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A review by glennarochelle
The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation by Dick J. Reavis
1.0
This book is an absolute mess from start to finish. Reavis is unabashedly pro-Koresh and the Branch Davidians, despite promising “the definitive book about what happened at My. Carmel, near Waco, Texas, examined from both sides” (interior front jacket) (hey look! A citation!! Something Reavis has apparently never seen nor heard of unless it’s citing the Bible).
The first half of the book is primarily concerned with Koresh’s beliefs, as well as the pre-Koresh history of the Davidians and Mt. Carmel. It’s excessive and poorly constructed. The first half, as well, defends Koresh’s status as a child rapist, in espousing the cult’s earnest beliefs about spiritual marriage, and reiterating again and again that Texas only requires the consent of a legal guardian to marry off a 14 year old (regardless of the age of their spouse). Reavis takes the position that “yeah, it may look a little off to us from the outside, BUT it’s their religion! It’s ok! And it’s technically barely legal, so it’s fine for Koresh to rape his 14 year old sister-in-law/spiritual bride!” It’s disgusting.
The second half delves into the siege, and while it is more coherent than the first half, Reavis’s argumentation is sloppy and utterly lacking in documentation and citation. His position is so heavily colored by his transparent support of gun rights and disdain for the federal government that it is impossible to take seriously.
While the ATF and FBI made egregious mistakes and utterly botched its interactions with the Davidians, and justly deserve harsh critique, Reavis creates a binary wherein either one side is right and the other is wrong or vice versa. He doesn’t allow for the very real possibility that, in addition to the government using loose reasoning and legal loopholes to justify a poorly executed raid that led to countless deaths, David Koresh was also dangerous man with dangerous beliefs who was endangering the children in the compound on a daily basis.
The first half of the book is primarily concerned with Koresh’s beliefs, as well as the pre-Koresh history of the Davidians and Mt. Carmel. It’s excessive and poorly constructed. The first half, as well, defends Koresh’s status as a child rapist, in espousing the cult’s earnest beliefs about spiritual marriage, and reiterating again and again that Texas only requires the consent of a legal guardian to marry off a 14 year old (regardless of the age of their spouse). Reavis takes the position that “yeah, it may look a little off to us from the outside, BUT it’s their religion! It’s ok! And it’s technically barely legal, so it’s fine for Koresh to rape his 14 year old sister-in-law/spiritual bride!” It’s disgusting.
The second half delves into the siege, and while it is more coherent than the first half, Reavis’s argumentation is sloppy and utterly lacking in documentation and citation. His position is so heavily colored by his transparent support of gun rights and disdain for the federal government that it is impossible to take seriously.
While the ATF and FBI made egregious mistakes and utterly botched its interactions with the Davidians, and justly deserve harsh critique, Reavis creates a binary wherein either one side is right and the other is wrong or vice versa. He doesn’t allow for the very real possibility that, in addition to the government using loose reasoning and legal loopholes to justify a poorly executed raid that led to countless deaths, David Koresh was also dangerous man with dangerous beliefs who was endangering the children in the compound on a daily basis.