Product Review

It was the worst simultaneous mass-killing in American history. For an hour and a half on August 1, 1966, 25-year-old Charles Whitman laid siege to the University of Texas at Austin, killing 14 and wounding 31 from his perch on the university tower, 231 feet above his terrified victims. The horror finally ended when police stormed his stronghold and killed Whitman. Author Gary M. Lavergne was just 10 years old when Whitman went on his rampage, and three decades later he published the definitive examination of that fateful day, A Sniper in the Tower. Here, Lavergne reveals what he discovered about the enigmatic shooter in his research, shattering the ""all-American boy gone mad"" view that was prevalent for so long. It is a portrait of a man tormented by secrets, unable to handle his failings and incapable of adjusting to changing circumstances, driven to seek refuge in violence and death.