Cosmic Suicide: The Tragedy and Transcendence of Heaven's Gate (Paperback)

by Rodney Perkins (Author), Forrest Jackson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Cosmic Suicide is the definitive study of the Heaven's Gate cult. Consisting of neither tabloid trash nor New Age pabulum, it details the group from its origin in the early 1970's to the sensational mass suicide in 1997. By providing perspective and insight into the cult's attitudes and beliefs, Cosmic Suicide places Heaven's Gate within a historical context of millenarian movements. The book gives intimate details about the cult's doomsday philosophy, including the influence of Christianity, UFOs, and conspiracy theories. These factors prompted the androgynous believers to think that the passing of the Hale-Bopp comet would usher the UFO Crew into the Next Level of human evolution. Bizarre facts are revealed about the cult's lifestyle, including the odd monastic rituals designed to indoctrinate new members. In fact, the text features a rare transcription from a recruitment meeting held in Dallas in early 1994. It also contains extensive appendices, which include leader Marshall Applewhite's autopsy report and numerous documents of otherworldly propaganda. Cosmic Suicide is an indispensable reference for anyone interested in learning the real truth behind this strange End Times religion.

From the Publisher
Cosmic Suicide gives more than a glimse into a bizarre realm of alien messiahs, their doomsday prophecies, and their starry-eyed eunuchs. By distinguishing between media disinformation and the grisly truth, the authors thoroughly examine the weird belief system and the transcendent demise of Heaven's Gate. Supplemented by the group's Internet propaganda and Marshall Applewhite's autopsy report, Cosmic Suicide also unveils the dark secrets of apocalyptic groups while it explains humanity's ongoing obsession with the end of the world.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Pentaradial Press; 1 edition (July 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965951219
• ISBN-13: 978-0965951210
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,708,392 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Hail Hale-Bopp, August 21, 2001

By	charles (The Peach State) - See all my reviews

Suicide cults! Apple sauce! Sexless androgenoids! Sure there are satanic cults, drug cults, Ufo cults, Christ cults, Hip hop cults, beenie-baby cults, Ebay cults, and even tupperware cults, but none come close to the inspired zaniness of Doe's Heaven's Gate cult.

I've been an observer of cults for most of my adult life and I must admit that I've got a soft-spot in me for all of them. Many books are written in the aftermaths of these cults and most are a boring lethargic read. Victims families are trotted out for the dog & pony show and stoic lawmen denounce the "crimes". NOT IN THIS BOOK!

Here, Forrest Jackson and Rodney Perkins become entrenched in the genesis of the Heaven's Gate cult as well as interpreting the parallels with other cults and pull back the veil on our own cult dominated society, exposing our fetishes for some cults and our poison hatred of others. Not only is this book a fun read because of the scalpel-altered DOE and his suicide-prone squad of comet pilots, but this book takes it's subject matter seriously, and never in a Bugliosi tone of superiority. The closest equivalent that I can think of to this book in terms of cult research is MESSENGERS OF DECEPTION by Dr. Jacques Vallee.

COSMIC SUICIDE is one of the best books written about the Heaven's Gate cult, hands down and it's written from the desk of someone who did the leg work and circumvented all the idiot editorializing that this book would have been subjected to had it been published by a major publishing house. To put it simply... if cults are your thing... especially the Heaven's Gate cult.... then BUY THIS BOOK!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Infomative, interesting, unbiased, a must read, October 22, 1999

By A Customer

This is one of those rare gems that is both informative, and interesting. It covers a lot more ground then just the history of the heavens gate cult. There are Ideas on why our society is causing a rise in such splinter groups. Most books about cults tend to be either biased, or boring; this is neither. First rate journalism, unpretentius writing, concise and to the point style, make this an enjoyable must read for any one who desires to be socialy aware.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cosmic Suicide: The Tragedy and Transcendence of Heaven's Ga, January 2, 2001

By A Customer

This book expored all that was evident in the the tragedy of Heaven's Gate and i found it to be very descriptive in that it explored the subject to a rather deep extent. I enjoyed it and found it quite interesting.