REVIEW: Waco Rising by Kevin Cook

 

One of the podcasts I've been listening to regularly lately is American Scandal, hosted by Lindsey Graham (no, not the politician!). It covers, as you may have guessed, popular scandals in American history. They've done everything from like Watergate and the Exxon Valdez to the Lewinsky Scandal, Enron, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, Lance Armstrong and the Attica Prison uprising.  At the end of each episode, he'll recommend a book to read about the topic they're covering. This one came out of the Waco standoff and since it's been thirty years (!!!!!) I wanted to read it.  Waco has also been such a force in a lot of our political rhetoric insofar as government overreach (Alex Jones and Timothy McVeigh among some of the most popularly known have cited this case as inspiration for their actions) that I wanted to read it to get a better understanding of what happened (I was only about 12 or 13 at the time and don't remember the nuances as much as I should!).

For those who don't remember or haven't heard, the Branch Davidians , led by David Koresh, were living in a compound outside of Waco, Texas. On February 28, 1993 the ATF raided the area after a local newspaper reported sexual abuse/pedophilia, stockpiling of weapons and bigamy occurring at the ranch. The Branch Davidians shot back and in the raid, there were deaths on both sides. This raid started a 51 day standoff that ended when the government shot in tear gas and then raided the compound with tanks,  in part causing that huge fire you see up there.  76 members of the Branch Davidians, including children, died. Kevin Cook, a journalist, takes a deep dive into what actually happened.

Kevin Cook did a masterful job here both in researching what happened, putting what happened into political and historical context and also telling us about the major players.  And the narrative he tells is absolutely chilling - I mean, we all know what's about to happen, but yet I think a part of us hopes that it would not.  The chapters are short and immensely readable. The book went by quickly.  Be forewarned, it can be graphic and there are times when he relays some of the off color humor that was rampant at the time surrounding this, but the book was so good.  I also really appreciated learning about what happened to the major players years on, as well as the survivors.  I learned something from reading this book - I feel like I have a better grasp now of why people look to this as a really seminal moment in our political discourse and development. 

This work is thoroughly engaging, enlightening and reminds us of the humanity behind the acts. A must read in our current political climate. 

REVIEW: Uncultured by Daniela Mestanyek Young

 

I read this book because one of the podcasts I listen to - Women and Crime (go listen!) - has a book club and this was this month's pick.  Boy, it was a heavy one. 

TRIGGER WARNING: Review will include mention of rape/sexual assault.

This is a brutally honest and open account of Young's time in the Children of God cult as a 5 year old child. It opens with her as a child standing in line to get spanked by an uncle - not a blood uncle, just one of the many adult men that she interacts with in the cult. The women are "Aunties." As the youngest, she's the last in line so she has the added cruelty of watching all the other children go first and anticipating her turn. She sees her mother, and runs to her, only to be coldly told to return to line or face additional punishment. SHe still gets additional punishment - 9 swats instead of 3 - and then forced to hug the man spanking her.  

The memoir itself is also replete with not only stories of what it was like to live on communes, but of abuse in Young's life at the hands of members of the community and her attempts to find alife both within and without the cult, including high school, the Army and marriage. She belonged to the Children of God (now called The Family International), a cult founded in the 60's, that focused on turning sexual modesty on its head. Quite frankly, it seemed to promote human trafficking and child sex abuse. Famous members included Rose McGowan and Joaquin and River Phoenix (whose family got out ASAP when they learned about what was going on). Ms. Young certainly doesn't shy away from the details of how she grew up, though I appreciated the tasteful way she handled describing the child sex abuse that she experienced growing up (because quite frankly - child sex abuse is horrific and not ever tasteful). She was raised to never reject the advances of men and she really struggled to break away from that behavior as an adult. 

Ms. Young writes masterfully well and her story is compelling and sometimes moved me to tears. It took me longer to read this book then normal not because I didn't enjoy it.  The book itself was amazing and offered me a peak into cult life as experienced by Ms. Young.  But there were periods of heaviness that warranted me putting it down for a bit and returning to it later on.  I'm so happy that I read this book and that Ms. Young wrote it - I sincerely hope that it was therapeutic for her and that it helps her along her path.  She is an inspiration - she perseveres, is brutally honest with herself and others, and is so, so brave.  

Highly recommended. 

REVIEW: South to America by Imani Perry

 

This is also a part of the Southern Reading Challenge. I think that I wanted to learn more about the South after actually visiting there for the first time a number of years ago - I went to Atlanta and then again last year when I was in Birmingham, so this collection of stories about the region intrigued me. It's part travelogue - she travels to the places that she writes about - but also a philosophical exploration of the region that results from her travels. She even goes to Florida and Cuba!  (I honestly never thought of Florida as the "real South" but what do I know). 

The most interesting parts of the book for me were when she was describing her own interactions in the South - with the history, the people and her own history there.  I felt like I was right there with her in those moments experiencing what she was experiencing and seeing things through her own eyes.  I could hear her talking and watch things through her eyes.  But those moments were seemingly few and far between.  They were overwhelmed by her sometimes heavy handed stream of consciousness delivery, which made it difficult for me to get through the book.  I sometimes had to take breaks at the ends of chapters to read something else and then come back because it wasn't easy or fun to get through those parts. I often felt that I was watching a closing argument in a trial that wasn't very organized. 

Having said that, I'm glad that I read the book.  I feel like I learned a bit more about a place in my country that I'm not from and haven't really immersed myself in or visited as much.  Perhaps a go from the library instead of a purchase!