Clubs and Fanatics

by colin-wilson

Dangerous madmen or divinely inspired prophets? From murdering religious sects like the Assassins and the Thugs, to the orgies of the little known Khlysty and the self-mutilations of the Skloptzi; including modern day killers like the vicious Manson Family and the violent racism of the Ku Klux Klan - this book shows how cults and fanatics had such a powerful effect on the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, History, Cults, Religion, Psychology

182 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Patz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating how the book covers cults from almost all regions of the world.
The problem, however, is the monotonous narrative that bombards the reader with so much information that it starts becoming boring after a point. I forgot most of what I had read before even reaching halfway through the book.

[Vakaris the Nosferatu · Rating 1 out of 5]

The rest of this review, if needed is at [ NMR ]: First of all, let me stress, that the book is on sects, cults, and (mostly just) fanatics. Not, say, cultures, societies (e.g. Illuminati, Masons, etc.), even though they have been touched upon, and left me with a nasty taste of continuity lack. Second, authors took either lesser known stories, or those on which we have too much anecdotal facts. And third – the book seems to be concentrated on three spots on the whole wide Earth, somehow, thus leaving it very small, very narrow, and very lacking.

[Jennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

It was kinda nostalgic in that I would have read this when I was like 11, but this is nothing I'd recommend to anyone. It was ok. No Jonestown. Kinda weird to leave that out. I did learn about some new things, but I'm not exactly willing to trust this author's research or conclusions. He wavers between some token skepticism and gullibility.

[Little Miss Esoteric]

4 stars. Find my review at BookLikes: http://LittleMissProcrastination.book...

[Nynke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not at all as insightful is i was hoping.

[Vik · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know whether to blame the author or the editor, but this book is poorly written (or edited, with many spelling and date mistakes) and leaves out multiple important cults, sects and details (for example: one fleeting mention of Jonestown, one Scientology reference, nothing on Heaven's Gate.) There's no reference section at all leaving me to question the integrity of some of the author's facts. Would not recommend, there are definitely better reference books out there and they're not hard to find.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Madness! Madness! Madness

[Em · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't what I expected. For some reason, I expected a book that was well-researched and comprehensively covered the topic, rather than essentially descriptions of some cults and people with religious delusions. The style reminded me of some of the Reader's Digest books I loved as a kid, e.g. Almanac of the Uncanny or Strange Stories, Amazing Facts.

There are no citations, so it's not possible to verify any of the information. The chapter ordering is strange and disjointed.

I'm sure some of the information is true, but I assume not much. The book doesn't include some notable cults like People's Temple (Jonestown), Scientology , Rajneeshpuram (Orange People), Order of the Solar Temple, and Heaven's Gate.

It was lacking information on why the people featured believe that they're the messiah, and why others follow them -- e.g. what has led to these beliefs in terms of mental disorders, personal experiences and such. Some of the stories had this background information, but the book would have benefited from an well-researched, overarching introduction and conclusion that explains why cults and fanatics exist and can flourish or self-destruct.

[Bethnoir · Rating 3 out of 5]

If it hadn't been written by Colin Wilson I wouldn't have chosen to read it, but it was interesting to find out about various people who've pretended to be Messiah's over time and be amazed at the things they've persuaded their followers to do. Colin's usual skeptical investigative style is always amusing to read, but there was too much mutilation, murder and real life horror for my liking.

[Berni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Subject matter was interesting although not particularly well written. I was enjoying the chapter on Nicolae Ceaucescu when it suddenly ended and the next paragraph was about David Koresh, so there was some major problem when this book was being put together. On searching through the entire book, i was not too impressed to discover that the second half of the chapter was nowhere at all!

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting, brief history.

[Rebeckah11 · Rating 4 out of 5]

World Famous Cults and Fanatics

[m. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting overview over cults - mainly messianic ones - through the ages.