Ungodly: The Passions, Torments, and Murder of Atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair

by Ted Dracos

Book Overview

Madalyn Murray O' Hair was a woman so despised that when she went missing, it took almost a year before authorities agreed to investigate her disappearance. Now, through interviews and never-before-released documents, Ungodlytells in vivid detail the true story of her life, kidnapping, and horrific murder.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425201163
• ISBN13: 9780425201169
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Fascinating story!

I wouldn't classify this as a "biography," but it was a very interesting tale of O'Hair's life (and death). I hadn't followed the case against her murderers when it played out; it was quite fascinating to read about it. Despite what some of the reviewers have written, I didn't think this was a biased book. Hey, it's hard to portray as a saint a woman as wicked as her. Regardless of whether you agree with her Athiesm, she WAS an evil, greedy woman who bilked many of her supporters out of thousands if not millions of dollars. Sadly, it was greed itself that led to her murder.

An UNBIASDED look!!

UNGODLY is a superb account of the events in the O'Hair's lives. The book shows an UNBIASED look at these individuals despite what other reviewers have said. Most atheist reviewers will not like this book because it shows the true nasty nature of Ms. O'Hair. She was close to a criminal herself with all her tax problems. She was a hard person to like and was obnoxious beyond normal considerations. She had utter contempt for Christians and most people in general. Of course, this in no way excuses her horrible murder. It may be ironic, but I am not justifying murder. What I take issue with is that some reviewers have stated that the Christians in the book are portrayed as all good and the atheists are shown to be vile. I must have read a different book than they did. Certainly some Christians are portrayed as good, but others are portrayed as con-artists. Some atheists are shown to be kind people of good character while others push forward the gospel of hate. Some reviewers seem to take issue with any perspective that they disagree with. I am a Christian, and I have a dear friend who is an atheist. I feel that he is misguided, and he feels that I am incorrect. We debate, but we still maintain a mutual respect for one another. Dracos has shown both sides and told a reasonably accurate account of the O'Hair's lives. His work is researched to the hilt. UNGODLY is NOT biased in any way. Many times throughout the book Dracos portrays Madalyn in a negative light. He also shows respect for her abilities and empathy for her death. I have no idea if Dracos is a Christian or not, but in his acknowledgements he thanks Pan and the presiding Gods. This is tongue in cheek, but as a Christian I personally would not thank Pagan gods even in jest. I say this to point out that Dracos DOES NOT have some hidden Christian agenda. He is just giving a compelling account of a tragic yet interesting life.

Sordid tale of the life and murder of Madalyn Murray O'Hair

She was frequently described as "America's Most Hated Woman". The mere mention of her name would repulse a large segment of the population. Any number of adjectives (or expletives for that matter) might describe this woman. She was arrogant, smart, vulgar, domineering, outrageous and crooked to mention just a few. In "Ungodly" author Ted Dracos traces the career of this most unikely American icon. Madalyn Murray O'Hair came out of nowhere in 1960 to challenge the tradition of daily prayer in the public schools. It was perhaps the first shot in the cultural war still being waged across this country even as we speak. O'Hair succeeded in taking the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court where she won a startling victory that essentially banned prayer in the public schools. Ever the opportunist, Madalyn Murray O'Hair decided to cash in on her triumph and founded American Atheists to promote her cause. Over the years American Atheists would become a mostly family affair with leadership positions being filled by Madalyn herself, her son Jon and her granddaughter Robin. And Madalyn would see to it that they were all handsomely compensated for their services. Fast forward now to the mid 1990's. It seemed that after all these years the jig just might be up for American Atheists. The Feds had gotten wise to several of Madalyn's schemes and were ready to pounce. It was about this same time Madalyn's granddaughter Robin would hire an office manager named David Waters. No one ever bothered to check references because if they had they would have discovered that not only was Waters a bad actor, he was also a convicted murderer!! In his fast moving and highly entertaining book, Ted Dracos recounts the circumstances of the relationship between Waters and the O'Hairs and the events that led up to the disappearance of the trio. We also meet those individuals who pooled their efforts to solve the mystery of just what happened to Madalyn Murray O'Hair and her family. At first, no one could be sure if they just flew the coop, had been kidnapped or possibly were the victims of murder. I found this book to be very well researched and I learned an awful lot. Recommended.

Divine Irony

Madalyn Murray O'Hair was ironically born on April 13, 1919 on Palm Sunday, a high holy day on the Church Calendar. By her own account, she had an "atheist epiphany" while reading the Bible at age 12 or 13 wherein she dismissed it as being implausible and declared herself to be an atheist to the world at large. In yet another stroke of irony, O'Hair enrolled at Ashland College where chapel was mandatory. She graduated in 1948. At that time she moved to Texas from her native Ohio and enrolled in law school. She graduated with a law degree in 1952, but failed the Bar exam. She by then had a son out of wedlock named William Joseph Murray III. He was born on May 26, 1946. In 1954, she had a second son whom she named Jon Garth. She never identified Jon's father by name, but described him in extremely bawdy terms. She raised both sons to be atheists and on October 12, 1960 she was irate when her older son's principal told her that all pupils had mandatory prayers in school each morning. By November 2, 1960 her older son publicly refused to pray. William seemed destined to follow the atheistic path laid out for him and in early 1964 he married a woman from a Jewish family. Naturally that did not sit well with Madalyn Murray O'Hair and marital discord soon ensued. The discord escalated to domestic abuse. When Madalyn's only grandchild, Robin, was born on February 16, 1965 her son's marriage was more or less over. During 1964-1965 the O'Hairs moved frequently. William was arrested in 1964 because his wife Susan was under the legal age for marriage. Madalyn Murray O'Hair fought with the arresting officers and she herself faced charges. On May 26, 1964 William's father-in-law filed criminal charges against him. The irony of William's being busted on his birthday was not lost on the irate Madalyn Murray O'Hair. It was during this period that she was described as one who "craved to induce chaos." Shortly after his release, William, his wife, brother and mother fled to Hawaii where Madalyn found her niche there on Atheist Radio, spewing out her inflammatory brand of atheism. The program prided itself on granting "free time to opposing viewpoints" under the Fairness Doctrine. By August of 1964 the O'Hairs were extradited to Maryland. By early 1965, O'Hair had found an offshoot to express her atheism. She became involved with a Reverend Rhinehart who was an avid mystic. In May of 1965 she flew to San Francisco to dodge law enforcement and by that summer was involved in the disastrous Blake College project. By August of 1965, her older son bought an exit letter to leave Mexico where he was then staying. O'Hair was busted during this period and was sent to San Antonio, Texas and was later extradited to Maryland. She served 31 days and was released by an atheist judge. On October 22, 1965 the charges against O'Hair were dropped. On November 6, 1967 she appeared on the popular talk show hosted by Phil Donahue. She became infamo

A True but Extremely Sad Story

In very well written investigative journalistic style, Ted Dracos uncovers and delineates the life of America's most notorious atheist. From her childhood days to the famous Supreme Court Case where prayer was systematically taken out of school, Dracos covers every aspect of O'Hair's life that seem to have an impact on this country.Dracos details the events which led up to the initial Baltimore court case regarding prayer in public schools. Dracos provides details regarding Bill Murray's circumstances in school which caused a reaction from his mother, how the school often times wrongly handled the situation which ultimately caused the case to enter into the Supreme Court, and then ultimately to the removal of school prayers all over the country.Dracos also details the account which occurred between Madalyn Murray O'Hair and her father. Apparently they had fought over something in a very fierce manner, words were cast, voices raised, until Madalyn screamed out in a fit of rage that she hope Pup, her dad, dropped dead. A few hours later Pup did, in fact, drop dead of a heart attack, and all Madalyn could say in response to the news of her dead father was "We'll I'll be. Where's the stiff?" These and other events, details in this account, simply demonstrate the hatred and disdain that this woman carried within her.This book also describes how the American Atheist Society was developed, how it grew, the odd and sometimes illegal dealings within the group, and the events within O'Hair's life, and the group itself which lead to her untimely murder. Moreover, Dracos provides his reader with a type of parallel account of David Waters and the events of O'Hair's (her son's and her granddaughter's) kidnapping, and murder - by an ex-con who was attempting to take about 1 million dollars from the O'Hair's.I especially like the details regarding Bill Murray's conversion to Christianity, and what he has done to further the cause of Christ - a complete turn around from his childhood days, and a thing which caused his mother to label her rejection of him and his conversion an episode of "postnatal abortion."This is a grueling account of the life of a woman some people called "The Most Hated Woman in America." If you want to know the story behind the O'Hair's, how they lived out their lives, lives which affected millions of Americans and people worldwide, and how they were ultimately destroyed, then this book will provide the details for you.