A_Place_Called_Waco:_A_Survivor's_Story
A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story
Biography of a Waco siege survivor
A Place Called Waco: A Survivor's Story is the memoir of Waco siege survivor David Thibodeau (born 1969). He co-authored it with novelist Leon Whiteson (1930–2013).[1] It was originally published in 1999 by PublicAffairs,[2] and it was re-released by Hachette Books in 2018 with the title Waco: A Survivor's Story as a revised and updated version. It corresponded with the release of Waco,[3] a 2018 miniseries partially inspired by Thibodeau's account.[4] Aviva Layton co-authored the re-release with Thibodeau and Whiteson.[5] Robert Fass narrated the audiobook version of Waco: A Survivor's Story.[6][7] According to Publishers Weekly, the book was originally rejected by over 20 publishing houses before reaching PublicAffairs.[2]
When the book was being shipped out from the publisher in September 1999, federal officials in late August 1999 changed their version of events to include the use of pyrotechnic tear gas canisters against the Mount Carmel Center on 19 April 1993. However, they believe they harmlessly bounced off some concrete into a field and that the Branch Davidians were the ones who started the fire that destroyed it.[8][9]