The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation

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The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation
The Ashes of Waco An Investigation.jpg
AuthorDick J. Reavis
LanguageEnglish
Genre non-fiction
Publisher Simon & Schuster, Syracuse University Press
Publication date
July 1995
Pages320
ISBN 9780684811321
OCLC 246907421

The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation is a 1995 non-fiction book by journalist Dick J. Reavis about the Waco siege. Reavis is a professor of English at North Carolina State University and former reporter for the San Antonio Light and San Antonio Express . [1] The book was first published by Simon & Schuster in 1995, and it was later re-published by Syracuse University Press in 1998. According to Catherine Wessinger, Reavis argues that "the story of the Davidian tragedy was not reported fully, in part because the FBI controlled information, but also because reporters did not investigate". [2] Reavis reportedly left his job from an "alternative" newspaper in Texas to research for the book. [3] [4]

Reception

Catherine Wessinger, a religious studies scholar, in Nova Religio argued that although Reavis's research seemed extensive and he seemed to be reliable, it was up to the reader to trust his assertions, especially because he did not provide citations. She believes that Reavis provides a "humanized" version of the Branch Davidians, David Koresh, and the federal agents. Overall, she thinks the book is a "good introduction" to the Waco siege for the general reader. [2]

Dean M. Kelley, a legal scholar, believes that The Ashes of Waco is the "single best source" for a "vivid, engaging, reliable narrative of events at Waco". [4]

Jacob Sullum for Reason calls Reavis's book "thorough and lively" and compliments Reavis on being "meticulous and fairminded" and remaining "agnostic" on the issue of how the 19 April 1993 fire started. [5]

Nancy T. Ammerman for The Review of Politics points out that many of the sources in his work, like the complete transcripts of FBI negotiations with the Branch Davidians, are not publicly available, and he did not divulge how he obtained them. Ammerman complimented Reavis's dedication to studying the Bible and Branch Davidian theology for his book. [6] Murray Seeger for Niemann Reports also complimented his work to study Branch Davidian theology. [7]

Caroline Hartse was disappointed by the book's lack of "in-depth examination of broader issues and themes" despite arguing more specific points very well. Hartse also criticized the book's lack of citations; the book occasionally left quotations unattributed. Some of the descriptions of important people in the conflict like Sheila J. Martin and Marc Breault were distracting and played no role in the narrative of the Waco siege, according to Hartse. [8]

Carol Moore, Libertarian activist and author of The Davidian Massacre: Disturbing Questions About Waco That Must Be Answered , believes that although the book is insightful as an introduction to the siege, only a team of independent investigators could reveal the truth of the conflict. [3]

Timothy K. McMorrow for Trial believes that the book contains "strange claims, questionable conclusions, and a description of [Koresh] that purports to be evenhanded but is just short of sycophantic". [9]

LeAnne Burch in the Military Law Review believes that Reavis failed in respect to providing alternatives to what the federal government did at Waco to prevent further deaths; Burch also notes that Reavis did not provide a clear answer to "what happened at Waco" and accuses him of "antigovernment sentiment". [10]

Ashley Fantz for CNN called the book "exhaustive". [11] A reviewer in the American Journal of Criminal Law called the book an "in-depth look at the standoff in Waco". [12] B. Seth Bailey, also in the American Journal of Criminal Law, believes that the book is not only a "thought-provoking book" but a "useful reference" text for anyone interested in the Waco siege. However, Bailey concludes that the book is a "better guide to which questions should be asked, than it is to which answers are correct". [13]

Gregg Easterbrook in Washington Monthly calls the book "excellent" yet criticizes it for its "average" prose. Easterbrook disagrees with Reavis's depiction of Koresh as, at least at points, as a "misunderstood kid". [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Branch Davidians</span> Cult known for the Waco siege of 1993

The Branch Davidians are an apocalyptic cult or doomsday cult founded in 1955 by Benjamin Roden. They regard themselves as a continuation of the General Association of Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists, established by Victor Houteff in 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waco siege</span> 1993 US law enforcement siege in Texas

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Nancy Tatom Ammerman is an American professor of sociology of religion at Boston University School of Theology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Koresh</span> American religious cult leader (1959–1993)

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Catherine Lowman Wessinger is an American religion scholar. She is the Rev. H. James Yamauchi, S.J. Professor of the History of Religions at Loyola University New Orleans where she teaches religious studies with a main research focus on millennialism, new religions, women and religion, and religions of India. She served as a consultant to federal law enforcement during the Montana Freemen standoff and has been cited for her expertise concerning the Branch Davidians and other apocalyptic groups.

Steven Emil Schneider was an American Branch Davidian commonly called a "lieutenant" to David Koresh, the leader of the new religious movement. He was formally married to Judy Schneider, but in the community Koresh impregnated Judy and she bore a child with him. Steve Schneider was raised in a Seventh-day Adventist household in Wisconsin. Schneider studied at Newbold College in the United Kingdom, and eventually worked to receive a Ph.D. in comparative religion at the University of Hawaiʻi. In approximately 1986, Schneider encountered Marc Breault, an indigenous Hawaiian Branch Davidian, and converted to Branch Davidianism.

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Sheila Judith Martin is an American Branch Davidian and a survivor of the Waco siege. She was the wife of Douglas Wayne Martin, a Harvard-educated lawyer, who died in the April 19, 1993, fire that destroyed Mount Carmel Center. Four out of her seven children died in the fire: Wayne Joseph, 20; Anita, 18; Sheila Renee, 15; and Lisa Martin, 13. In September 1993, she received custody of James Martin (1982–1998) who has cerebral palsy and is blind because of a meningitis infection at 4 months old. By 1994, she obtained custody in Texas state court of her two other children – Daniel and Kimberly.

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From the Ashes: Making Sense of Waco is a 1994 non-fiction anthology book edited by James R. Lewis about the Waco siege. It was published Rowman & Littlefield. The book contains 46 essays from people like Franklin Littell, Stuart A. Wright, David G. Bromley, Thomas Robbins, Dick Anthony, James A. Beckford, James T. Richardson, Dean M. Kelley, and Eldridge Cleaver. Some of the essays are scholarly articles, while others are opinion pieces. Other contents include press releases, personal correspondences, and a poem from a surviving Branch Davidian. Catherine Wessinger notes in her review of the book that it was a chance for new religious movement scholars to respond to the siege.

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Brad Eugene Branch is an American former Branch Davidian who was charged and convicted of aiding and abetting voluntary manslaughter of federal agents during the 1993 Waco siege and weapons charges. He was sentenced to ten years in prison for the voluntary manslaughter charge and thirty years for the weapons charges. Originally, the charge of carrying a firearm during a violent crime was based on a conspiracy to murder charge on which Branch and other Davidians were acquitted, but federal prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Walter Smith to reinstate the weapons charges, which he did. The Branch Davidians, including Brad Branch, attempted to appeal the charges, but the appeals were turned down in 1997. The United States Supreme Court agreed to hear appellate arguments from the Branch Davidians including Branch in 2000. In response to the Supreme Court's ruling that Smith overstepped his power in his sentencing, he reduced his and other Davidians' sentences to five years for the weapons charges.

<i>How the Millennium Comes Violently</i> 2000 book by Catherine Wessinger

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References

  1. ↑ "Dick Reavis". NC State University: College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  2. 1 2 Wessinger, Catherine (October 1997). "Review Essay: Understanding the Branch Davidian Tragedy". Nova Religio . 1 (1): 122–38. doi:10.1525/nr.1997.1.1.122. JSTOR   10.1525/nr.1997.1.1.122 – via JSTOR.
  3. 1 2 Moore, Carol (1995). "Davidians vs. Goliath". American Enterprise . 6 (6): 90.
  4. 1 2 Kelley, Dean M. (December 1995). "BOOK REVIEWS". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion . 34 (4): 523–4. doi:10.2307/1387346. JSTOR   1387346 – via JSTOR.
  5. ↑ Sullum, Jacob (March 1996). "Burning Questions". Reason . 27 (10).
  6. ↑ Ammerman, Nancy T. (1999). "Moloch's Revenge". The Review of Politics . 61 (4): 755–8. doi:10.1017/S0034670500050683. JSTOR   1408413. S2CID   251376120 – via JSTOR.
  7. ↑ Seeger, Murray (Winter 1995). "The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation". Niemann Reports. 49 (4): 87.
  8. ↑ Hartse, Caroline (1999). "The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation by Dick J. Reavis". Review of Religious Research . 41 (1): 131–2. doi:10.2307/3512432. JSTOR   3512432 – via JSTOR.
  9. ↑ McMorrow, Timothy K. (June 1996). "The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation". Trial. 32 (6): 71.
  10. ↑ Burch, LeAnne (1995). "The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation". Military Law Review. 150: 459–64.
  11. ↑ Fantz, Ashley (2011-04-14). "Who was David Koresh?". CNN . Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  12. ↑ "BOOKS REVIEWED: THE ASHES OF WACO: AN INVESTIGATION By Dick J. Reavis". American Journal of Criminal Law. 22: 861. Spring 1995.
  13. ↑ Bailey, B. Seth (Winter 1996). "BOOK NOTE: Fire on the Mount". American Journal of Criminal Law. 23: 505–8.
  14. ↑ Easterbrook, Gregg (September 1995). "POLITICAL BOOKNOTES". Washington Monthly . 27 (9).
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