This has been on my TBR for a long time and I finally picked it up after noticing it on countless lists recently for past decade favorites.
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The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple | 
This has been on my TBR for a long time and I finally picked it up after noticing it on countless lists recently for past decade favorites.
Cult life dynamics
and abduction stories
Ghosts that will haunt you
and dogs in their glory
Books that embrace
the myth of changelings
These are a few
of my favorite things
These books DO represent some of my favorite themes in books! What themes and tropes do you gravitate towards?
#Top10oftheDecade #NonfictionEdition | Here are my top 10 nonfiction reads from the last 10 years. This was TOUGH. Thanks for starting this, Cindy!
Share your NF picks, too, and be sure to tag @Cinfhen !
My top 5 books of the decade (by genre) -- History and Biography
pickAn exhaustive and rich account of human tragedy. Cults fascinate me. (As an aside, I found a great number of similarities between the Peoples Temple and Scientology)
This book is crazy. I didn‘t realize that Jones was instrumental in integrating Indianapolis, partly as a result of the death of his daughter. The Joneses had adopted some Korean kids, and some African American ones. One Korean daughter died in a car accident, and she wasn‘t allowed to be buried in a regular cemetery bc of her race — it was against Indiana law. She had to be buried in a “Negro cemetery”. This was in the late 1950s. 😱😑
Google Fit says I passed 25,000 steps yesterday at work. Ive been home since midnight. Its 330AM. Little Man is asleep on my foot. My wife @anewton91 isnt in bed doing God knows what, and I cant sleep. Why not read about Jonestown?
#BFCr2 #DogsofLitsy @wanderinglynn @Laughterhp
Audiobooking during the work commute. Anyone else find it makes the drive better?
This is what I might read next, but I‘m not sure if I can get through it.😬
pickWhen I told a coworker what I was reading, she said, “I just don‘t understand how people would follow someone like that.” The thing is? After listening to this book, I DO. I get it. I don‘t quite get how those in his inner circle *kept* following him, but I understand the initial draw. And it has nothing to do with “charisma,” or whatever BS you normally hear about cult leaders. 👇🏻
This #JourneysEnd is one of the most tragic that I‘ve read about and watched documentaries about. Jim Jones‘ decent into delusions and paranoia led to tragic consequences in the jungles of Guyana. Heartbreaking! Excellent #audiobook.
The episode is probably one of the worst of the series. It‘s basically to write Wesley off of all future (cannon) storylines. And Beverly giving him the blanket - lame! #StarTrekSummerMay
pickLearning about cults can only ever be enhanced by the spring weather. Really brings out that commune vibe.
I‘m really enjoying this so far: detailed, well researched and quick paced. #SSDGM
#amreading #nonfiction #truecrime
pickVery interesting story. I certainly learned a lot about Jim Jones. I like how Jeff Guin gives so much family background in his books. I was surprised to learn ways in which Jim Jones promoted integration (even though he could have done better). #MountTBR #LitsyAtoZ #LetterR
My favorite line in the song #wonderwall is “maybe you‘re going to be the one that saves me”. I‘ve thought about it many times, and this time I thought of Jonestown.
Did, even after he moved them Guyana, these people think Jim Jones was going to save them? Did they see Leo Ryan as a savior? Tough questions, great #audiobook. #anglophileapril
pickThis was a really comprehensive, full look at the religious radicalism of Jim Jones and how he became the infamous man we have heard about. It really brings this entire tragedy to life and gives a hard look at the terror of Jonestown.
pickAn amazing and detailed history of the rise and tragic fatal fall of Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple. Jones started out with good intentions, fighting for the poor and minorities, but in the end was done in by his megalomania and paranoia. To this day, it amazes me how all these people willingly killed themselves for him. 5 💥💥💥💥💥 out of 5. Highly recommended.
#HighwaytoHell | Charismatic socialist Jim Jones led his loyal followers to Guyana in order to isolate and maintain control. We all know how this ended.
#marchintothe70s
📷: Alex Glav
Lucky for me, the audio/e-book service Storytel also had this book by Jeff Guinn. Although some patterns are similar to Manson‘s, mostly a very different approach. The whole socialism thing worked so well for Jones. If only it stayed that way.. power and adoration can be so venomous..
pickI could not put this one down. It‘s throughly researched and detailed. It blew my mind and broke my heart at the same time. Reading about what happened in Jonestown is absolutely harrowing but it also explains why and how so many people joined Peoples Temple. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
pickJeff Guinn certainly has a way with psychopaths. He writes such comprehensive portraits of “legends” that have attained almost mythical status. And despite all that you have previously read or watched about these individuals, you learn boatloads more. So many disturbing modern day parallels from the “Church” of Scientology to slavish devotion to political leaders. Highly recommend. 4🌟
When all is said and done I think there will be evidence of more than 19.
Starting this ebook today for my #Booked2019 based on a podcast book. It‘s the story from My Favorite Murder that prompted the comment “You‘re in a cult. Call your Dad”.
#WinterStormReadathon
@Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage
pickJust finished listening to this book on audio. I knew very little about the Peoples Temple and the 1978 massacre in Guyana, but Jeff Guinn does an excellent job detailing the rise of Jim Jones and the horrific events that led to the deaths of so many people. A harrowing and illuminating read.
#audio #audiobook #nonfiction #cult #bookrec
As a familiar brand, “Kool-Aid” proved more memorable to the public than “Flavor Aid.” “Don‘t drink the Kool-Aid” became a jokey catchphrase for not foolishly following deranged leaders. “It . . . still hurts every time I hear it,” says Juanell Smart, who lost four children, her mother, and her uncle in Jonestown. “I hated that people laughed when they said it, like what happened was somehow funny.”
pickGuinn takes a difficult, depressing subject and picks all its pieces apart so it‘s easier to understand. Or at least as much as possible, given the subject. Jim Jones was a megalomaniac who closely controlled the lives of about 1000 people. It‘s a tragedy of one man‘s making, despite his early intentions to bring God and equality to marginalized communities.
Full review www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2019 #booked2019 #relatedtoapodcast
pickReading this book was a painful process, not because it was dull or too long. It was neither.
The book is fascinating, infuriating, heart-breaking, thought-provoking, gut-wrenching. It focuses more on the background of the horrific events at Jonestown, and the social and cultural context in which Jim Jones rose to power, if you can call it that. It's an amazing book, but it will leave you feeling emotionally shattered.
I‘ll try this one. #littenlovebingo #LLB19 The tagged book was my first finish this year and is at 95% approval rating here on Litsy.
Actually over 900 deaths. My first finish of the year. #nonfiction2019 Highly recommend this book 📚. I love reading non fiction.
My first #audiobook of the new year! I remember when this happened, and how shocking it was. Cults fascinate me for many reasons, including my own experience escaping a quasi-religious one. Can‘t wait to dive deep into this book!
#relatedtoapodcast #booked2019 #featuringareligionnotyourown #readingwomenchallenge #readingwomen2019
pickMy first finish of #2019. This was an excellent book, and I actually learned a bit about the background of Jim Jones. I remember being glued to the tv that week in November 1978 and thinking this was a group of religious nuts. It was actually a group wanting more socialist values but under the guise of a church. Jim Jones was a disturbed man, who started out with good intentions, and got out of his lane. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The latest audiobook. I have three days to get it back to the library. #toomanybooks
#BookMail Pt7 I‘ve had this on my Wishlist for awhile now, I actually remember watching this on the news when it happened, my dad always had the 6 o‘clock news on while we ate dinner. This struck me as being so sad, even at 7yrs old.So many babies & young children murdered.I hate cults, people who use a persons belief system against them deserve a nice toasty corner of hell all to themselves.I hope him, Koresh & Manson are enjoying their rewards.
pickOverall really detailed enthralling listen. There was a good bit in the book that I learned that was left out of different documentaries I'd watched in the past.
pickMy knowledge of the Peoples Temple was pretty limited to popular culture and news retrospectives. So it was fascinating to take a deeper look. And I learned things like how much Jones did for desegregation in Indianapolis that add extra layers. Though I am from northern Indiana, it is odd how I didn‘t realize how close to home all of this was.
pickJust finished listening to this one. I knew the general facts about Jonestown, but this book really laid everything out beginning with Jim Jones as a boy and the things that led to the terrible tragedy. It seemed well researched and was an interesting listen. I‘ve always had a fascination with cults and I could understand/sympathize how so many people got pulled in by it.
“...As he preached, he would call out names of some in the audience, speaking about personal things he apparently had no way of knowing, and then assuring them that God would intervene. Listeners were flabbergasted.”
“Jones first successfully amazed revival audiences by relying on memory, not miracles. Before speaking, he began mingling with the crowd, memorizing bits of overheard conversation. Many people attended revivals or healing services in hopes of some miraculous sign that God was aware of and sympathetic to their tribulations. Thanks to his stealthy reconnaissance, Jones provided it.”
I'm pretty excited to start this next on #audible
1. Beauty and the Beast or Lion King. My sister and I wore out that VHS growing up 😂 I could pick something that was actually released when I was 10 but those were solid favs growing up
2. Fries
3. I‘m living in the early 2000s. Just popped my Usher 8701 CD in my car 😂
4. Got 3 going on at once so I tagged the audiobook I‘m listening to. It‘s longer than I thought!
5. Will do
#friyayintro @jesshowbooks
pickWow, this was an intense read. Very well-written and incredibly thoroughly researched, this book spans from way back before Jones‘ birth all the way through the aftermath of the mass suicide in Jonestown. Looking forward to discussing this one with my Bookclub this weekend!
4.5 🌟
pickTake everything you thought you knew about the Jonestown tragedy and toss it out the window. Through careful research, Guinn reveals how (and who) Jones came to be, as well as detailing a progression of events and ideology that fostered an environment where truly intelligent people believed in a movement...right up to the tragic end. An end, by the way, that had nothing to do with KoolAid. Nor did it end with the mass suicide. 4.5/5 ⭐️
I'm halfway through the book and members are preparing to go to Guyana. As detailed in the book, given all that led up to this, I finally understand how the tragedy occurred. I find myself cheering for those in the Peoples Temple, hoping for a different ending. Wanting to see the members happy and hopeful, I searched the Internet, finding these photos. Unfortunately, I also found a 45 min recording of the mass suicide. I'll never unhear it. 😓
Maya has the right idea today 👍
#SunporchSaturday
