Waco: Booktrack Edition

A Survivor's Story

By: David Thibodeau, Leon Whiteson, Aviva Layton

Narrated by: Robert Fass, David Thibodeau

Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Waco: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience!

The basis of the celebrated Paramount Network miniseries starring Michael Shannon and Taylor Kitsch - Waco is the critically-acclaimed, first person account of the siege by Branch Davidian survivor David Thibodeau.

Twenty-five years ago, the FBI staged a deadly raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. David Thibodeau survived to tell the story.

When he first met the man who called himself David Koresh, David Thibodeau was a drummer in a local a rock band. Though he had never been religious in the slightest, Thibodeau gradually became a follower and moved to the Branch Davidian compound in Waco. He remained there until April 19, 1993, when the compound was stormed and burned to the ground after a 51-day standoff with government authorities.

In this compelling account - now with an updated epilogue that revisits remaining survivors - Thibodeau explores why so many people came to believe that Koresh was divinely inspired. We meet the men, women, and children of Mt. Carmel. We get inside the day-to-day life of the community. We also understand Thibodeau's brutally honest assessment of the United States government's actions. The result is a memoir that reads like a thriller, with each chapter taking us closer to the eventual inferno.

Originally published as A Place Called Waco.

Booktrack is an immersive format that pairs traditional audiobook narration to complementary music. The tempo and rhythm of the score are in perfect harmony with the action and characters throughout the audiobook. Gently playing in the background, the music never overpowers or distracts from the narration, so listeners can enjoy every minute. When you purchase this Booktrack edition, you receive the exact narration as the traditional audiobook available, with the addition of music throughout.

©2019 David Thibodeau, Leon Whiteson, Aviva Layton (P)2019 Hachette Books

Critic reviews

"An extraordinary account of one of the most shameful episodes in recent American history. I wish that everyone in the country could read this book." (Howard Zinn)

"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." (School Library Journal)

"This narrative defies many of our media-mediated preconceptions of Koresh's followers." (Booklist)

"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. Neither sensationalist nor defensive, this will make satisfying reading for anyone interested in the April 1993 tragedy." (Kirkus Reviews)

Distracting music in the background

I wanted to read Tibodeau’s account after watching the Netflix series “Waco”. I found it very distracting listening to this book with the music constantly playing in the background. Not sure why it was added but if you can remove it the book would be more enjoyable. Remember this is one side to the story, it would be interesting to read the ATF/FBI side

Great Book!

I now realize the complete truth how sad that a government should interfere without truly understanding.

eye opening

great story from the perspective of someone who lived every moment of this tragedy.

Very Interesting!

What a great story! I suggest watching the movie and the aftermath movie before listening to get a better idea of the visual as he describes things. He goes into so much more and fills in the blanks! Thank you David for doing this book!

Very Honest Perspective

I purchased this book because having been 23 at the time of Waco all that was available to me, information wise, was the TV outlets and print media.

The internet did not exist back then so all I had to reference was , in my opinion, slanted media....either heavily for or against. There was no in between .

I choose this story because it was not only told by a survivor but by one who did not seem to worship the ground David walked on and who had joined the group rather late in the game so to speak verses being born into it. This was someone who had lived in the "real" world verses someone who had been raised in one sort of religion or another.

I found David T. to be refreshingly honest. He addressed the faults of David K. and himself. He admitted to truths and set the record straight on some falsehoods I never truly felt comfortable taking as gospel when they were first reported. I always felt there was much more than we were lead to believe.

I was very glad to hear the last chapter which was written in 2017 years after the author had time to heal and reflect. I was glad to hear him acknowledge and denounce the statutory rape. It was wrong then, it is wrong now and absolutely no where in the Bible is it okay. I personally believe David K. used that excuse because to be blunt, he liked young girls.

Does that make him a pedophile, yes. Should he have been jailed for it, yes. Should the ATF should have come in guns ablasing, no.

There were so many mistakes made here I don't know where to start. For one, CPS could have solved the main issue early on and all of this could have been avoided. Second, barring their ability to do this the ATF could have arrested him out on a jog and again, we would not have the tragedy that unfolded.

I have trouble understanding why anyone would be fooled into believing that God would allow a child of 12 to marry and have sex. I have no sympathy for any parent who offered their child up as a sacrificial lamb to a man they thought was a prophet. I believe God sends people to guide us, he however does not send people to think for us. It is our job to think for ourselves and listen to God. If you rely on someone to do the thinking for you, you become a sheep.

As for David K. I believe he thought he was a messiah, I however believe he was a manipulative person who also bent scripture when it suited his needs. Revelations talks about the 24 Elders, it does not however say one man will father them all and that man gets to sleep with all the women. Especially the underage girls.

I believe he was able to accurately assess individuals wants, needs, weaknesses and play to them. Acting sad when needed and righteous when the individual he was speaking to required it. In this respect people came to want to stay, verses him forcing them. He was a narcissist who found power in scripture and used it to fit his needs. He may not have believed it at first but in the end the con fell for his own con.

All of the above may or may not he true but what is true is the government could have handled this better and their handling caused the outcome, not the other way around. They totally blew Ruby Ridge and were looking to redeem themselves. They wanted to look good for the public. They blew it again, only worse, and when their agents were killed wanted revenge. A very human emotion but one they should have been trained to not react to physically. As a result lives were lost. I don't feel sorry for the adults, they made their choice. The children however were innocent and neither the government, their parents or David K. should have treated them with such indifference.

Read and or listen with an open mind. Some truths will be hard to swallow, some will make you mad and others will make you sad. The excuses made for David's behavior may infuriate you but listen to the end. Even had the author not added a new chapter he has a right to his opinion as do we all and no one should have to die or be attacked for it.

Very interesting

There was a lot of info in here that I had no idea had happened at Waco. So many decisions on both sides that cost people their lives.

Devastating, yet incredible

I was inspired to read this book after watching the Waco series on Netflix. It is incredibly well written, and well read. The series and this book have opened my eyes to the truth about Waco. My entire life I have viewed Waco as a prime example of cultish fanaticism, with the end result of mass suicide. Most of what I believed my whole life is a lie. The unchecked and unaccountable power that federal law-enforcement possesses is scary and disturbing. They are almost fully responsible for this massacre and tragedy of religious persecution, yet they have had virtually no reckoning and no justice. Furthermore, we in the public have believed the false narrative they and the media have pushed for 27 years. I can only pray there will be a reckoning on the Day of Judgment. This book is incredibly difficult to read/ listen to as the horrors are detailed, but I feel every American should read it.

OMG! (Not said in vain.)

This book should be canonized. If there was a “Third Testament” of the Bible, this book would be it.
The difference between the way the media portrayed David Koresh and his followers in the 1990s, and what really happened was way off!
I believed what the media said, myself at the time, as I was only a baby Christian in 1993. After hearing this, my whole concept of reality as I know it has changed.
If this is what happened in Waco, I can't imagine what is going on with Coronavirus today.

Please listen to this book. God Bless You.

Much Better Than I Expected

I downloaded this audiobook after watching the Waco miniseries on Netflix. I didn't know anything about the raid on the Branch Davidians before seeing the show, but afterwards, I read both books the series was based on (the other being former FBI negotiator Gary Noesner's book, Stalling for Time).

I wanted to hear what David Thibodeau had to say about the raid in Waco. But, since Thibodeau was a musician, not a writer, I didn't expect that he'd actually be able to, y'know, write. I expected a mediocre memoir.

I'm pleased to report I was wrong. From the first chapter, I was stunned by the quality of the writing. I don't know if that was Leon Whiteson's influence, or if Thibodeau had other outside help, but I thought this was a truly first-rate memoir. The descriptions, pacing, and narrative style made this book enthralling.

I was also impressed by how deeply researched it was. Whether he's talking about the allegations of sexual abuse leveled against David Koresh, or the Fed's actions during the raid, Thibodeau carefully lays out the evidence. It might be too much to say he's unbiased -- the Branch Davidians were his friends, and the Feds were not -- but his presentation of facts allows the reader to judge for themselves.

The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the performance style. The instrumental background music which played during the whole thing was distracting. After a while I purposely listened to this book with crappy headphones and in loud areas to help drown out the extra noise. However, Robert Fass did an excellent job with the narration.

As open minded as anyone could hope!

Loved this book. I have been doing a great deal of reading on the events at Mt. Carmel, but as one may expect, most slant to one side or the other. David’s work shows a great deal of consideration for what the opposing sides may have thought, felt or assumed. Would definitely recommend this reading to anyone working to understand the siege with more depth.