A Sniper in the Tower: The Charles Whitman Murders
by Gary M. Lavergne
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Description
On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman ascended the University of Texas Tower and committed what was then the largest simultaneous mass murder in American history. He gunned down forty-five people inside and around the Tower before he was killed by two Austin police officers. In addition to promoting the rise of S.W.A.T. teams to respond to future crises, the murders spawned debates over issues which still plague America today: domestic violence, child abuse, drug abuse, military indoctrination, show more the insanity defense, and the delicate balance between civil liberties and public safety. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I picked this up after hearing an interview with Claire Wilson about the new documentary, Tower. As someone who works on a large public university campus, I was little surprised that this was the first time I'd heard about this particular incident. The book itself is a fascinating narrative of domestic terrorism, and how this event influenced the development of campus facilities operations and security policies.
This is about Charles J. Whitman, a student of the University of Texas in 1966. He went to the tower on the Austin campus on Aug 1 and shot and killed 14 people and wounded many others. He killed his wife and mother before going to the tower. He was killed in a shoot out with police and later was found to have a brain tumor during the autopsy. Did this contribute to his crime or was it his childhood?
Well written book about the day Charles Whitman went on a killing spree.
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True Crime
216 works; 16 members
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Author Information
5 Works 162 Members
Gary M. Lavergne is Director of Admissions Research at the University of Texas at Austin.
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Charles J. Whitman; Kathleen Whitman; Margaret Whitman; John Morgan; Fran Morgan
- Important places
- Austin, Texas, USA
- Original language
- English
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, History, Politics and Government
- DDC/MDS
- 364.15 — Society, government, & culture Social problems and social services Crime Criminal offenses Offenses against the person
- LCC
- HV6248 .W477 .L39 — Social sciences Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Criminal classes
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 95
- Popularity
- 339,991
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.75)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 8
- ASINs
- 1
