Why Waco?: Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America

Tabor's perspective in this book is truly unique, as someone who both studies religions academically, and a negotiator during the actual crisis. However, this book fell a little flatter compared to what I was hoping for it. Tabor brings his ability to deeply analyze hermeneutics and religious convictions, but doesn't really discuss the validity of them. I understand that that may have lay outside the scope of the book, but it would have been a great opportunity.

This is not just my criticism, but one from the book itself. Tabor posits that what makes cults "dangerous" to American society beyond the harm to a few insiders is that it compels outsiders to have to examine their own convictions and lives, and determine whether or not it is show more as meaningful or fulfilling as they think they are, concluding that it is easier to denounce the messenger, rather than confront the message. Tabor, ironically, does just that. He talks about Koresh's history and describes his sincere convictions, but stays his hand at quantifying their actual validity, which he could have certainly done given his academic prowess and other works. show less