America's Most Hated Woman: The Life And Gruesome Death Of Madalyn Murray O'Hair

America's Most Hated Woman: The Life And Gruesome Death Of Madalyn Murray O'Hair
by Ann Rowe Seaman

America's Most Hated Woman: The Life And Gruesome Death Of Madalyn Murray O'Hair
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Book Summary Information

Author: Ann Rowe Seaman
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-02-28
ISBN: 0826416446
Number of pages: 391
Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group

Book Reviews of America's Most Hated Woman: The Life And Gruesome Death Of Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Book Review: A good book, but too much material about David Waters
Summary: 4 Stars

This is a pretty good book on O'Hair's life, although, like another reviewer, I did wonder why there was so much material on her murderer, David Waters. It is likely because the author interviewed him, wanted to used the material in the book, and the information is somewhat relevant to the story. However, it is really hard to read a book about O'Hair and really get a feel for the woman.

There is a radio interview/debate between O'Hair and Walter Martin, a Baptist minister, that occured in 1968 on the Long John Nevel radio show that is very illuminating, if you care to take the time to listen to it. If you go to the Wikipedia entry on Madalyn Murray O'Hair and scroll down to the "external links" section, there is an entry labeled "Baptist minister Walter Martin vs. Atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair". Click on it, and you'll get the entire three hour radio program in MP3 format. The first hour or so is the interview, and the last two hours is the debate and call-in part of the show.

Listening to this show after reading the book really gives you a feel for the facts presented in the book. For one, O'Hair really shows herself up to be quite the publicist in spite of her claims of not caring what other people think. As the book says, she needed these "other people" as a revenue stream. In this broadcast she claims that she is married to a "Mr. Murray", that he is Roman Catholic, and that both her sons are products of that marriage. Even O'Hair knew that, in 1960's America, most people would be much more willing to accept that she was an atheist than the fact that her sons had two different fathers and that she had never married either of them. She also makes the statement that if her son Bill decided to become a Christian minister that she would accept his decision. 12 years later when this actually happened, she took the attitude that he had commited treason. As the show wears on, O'Hair's end of the debate largely consists of name-calling, bullying, and claiming that "she had read every book Mr. Martin has read twenty years ago". In short, the radio program gives life to the facts presented in the book for those too young to remember what this woman was like in person.

If you want to read a biography of O'Hair, this is probably the one to get since it is the most unbiased and least sensational of the books written on the subject.

Summary of America's Most Hated Woman: The Life And Gruesome Death Of Madalyn Murray O'Hair

Why did Life magazine dub her "the most hated woman in America"?

Did she unravel the moral fiber of America or defend the Constitution?

They found her heaped in a shallow grave, sawed up, and burned. Thus ended Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the "atheist bitch" whose 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case ended school prayer. Her Christian-baiting lawsuits spanned three more decades; she was on TV all over the country, foul-mouthed-witty, and passionate, launching today's culture wars over same-sex marriage and faith-based initiatives.

She was a man-hater who loved sex, a bully whose heart broke for the downtrodden. She was accused of schizophrenia, alcoholism, and embezzlement, but never cowardice or sloth. She was an ideologue who spewed toxic rage even at the followers who made her a millionaire. She was a doting mother who approached prospects to mate with her lonely children, and whose cannibalistic love led them to their grave. She thrived on her fame, but just as the curtain of obscurity began to lower, the family vanished in one of the strangest of America's true crimes.

This is the real story of "the most hated woman in America," by the only author to interview the killer and those close to him and to witness the family's secret burial in Austin, Texas.

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