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Indeed!! 🤓

This is the most complicated case of radicalization, groupthink and a cultish following I‘ve ever heard of. The social psychology involved to create a community of over 1,000 and have them all die for the cause is beyond evil. The Jonestown Massacre may go down in history as the most atrocious murder-suicide this world has ever seen.

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For #ReadingTheAmericas2023 #Guyana I chose this biography written by a survivor of Jonestown. This was by far one of the most interesting and heartbreaking reads I‘ve read this year. She points out warning signs she saw and explains how someone can get so caught up in a cult they don‘t see it. @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle

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The thing I liked best about this particular cult-related book was the focus on the victims and survivors. Scheeres didn't demonize the people who fell under Jim Jones's spell, but instead worked to understand why they chose to leave everything behind and follow him to the jungle of Guyana. Every story has more than one side, and Scheeres did a great job digging into every side of the Jonestown mass-murder/suicide.

Who was it who said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely? Whoever it was, the quote fits Jones to a T. Reiterman‘s cautionary tale covers it all: from the humble beginnings in Indianapolis through to the tragic denouement in Jonestown. By no means an easy read but lots of lessons to be learned, the main one being: never put your trust in a psychopath with feet of clay.

It probably sounds creepy, but I am interested in any story of Jonestown. I was young when it happened, but it left an impression on me.

This was a very emotional listen. My heart aches for Ms. Layton. One take away (paraphrased)- People do not join a cult. They join a church or an organization or a political movement.

It's easy to point fingers and call people weak or stupid, but all humans want to feel like they belong somewhere. Anywhere.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Reiterman, a journalist with the San Francisco Examiner, was injured during the Port Kaituma airstrip ambush. Four years after the Jonestown mass-murder/suicide, he published this detailed account of the childhood, rise, and demise of Jim Jones. As with all cults, the Peoples Temple followers intrigue me most. Fascinating and truly devastating.

▶️🎧 It‘s been a while since I‘ve read a cult story. This is my 4th about Jonestown, the others: The Road to Jonestown, Seductive Poison, and A Thousand Lives. Jones was both horrifying and fascinating, though the followers interest me most.

#cults