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Killer Cults: Shocking True Stories of the Most Dangerous Cults In History
 
 
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Killer Cults: Shocking True Stories of the Most Dangerous Cults In History [Mass Market Paperback]

James J. Boyle (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)


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Book Description

May 15, 1995
Deranged messiahs...brainwashed devotees...deadly consequences.

Descend into the harrowing world of the Killer Cults. See for yourself how bands of self-proclaimed "angels of death," fueled by lust, power and the thrill of death, committed unspeakable acts of violence.

Now, for the first time, author James J. Boyle takes you inside the inner sanctum of:

The Manson Family: They prayed to their own warped vision of the Holy Trinity-- sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. Under the spell of Charles Manson, a two-bit ex-con they worshipped as a god, they butchered nine people in their 1969 Hollywood killing spree, including beautiful actress Sharon Tate and her unborn child.

The People's Temple: Reverend Jim Jones offered his congregation a vision of heaven and earth. Little did they know that following him to the South American jungle to await the Apocalypse would put them on the path to Hell.

Luc Jouret and The Solar Temple: Belgian spiritualist Luc Jouret warned that the world would end in environmental armageddon. For Jouret and 53 followers of his secretive New Age cult, the end would come all too soon-- in a fiery mass-death ritual that shocked the world, and shattered the peace of an idyllic Swiss Alpine community.

With 8 pages of harrowing photographs!


Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 280 pages
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (May 15, 1995)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0312952856
  • ISBN-13: 978-0312952853
  • Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,381,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Sampler Platter, October 9, 2003
By 
This review is from: Killer Cults: Shocking True Stories of the Most Dangerous Cults In History (Mass Market Paperback)
This book is just what the title of my book review suggests, a sample of various cults in recent history. While the book is good at giving basic information about the cults, it lacks the details true crimes fans like myself enjoy.

James J. Boyle discusses 11 recent cults in his book. These groups include: Charles Manson and his family, Jim Jones, Gordon Kahl and his militia, Hare Krisna leader Kirtanananda Swami Bhakipada, John Africa and MOVE, Jeffery Lundgren and his Mormon movement, Mexico's El Padrino, Yahweh Ben Yahweh, Roch Theriault and his experimental surgeries of live members of his group, David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, and the environmentalist group known as "cirlcle of fire". In his synopsis of each of these groups he does give some good information. Some of the information I had not read in other sources. For example, the book states Charles Manson's favorite pick up line. This is not mentioned in "Helter Skelter". Nor is it mentioned in the book "Helter Skelter" that "Helter Skelter", the Beatles songs was named for a roller coaster in England. However, examples of these types of details are few and far between. Having never heard of El Padrino, I found it particularly interesting. Boyle sites books which give a more detailed accounts of each of the cults. This can add to your research in any particular story interests you. The few pictures also add to the presentation.

This book sets out to give the reader a sample of cults. It is successful in doing this. More interested readers will be able to find more detailed accounts of each story in the original sources.

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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Killer Cults, July 14, 2000
This review is from: Killer Cults: Shocking True Stories of the Most Dangerous Cults In History (Mass Market Paperback)
The book was a little lean on details concerning the various beliefs and teachings of the cults. Other than that, it was a pretty interesting read. I don't feel I wasted my money on this book.
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4.0 out of 5 stars I LIKED IT, March 10, 2011
By 
Severin Olson (Hyattsville, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Killer Cults: Shocking True Stories of the Most Dangerous Cults In History (Mass Market Paperback)
This isn't the kind of book likely to get a scholar's respect. It's the type found in grocery stores next to books on UFO's and holistic medicine. With its glossy cover and shocking chapter titles, it can be dismissed as sensationalist, full of inaccuracies and fabricated dialogue.

But I actually liked this one. Sure, it lacks the professional writing style of other works, but then it captures the madness in a way those often fail to do. In the end, killer cults are just that-madness. All of the groups from the latter part of the last century to the 90's are included, beginning with Manson and including MOVE, the Branch Davidians and Jeffrey Lundgren. The last chapter is on the infamous Solar Temple of 1994, so Heaven's Gate fans will have to look elsewhere.

The greatest weakness here is the failure to follow up on any of these stories. Boyle tells us what happened and then..well time for the next chapter. But perhaps that is what we should expect from this kind of book.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE identified him merely as "No Name Maddox," but by the time he was through, there wouldn't be any problem remembering the name. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
sect members
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Solar Temple, New Vrindaban, Jim Jones, People's Temple, Gordon Kahl, John Africa, Los Angeles, West Virginia, San Francisco, Mexico City, New Age, Jesus Christ, Father Divine, New York, Osage Avenue, Ranch Apocalypse, Hare Krishna, South Florida, Temple of Love, Yahweh Ben Yahweh, Ant Hill Kids, Helter Skelter, Judith Israel, Luc Jouret, North Dakota
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