Waco Rising

David Koresh, the FBI, and the Birth of America's Modern Militias

By: Kevin Cook

Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann

Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1993, David Koresh and a band of heavily armed evangelical Christians took on the might of the US government. A two-month siege of their compound in Waco, Texas, ended in a firefight that killed seventy-six, including twenty-five children. America is still picking up the pieces, and we still haven't heard the full story.

Kevin Cook finally provides the full story of what happened at Waco. He gives listeners a taste of Koresh's deadly charisma and takes us behind the scenes at the Branch Davidians' compound, where "the new Christ" turned his followers into servants and sired seventeen children by a dozen "wives." In vivid accounts packed with human drama, Cook harnesses never-reported material to reconstruct the FBI's fifty-one-day siege of the Waco compound in minute-to-minute detail. He sheds new light on the Clinton administration's approval of a lethal governmental assault in a new, definitive account of the firefight that ended so many lives and triggered the rise of today's militia movement. Waco drew the battle lines for American extremists—in Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's words, "Waco started this war." With help from sources as diverse as Branch Davidian survivors and the FBI's lead negotiator during the siege, Cook draws a straight line from Waco's ashes to the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol and insurrections yet to come.

©2023 Kevin Cook (P)2023 Tantor

Quite a Revelation!

This book really explained what happened at Waco, what lead up to it and most revealing: how it continues to affect our nation in terms of the growth of militia groups and dissension in our politics. As someone who lives inside the Beltway, this book was a revelation!

Unbelievable story that changes what media told you

I remember the narrative spun by media painting the Branch Davidians as crazy religious fanatics. Truth is, they may have been crazy, religious fanatics, but they were mostly minding their own business. This book clearly shows evidence of federal overreach.

Another Great One By Cook!

This was a great listen! It was a story I thought I remembered. Cook filled in all of the gaps in my memory. He is so good at making the listener feel like they are living though the story as it’s happening. The narrator was a perfect match for the book.

Very, very good.

I was looking for no frills information on what happened at Waco, and this book is exactly that. Informative but engaging, and more even-handed than I'd have ever expected one source to be. I feel far more informed, and will be giving it another listen to pick up details I may have missed the first go 'round.

The narration strikes the exact right chord - informative but not bland.

Well done.

Thought Provoking

Outstanding research and information gathering, very thorough and articulate in describing the multiple points of view involved in this gripping story. It’s a classic human tragedy and narrated in an entertaining manner. I had read a review of Cook’s book in the New Yorker magazine and this did not disappoint. It clarifies lines of thought and behavior triggered by the flaming debacle. Memorable and remarkable.

Balanced account of events

good reporting and a balanced account of the events that happened. I learned some new things that weren't in the recent dramatizations or the documentary available now. only giving four stars because I thought more of the book would be about the aftermath from what I read in the description. that's only in about the last hour.