The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple Kindle Edition

I was 16 when it happened, and remember reading a book about the tragedy several years later. That decades-old book didn't compare to the detail, depth, and insight of The Road to Jonestown.I won't go into the details of the story, as there are other synopses here.The lesson then, and it certainly applies today: when you listen only to one point of view, and surround yourself only with people who agree with you, you lose the ability to think for yourself. And the echo chamber becomes a trap. Whether it's religion, or politics, it's never a good idea.

This is truely a fascinating true horror story. The book is excellent in research and at the end is a list of interviews and extensive notes. I think two quotes accurately cover this tragedy "the death quickly became renowned not as a grandly defiant revolutionary gesture, but as the ultimate example of human gullibility.(p. 454)" and "Those as gifted as Jones use actual rather than imagined injustices as their initial lure- the racism and economic disparity in America that Jones cited were, and still are, real - then exaggerate the threat until followers lose any sense of perspective (p. 466)." This book also made me research many of the politicians, lawyers, and famous people who used this cult to further their own careers and nasty agendas. This non-fiction horror story is a warning tale about many of the movements and politicians today - that parallel the evil in this mass murder. This book deserves an A++++++++

The Rev Jim Jones is one of the most notorious criminals in American history. Jones was born in rural Indiana in 1931 to a World War I veteran of world War I and an eccentric and profane mouthed mother. She believed in reincarnation and envisaged great things for her unusual and charismatic son. Jones had charisma and was a great speaker and motivator. He graduated from Butler University and became the leader of the move to integrate public facilities in his hometown of Indianapolis in the 1850s. Jones became the chair of the Indianapolis Housing Commission doing a fine job. His congregation from store front to large. Jones was an evangelist who traveled widely in the Midwest for revivals. He was married to Marcelline who came from a prominently Republican family in Richmond. Indiana. The couple wed and had several children most of whom were adopted. Jones relocated the Peoples Temple to California in the early 1960s. The church prospered and Jones became a local celebrity in San Francisco. The public face of Jones portrays a dedicated minister who worked for social justice for the poor and minorities. But underneath was an evil egocentric monster! Consider:a. Jones proclaimed that he was God on earth and demanded worship from his besotted followers.b. Jones did not believe in the Biblec. Jones believed the CIA and FBI were persecuting his church and that the end of the world was coming near.d. Jones was a sex offender fathering at least one child out of wedlock. He demanded sex from his women followers and committed statutory rape.e. Jones was power mad .f. Jones often faked healings to fool the unwary often using chicken offal to think they were cancers he had exorcised from those suffering from the disease of the day. All of this evil is brought to the cold light of day by the deft pen of Jeff Guinn. He is a Texan who has written several bestselling books on the likes of Bonnie and Clyde, Charles Manson and the participants in the Gunfight at the OK Corral. I have read all of these books and all have been well written based on a great deal of oral interviews and research. Jim Jones is one of the most complicated murderers I have ever read a book about! He did much good in his life but talking his 914 followers to commit mass suicide in the jungles of Guyana on November18, 1978 is unforgivable. He himself killed himself that day by a gunshot. His followers also murdered Congressman Leo Ryan D-California who was killed at the airport near Jonestown. Ryan had arrived there to research the bad reports he had been hearing about Jones and his followers. This book is a well done true crime story that deserves a wide readership. Recommended!

I remember the headlines in 1978 about over 900 dead in Guyana , members of the Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones. I saw this book as an opportunity to learn more about this case and why and how it happened. Author Jeff Guinn has written a very detailed and interesting book and character study of Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple. As a child of disfunctional parents with a Mother who predicted great things for him, Jim Jones was an odd child that was obsessed with Religion and had a penchant for memorizing scripture as well as attending multiple religious services. From his start in Indiana to California, Brazil and eventually Guyana you are told of the growth of the church, how members were recruited, the people who were served by the church and how an organization that started with good intent, promising and promoting racial and social equality eventually crashed and burned in a mass suicide ordered by their Pastor Jim Jones. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Jones was an adulterer, controller and drug abuser who took advantage of vulnerable men, women and children, eventually killing them. This book is a cautionary tale for cults. This should be required reading for anyone considering joining an organization led by someone who demands absolute fealty and control and promises an ideal existence, it usually doesn't deliver and ends badly. Highly interesting and recommended.

I loved Guinn's books about Manson and Bonnie & Clyde, and the thorough research and vivid storytelling were as excellent as I expected.Finishing the book left me with more questions and I think this is intentional. I guess Guinn resisted tying it up this long, complicated story in a bow or diagnosing the dead. There have been many famous preachers over the years who enriched themselves, defrauded people, lied, slept with parishioners and so on. I have been watching Leah Remini's show about Scientology, and there are some parallels with that as well. But why did Jim Jones go beyond the basic narcissistic, greedy preacher and cause the deaths of almost a thousand people? He could have been a mega-church preacher with thousands of adoring fans, political influence and millions of dollars in his pocket without engaging in criminal and then deadly activity.If you are really interested in the culture of the times, you will enjoy this book and perhaps Manson even more.

This book has left a very profound effect on myself. I suppose I began to read it to try and make sense of why over 900 people would make a journey from San Francisco to Guyana in South America to form their own Shangri-La or utopia in a place called Jonestown, named after the charismatic demagogue of a leader called Jim Jones. And when they got to the promised land to escape the threat of American government forces and Jim Jones visions of a nuclear Armageddon, after a couple of years would then embark on a mass suicide which included mothers killing their own children with cyanide (something that robs the oxygen in the blood and leads to a horrific death of wanting to breathe and having the life sucked out of you). What is equally remarkable is how much of the socialist Jim Jones was who wanted people to live in equality whether they were black or white and was driven to help, care and preach to all. However, he was also a complex man who along with his vision and well thought out goals was also full of contradictions and hypocrisy. He carried out the healings and pretended to cure people of cancer in an almost theatre like show of false hoods, misdirection and lies. The author tells a story without sensationalism which begins in his childhood and that he has some examples of how he was driven but also rather odd behaviours and a rather sad background before becoming a pastor. I was never less than riveted to how people followed and fell in love with such a man like Jones - including his wife who seemed kind and good but also stood by him even as he took lovers and by the end was lost in cocktails of drugs. And when the final days occur and are told, it is an utterly gripping account that has haunted me ever since it’s read. A remarkable story that I felt was well told although perhaps I still do not know why so many people chose to commit suicide and kill their own children (although many were obviously murdered also as some choose not to commit suicide and had to be forced). I found it an interesting parable to some of the stories going on at this moment in time where people follow charismatic demigods or other types of lunatic, believe in their dreams and wish to find some promise land which will probably end up in some futile horror show. Perhaps history doesn’t repeat itself but people do. An excellent book that I will recommend highly and works on many levels.

This is a captivating story. I knew some of the detail of the Jonestown incident before I bought the book so was a bit apprehensive that I might be going over stuff I already knew. I was wrong.The author provides a huge amount of detail about the earlier part of the Peoples Temple and Jim Jones and at no point does it get boring. I've read biographies about infamous individuals tied to events and the author has had to pad out the book with boring irrelevant details. Not in this case, at no point does it feel padded out and it's an absolute page turner.In the era where Netflix and others are creating some fantastic true crime dramas, this feels like the written word equivalent. A factual event told by a brilliant story teller, as good as any made up story.

What I knew about Jones before reading this, you could have written on a postage stamp. An extremely informative book, found it really interesting. Hugely recommended, esp at (currently) 99p on Kindle. Scary parallels between this and the whole Brexit thing.(One slight bad side; from about 73% on Kindle, so three quarters of the way through, it's just blurb about where the author got all his info from. Which is fine, and required presumably, but I didn't realise I'd nearly finished the book when I had)

I always wondered what happened, I was 11 at the time I did not know about this, I went on holiday to Guyana in my twenties because my now ex partner was born there. Jonestown was mentioned but those around me did not want to talk about it, I did not question it any further. Can you imagine you think you are going somewhere to live to build a community, your passport taken on arrival, your money is controlled by someone. I have been in the jungle with a guide its not a place you can just wonder around so to be in the middle of the jungle is overwhelming, Guyana is a lovely country. Many of the followers would not have known what was really happening until it was too late. But could it been stopped in time?

Loved this book couldn't put it down really good details Jones entire life and career before Jonestown. Loads of information on the politics of L.A. At the time covering Willie Brown, Harvey Milk, George Moscone etc. Great book couldn't recommend it any higher ideal for fans of political history and true crime. Also refreshing to read a book that doesn't bash the democrats or republicans or is anti left or right just a straight down the middle unbiased book!