Review — Cults: Inside the World’s Most Notorious Groups and Understanding the People Who Joined Them by Max Cutler, with Kevin Conley
Mystery. Manipulation. Murder. Cults are associated with all of these. But what really goes on inside them? More specifically, what goes on inside the minds of cult leaders and the people who join them? Based on the hit podcast Cults, this is essential reading for any true crime fan.
Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong, to find a deeper meaning in life, to live everyday with divine purpose. Their existence creates a sense that any one of us, at any time, could step off the cliff’s edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause. Perhaps it’s this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more, or it’s that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick.
The premier storytelling podcast studio Parcast has been focusing on unearthing these mechanics—the cult leaders and followers, and the world and culture that gave birth to both. Parcast’s work in analyzing dozens of case studies has revealed patterns: distinct ways that cult leaders from different generations resemble one another. What links the ten notorious figures profiled in Cults are as disturbing as they are stunning—from Manson to Applewhite, Koresh to Raël, the stories woven here are both spellbinding and disturbing.
Cults is more than just a compilation of grisly biographies, however. In these pages, Parcast’s founder Max Cutler and national bestselling author Kevin Conley look closely at the lives of some of the most disreputable cult figures and tell the stories of their rise to power and fall from grace, sanity, and decency. Beyond that, it is a study of humanity, an unflinching look at what happens when the most vulnerable recesses of the mind are manipulated and how the things we hold most sacred can be twisted into the lowest form of malevolence.
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble
My ThoughtsCults fascinate me. I want to know about the people who become leaders, the people who follow and blindly obey, their beliefs, and all the hows and whys of each cult’s formation and (usually) spectacular destruction.
This book gave me all those things.
Ten cults are featured, with each given its own chapter. A few of the cults are well known, while others are relatively obscure. The assortment is an interesting variety from all over the world.
The authors track each eventual leader from childhood onward, providing a feel for their lives before their cult notoriety. We see what shapes their beliefs and what drives them onward despite the eventual danger to themselves. We’re also introduced to some of the cults’ followers, providing a bit of insight into the mindset of people who fall prey to their enigmatic leaders.
I liked the layout of the content, and I thought this was well written and informative.
The post Review — Cults: Inside the World’s Most Notorious Groups and Understanding the People Who Joined Them by Max Cutler, with Kevin Conley appeared first on Quiet Fury Books.
