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The 4 O'Clock Murders
by Scott Anderson
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Dell (1994-01-01)
ISBN: 044021629X
EAN: 9780440216292
Mass Market Paperback
Release Date: 1994-01-01
SKU: MM2630
Condition: Acceptable
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Chronicles the true story behind four 1988 Texas murders carried out at the behest of a dead self-proclaimed Mormon prophet, who left his sixty children a list of people he wanted killed. Reprint. K.
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Customer Reviews
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Oh Brother !
Rating  (1)
Date: 2006-08-23
0 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
I sure wish Amazon would allow us to give zeros, this lousy book deserves one. What could have been a really outstanding study in religious psychopathy and criminal insanity, turned out to be a mishmash of personal opinions, urban myths, half-truths and flat out falsehoods. After reading Anderson's misinformation about the LDS Church, Joseph Smith (who did not form the Danites, he abolished them), Brigham Young, who never demanded a Blood Atonement, nor did he murder his "religious and business" competitors, and other nonsense that generally comes from the fringy born-again cults, I then doubted I could believe anything else the man wrote. It's just a terrible book, not even interesting and Anderson, who's known as one of the modern hack journalists who goes for sensation rather than facts, is just an embarassment. The sad thing is there are a lot of people who will believe this idiocy and continue the myths and falsehoods. If by chance you do decide to waste money and read it, I challenge you to double check what he's writing. And keep this in mind, after pointing out how insane the entire LeBaron clan was, his entire basis for facts come from a never seen letter from the obviously insane great-grandfather. There's no documentation of anything Anderson says of significance, we just have to take this hacks word for it.
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Book Desciption
Rating  (3)
Date: 2005-12-16
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Texas residents are shocked when, at 4 P.M. an a June day in 1988, four people are slain in precisely timed attacks at three different locations in the state. Police know who the killers are, but cannot convict them. They also know who is giving the execution orders: a man buried in a Texas grave twelve years ago. Dubbed by the media as the "Mormon Manson," Ervil LeBaron believed he was a prophet chosen by God to purify the Mormon faith. Resurrecting the nineteenth-century Mormon tenets of polygamy and blood atonement, he formed a fanatic religious cult - still in existence - which has left bodies scattered throughout the American Southwest. So strong is LeBaron's hold that, even twelve years after his death, many of his thirteen wives and sixty children are still carrying out his orders. It is those orders that frighten law enforcement officials. Before he died, LeBaron penned a chilling last testament to his family, a death list called The Book of New Covenants. To date, five of those on the list have been murdered, and no one involved in the case believes the bloodshed is over yet. Investigative writer Scott Anderson presents an astonishing portrait of America's most bizarre crime family. In a meticulously researched book, Anderson follows the bloody trail of the LeBaron cult over twenty years, and reveals how it has been served by the controversial and hidden history of the Mormon church. As compelling as the best fiction, The 4 O'Clock Murders is all the more terrifying because it is true.
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The "Mormon Manson"
Rating  (5)
Date: 2004-09-25
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
Mr. LeBaron was dubbed the "Mormon Manson". This study is fascinating insofar as it reveals that within a sect often misunderstood & viewed as "extreme" by mainstream America, there lurk even less understood factions. LeBaron felt that the modern Mormon church was betraying it's pure origins, that he had inherited a messianic right by birth to redress the situation, & that bloodshed alone was the means to accomplish this. He executed rivals such as Ruland Ahlred, & set about on a crime spree that went on for many years. This is a page turner, intriguing regardless of if you have any particular interest in Mormonism or not. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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Well-researched look into the LeBaron family
Rating (5)
Date: 2003-03-03
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
Why does it seem that some of the best books I've run across are out of print? The LeBaron cult is one of minor legend, certainly not as well known as some of the other big name groups.That doesn't make them any less interesting though.
This book is a fascinating read.It is an unforgettable journey into the story of a family -based sect who took revenge very seriously.
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The 4 O'Clock Murders
Rating (5)
Date: 2000-06-28
6 out of 6 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book gave a really great insight into cults and how one could get wrapped up in a cult before you know it. The first few chapters were a bit difficult to get through, myself having to read them over twice because there is so much information, its overwhelming. Also, the book takes many points of views, from many different members of the family, making it challenging to keep all names and facts in order. Despite these difficulties, the book was absolutely fantastic and I recommend it to anyone, whether you like reading about true crime, romance, religions or history.
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