the boom in far right militia activity were a bit more in-depth, but there are other Waco books that cover that aspect more thoroughly, so it’s hard to blame Talty for giving those consequences more of a passing mention.
But, based on what I know of Waco it was a fair account that accurately portrays the carelessness and cruelty of some of the decision makers in the ATF and FBI that led to the completely botched raid while also not giving the Davidians the pass that so many people who blame the government tend to. Talty recognizes there is a lot of nuance in this situation - both sides can actually be wrong, and in the conflict between the Davidians and the government, they both were.
I wish the epilogue about the boom in far right militia activity were a bit more in-depth, but there are other Waco books that cover that aspect more thoroughly, so it’s hard to blame Talty for giving those consequences more of a passing mention.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Fire/Fire injury
rheanna_reads's review
Too slow in the beginning—I started losing track of who everyone was, which made it difficult to keep up. It also made me uncomfortable (which I understand is the point, but still).
dawnh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.25
The author really cleared up some things. I was only in 3rd grade when this went down. I liked that the author showed David's thought process as well as the government agencies. The government really messed this one up, IMO. Not that David wasn't a narcissist, pedo, mentally unhinged, but I don't know if the events would have happened the way they did if the agencies had listened and worked together.