A lyrical account of a young man's mystical quest, Take Me For A Ride takes the reader in and out of the grip of a brilliant, sensitive, seemingly benign cult leader gone mad. Take Me For A Ride is the story of Mark, who, at the age of seventeen, longs to see for himself what lies beneath the surface world of reason. Mark's spiritual path takes an unexpected turn when his meditation teacher, Frederick Lenz, learns to use fear, sleep deprivation, and LSD as tools of persuasion. After leaving Lenz' inner circle, Mark faces headwinds and haunting memories as he bicycles across America. More than a vehicle for exercising and exorcising subtle ghosts of the past, the bike trip serves as the frame through which this combined adventure story, self-help book, and expose is narrated.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
The thousand American followers of Fred Lenz (a.k.a Rama) accept his claim to be the simultaneous incarnation of Hindu deities Vishnu and Shiva; accordingly, they finance his empyrean lifestyle, complete with Long Island mansion. Joining Rama's group in 1979, 17-year-old Mark Laxer and his brother David quickly became members of the inner circle. This work chronicles Mark's faithful service to his guru until 1985, when, he alleges, Rama's descent into exploitation and deception finally became intolerable. While his portrait of a charismatic leader's slide into madness is gripping, perhaps more important here is Laxer's disclosure of some of the motives impelling young people to immerse themselves in cults. Except for the author's distracting tendency to toggle timeframes without clearly identifying them, the work is well written. Recommended for libraries with a strong interest in cults and "alternative" spiritual quests.
- Bill Piekarski, Southwestern Coll. Lib., Chula Vista, Cal.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Bill Piekarski, Southwestern Coll. Lib., Chula Vista, Cal.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
All students of human nature will delight in Mark Laxer s insightful story of his personal journey into a new kind of American cult that interweaves pseudo-spiritual goals with money-making, computer, hi-technology ambitions. He shows us the subtle techniques used to seduce bright college students and graduates into this cult and the powerful forces that bind members to their charismatic leader. My students have enjoyed the narrative and learned much from this analysis of the psychology of cult indoctrination in Take Me For A Ride. --Professor Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D., Psychology Department, Stanford University
This is a very important work...It is today s Darkness at Noon... --Herb Rosedale, President, American Family Foundation
While his portrait of a charismatic leader s slide into madness is gripping, perhaps more important here is Laxer s disclosure of some of the motives impelling young people to immerse themselves in cults...the work is well written. --Library Journal
This is a very important work...It is today s Darkness at Noon... --Herb Rosedale, President, American Family Foundation
While his portrait of a charismatic leader s slide into madness is gripping, perhaps more important here is Laxer s disclosure of some of the motives impelling young people to immerse themselves in cults...the work is well written. --Library Journal
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a chilling account of being stuck in a cult,
This review is from: Take Me for a Ride: Coming of Age in a Destructive Cult (Paperback)
I read this book straight through. It's sort of creepy to see what this poor fellow got stuck in but he did get out of it. Oh seekers of truth, it warns us by just telling the story, don't give up your own truth for another's. I went to hear Rama in San Francisco in 87 with some friends from the SF Zen Center and it was a fun trip that we all got a big kick out of though we thought he was just a slick con man. This book tells about the con and the madness and suffering going on with Rama and his students. It should stay in print and be kept in the libraries of all religious institutions.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Important book -- esp. for teenagers and parents,
By
This review is from: Take Me for a Ride: Coming of Age in a Destructive Cult (Paperback)
It speaks to the strength of Mark Laxer that he reclaimed his life from the hands of a cult leader, and it speaks to his sense of humanity that he wrote this book. Anyone who has teenagers, young adults in their family would be wise to read this book. It speaks truth and it speaks from the heart.
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