Reavis, Dick J. The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation. New York: Simon &
Schuster, 1995. 320 pages.
This book is based on interviews with Waco survivors, trial transcripts,
and the not-yet-released transcript of the telephone conversations between
Branch Davidian members and the FBI negotiators. It shows convincingly that
the BATF and FBI, as well as some sensation-mongering journalists who didn't
bother to question the propaganda fed to them by the authorities, all share
as much responsibility as Koresh himself for the deaths at Waco. The actions
of Judge Walter S. Smith, Jr. at the San Antonio trial one year later added
to the tragedy. Journalists, at least, should have known better. When the
Fort Worth coroner's office reported that six of the mothers and children
died from "blunt force trauma" (meaning that the tank's boom sent chunks
of concrete tumbling onto their heads), several newspapers interpreted the
phrase to mean that the victims were bludgeoned to death by other members.
This was about average for American journalism during the 51-day siege.
One shortcoming of this book is that Reavis spends too much time
describing the strange and uninteresting theology behind Koresh's beliefs.
Another is that he doesn't mention the Cult Awareness Network, a group that
helped set the stage for the hysteria. If Reavis had omitted much of the
former and added the latter, a book that's merely good and well-written
could have been better.
ISBN 0-684-81132-4
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