Dear People: Remembering Jonestown

by Denice Stephenson (Editor)

Cultural Writing. In DEAR PEOPLE: REMEMBERING JONESTOWN, The heartbreaking tragedy of Jonestown — and the idealistic community movement that preceded it — are presented in text and photos from the Peoples Temple Archive. In November of 1978 the world recoiled in shock when the news first spread from Jonestown that more than nine hundred people were dead in a horrendous mass suicide. Over twenty-five years later, the tragedy and appeal of the Peoples Temple still puzzles us. Using letters, oral histories, poems, and newsletters, researcher Denise Stephenson has compiled a sensitive account of the community's growth and self-destruction, chronicling the Reverend Jones's move from progressive Christianity to paranoid utopianism. These documents provide moving insight not just into this historic event but into the larger issues of human yearning, of our capacity for hope and delusion, of the willingness of people to submerge themselves into a movement or charismatic leader that they give up freedom.

Genres: Cults, Nonfiction, History, True Crime, Class, Crime

171 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2005

Reviews

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great. Very informative with lots of interesting information. It is mostly letters from People's Temple members throughout the years. Some parts are kind of funny, like the guide for the hostess bus rules-"If the bus gets too raucous or noisy, do not shout angrily at our people if you can help it...rather...get them laughing and perhaps sing...When we had the happy youth on a bus with a damaged oil apparatus...Father put the youth on it and they began singing...and that bus was fine from then on in...His energy is always there."

Also, some of these Instructions from JJ are funny/strange/disturbing:

5. If someone makes fun of others, bypass all committees and take them straight to the New Brigade.
13. JJ is going to destroy thievery or the thieves.
17. No one is going to town except entertainers.
21. Don't you dare say, "Write me up." It's anarchy. If you say it you are in trouble.
23. Pick up all possible cats in Georgetown. The boat is not to leave without cats...
53. JJ wants to see more people reading.
61. I want them to get that boat.
75. Confer: don't make independent decisions.
76. Write relatives and ask for a watch. Get something out of them. Be creative...
85. Tell no one the formula for making soap...
101. We have to get some enthusiasm in what we believe.

In Jonestown, the voice of Jim Jones would go out over a loud speaker over all areas 24/7. Here is what one member had to say about it:
"I go up a wall with all the announcements,readings etc over the loud speaker. It is irritating as hell. I know that people have to hear you a certain amount of the time, otherwise they act out, but it can be maddening. I have entertained the thought that you were deliberately using a known psychological technique of interrupting people's thought processes with specific information, so as to keep them in a kind of disjointed state-a state that makes them both more receptive to information fed to them, and less able to do concentrated(and often treasonous)things. Whatever your reasons, it is driving me nuts."
These people weren't stupid and many of them realized what was going on, but it was too late for them to do anything about it. They were trapped. Their letters and thoughts are very telling and it's really upsetting that something couldn't have been done to help them in time.

"I think the essence of the problem, or at least one aspect of it, is that no one is willing to oppose your opinion in certain matters, and I frankly think that sometimes you are wrong, and no one is willing to say so. I realize this is quite a volatile statement, but I think it is one factor in the dynamics of how this organization functions that gets us in trouble."
-Harriet Tropp in a memo to Jim Jones in the fall of 1978

OK, I'll quit quoting parts of the book. Bottom line- I had emotional problems throughout the book, but I would recommend it to anyone. There are several pictures throughout, which are fun and interesting to look at. I like most of these People's Temple members and admire their spirit and what they were trying to accomplish. I'm so sorry for the horror of what their dreams turned into.

[Cathie · Rating 5 out of 5]

People just don't care about people, they claim they care about people more when asked why they are ok with how horrifically animals are treated to feed us but then they go around flippantly joking about "don't drink the kool-aid."
We don't care about others. The event that phrase is referencing was horrific and tragic and not just because it was a mass suicide but because 500 of those deaths were murders, about half of that senior citizens who couldn't even care for themselves and the other half young children who obviously had no control of choice, four were just local children who Jonestown allowed to attend the school, and even one chimpanzee!
Words matter, they do affect us and how we then go about our day treating others, this event had survivors who have gone on to have families, there are people who are still traumatized when they hear that phrase from people who clearly think their friends and families lives didn't matter. We teach our children not to make fun of others, and yet that's all we adults do.
Before making fun of them, why not try leaning about them, who they were, what they believed and why, and most importantly.....be kind.....why is this so hard

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

for the past few months i have been on a jonestown hot train...and i have to say that i really enjoy the process of starting off with a notion of what happened (yeah i know about jonestown, the joint w/ the kool aid) and then develop a deeper understanding of the who, hows and whys of an event like this.

the pbs documentary that aired in the spring made me understand the vision and community that these people shared. it made me take a step away from just thinking they were a group of desperate sheep and see how a lot of what they were striving for are ideals that me and my friends are interested in.

'dear people...' is another look/method of looking into the world of the people's temple through letters and documents, further personalizing the experience.

[Annie Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwrenching but eye opening look into the people of Peoples Temple in their own words and the words of those from outside who were there at the end. I visited the memorial and grave for the many unidentified children of Jonestown last September. Just being there brought it home to me how real this was and what a huge tragedy it was but I was grateful to be there to say a silent prayer and pay my respects to the 918 souls who died that awful day on November 18th, 1978.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is different from the other books I've read. This is a collection of writings of the people of Jonestown/Peoples Temple. I liked reading the personal histories of the members. I just wish there were more of them. I'm currently working on the genealogy of Jonestown, which is why I ordered this book from my library. The information on Ever Rejoicing (Amanda Poindexter) has helped me through a brick wall.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good compilation of primary sources on Peoples Temple. Richard Dwyer's eyewitness account of Ryan's visit is reproduced and is helpful. I appreciated Jonestown administrivia such as Katsaris's supplies requisition correspondence and the log of behavior rules announced in public forums/meetings.

[Debra Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are papers about and from the People's Temple before and during the massacre.

[Noel Kanalley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Y

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been very intereted in the whole story about Jim Jones. I always wonder what the poeple believed in when they joined the People's Temple. In the beginning it sounded wonderful and I can see how I might have been tempted to follow along with that organization. They made some great promises which back in the times seemed to be what alot of people were searching for, the proof is in all the followers of this faith.
This particular book reveals the true writings and collections of the people in and involved with the People's Temple. It was a very interesting and insightful book for me. I read this after I read the book Seductive Posion that was written by Deborah Layton who was an actual member with the People's Temple and had a high position with the organization. She was able to get away and tell her story.
This goes right along with what she had said. This is a very tragic occurence that happened in american History and it should alaways be remebered.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The California Historical Society has collected a great deal of sources connected with the Peoples Temple consisting of photographs, letters, newspaper articles, audiotapes and personal recollections. In Dear People: Remembering Jonestown, Denice Stephenson has selected several of these pieces to represent and speak for the members of the Peoples Temple. These sources stretch across the entire history of the Peoples Temple from its formation to its demise, and they are divided into six parts. The selected sources offer insight into life inside and around Peoples Temple. A chronology of Peoples Temple, notes on the many photographs placed throughout the book, and a source list close out the book.

[Alissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. Highly recommended.