In the Spring of 1993 federal agents raided the Branch Davidian compound in Waco Texas. A
51-day standoff ensued. Known as the Waco Siege it has become a founding myth of the extreme
wing of American conservatism invoked by militiamen gun rights advocates and the alt-right.
The leader of the evangelical sect an extreme form of Seventh-Day Adventism was David Koresh.
Born Vernon Howell he was a preacher interpreter of the Bible and obsessed with the coming
of the Apocalypse. A charismatic but highly volatile man he was a former victim of sexual
abuse who himself became a sexual predator on a large scale exploiting many of the women in
his compound. Koresh is Stephan Talty's extraordinary meticulous narration of the events that
led up to the Waco Siege. Drawing on new sources FBI negotiation tapes and interviews with
family and friends this definitive biography explores how Koresh grew from a young man to a
cult leader and investigates why the siege has become an enduring symbol for radical opponents
of the democratic state. PRAISE FOR STEPHAN TALTY: 'Gripping... A valuable recounting of a
lurid and little-known episode in American history' Washington Post. ' 'Part Holocaust history
part detective case part spy operation The Good Assassin is an enthralling book... Stephan
Talty paints vivid often chilling portraits of its vengeful hero Mossad agent Jacob Medad'
Neal Bascomb. 'Compelling... Talty remains true to his technique delivering thoroughly
researched engrossing non-fiction in a thriller-like narrative style' Kirkus. 'Talty captures
the chilling realities of bloody battlefields tense war rooms and besieged London... Elegantly
crafted' Wall Street Journal. 'Thrilling... An extraordinary crime story with a genuine
American hero too long forgotten' - Dallas Morning News
