Those of you who have never heard of the Branch Davidians and WACO should probably not read my whole review, there are a few spoilers. If you have never heard this story, you should read this book. If you have heard the story, you should read the book. Everyone should read this book. The behavior of our government will shock you.

At the time David Thibodeau met David Koresh, he was in a band in LA with some friends. His initial draw to Koresh was the possibility of playing music and hitting it big. However the more time he spent with Koresh and the Branch Davidians the more he understood Koresh's teachings and conformed to their way of life. Thibodeau had never been religious, his life was his music. He had no intention of following anyone, but Koresh's teaching of the Seven Seals spoke to him and he like so many others became a member of the Branch Davidians.

Everyone was shocked the day the ATF attacked the Davidians compound. Come to find out they didn't even have a no knock warrant. If they would have knocked or arrested Koresh when he was out on one of his many runs the siege and deaths would have never happened. But the ATF choose to attack with choppers, armored vehicles, and SWAT teams. Of the almost 100 people inside, Koresh was the only one they had a warrant for. The other men, women, and children were completely innocent.

David Thibodeau tells the story from his point of view. He described how he became a member, what drove him to follow Koresh and how he grew to love all the people who lived there. The more I read the story of the siege the more angry I became. Our government used tanks, helicopters, armoured personnel carriers, and light and sound torture on innocent men, women, and children. In the end they also used CS gas on them. CS is a gas on the list of chemical weapons that the United States signed an international treaty stating that they would not use, yet they used it on their own citizens. There are plenty of previous case in the US alone that show CS gas use by police has caused fires. Yet they used so much, it is beyond belief. Not everyone died from fire, many of the children suffocated to death from the gas.

WACO is a must read, the six hour mini series based on the book is also worth watching. David Koresh was not the Messiah, he was just another charismatic leader who people followed. While he was certainly a criminal, his people weren't and those twenty-one children murdered by our government under the guise of protecting them, most certainly weren't. WACO is the heart pounding story of a 51 day standoff between the ATF, FBI, and a group of religious believers who were different and that was their crime.