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Robert Jay Lifton

Destroying the World to Save It: Aum Shinrikyo, Apocalyptic Violence, and the New Global Terrorism Paperback – September 1, 2000

by Robert Jay Lifton (Author)

4.7 70 ratings

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National Book Award winner and renowned psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton reveals a world at risk from millennial cults intent on ending it all.

Since the earliest moments of recorded history, prophets and gurus have foretold the world's end, but only in the nuclear age has it been possible for a megalomaniac guru with a world-ending vision to bring his prophecy to pass. Now Robert Jay Lifton offers a vivid and disturbing case in point in this chilling exploration of Aum Shinrikyo, the Japanese cult that released sarin nerve gas in the Tokyo subways.

With unprecedented access to former Aum members, Lifton has produced a pathbreaking study of the inner life of a modern millennial cult. He shows how Aum's guru Shoko Asahara (charismatic spiritual leader, con man, madman) created a religion from a global stew of New Age thinking, ancient rituals, and apocalyptic science fiction, then recruited scientists as disciples and set them to producing weapons of mass destruction. Taking stock as well of Charles Manson, Heaven's Gate, and the Oklahoma City bombers, Lifton confronts the frightening possibility of a twenty-first century in which cults and terrorists may be able to bring about their own holocausts.
Bold and compelling, Destroying the World to Save It charts the emergence of a new global threat of urgent concern to us all.

Print length

384 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Picador
Publication date

September 1, 2000
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.86 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

0805065113
ISBN-13

978-0805065114
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The Cult at the End of the World: The Terrifying Story of the Aum Doomsday Cult, from the Subways of Tokyo to the Nuclear Ars

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Disturbing...sounds somber warning bells.” ―Anthony Day, Los Angeles Times

“A fascinating (if frightening) investigation...valuable...ingenious.” ―Daniel Berger, The Philadelphia Inquirer

About the Author

Robert Jay Lifton, M.D., is Lecturer in Psychiatry at Columbia University and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of John Jay College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. A leading psychohistorian, his renown comes from his studies of the doctors who aided Nazi war crimes and from his work with Hiroshima survivors. He was an outspoken critic of the American Psychological Association’s aiding of government-sanctioned torture, as he is a vocal opponent of nuclear weapons. His research encompasses the psychological causes and effects of war and political violence and the theory of thought reform.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Picador; First Edition (September 1, 2000)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0805065113
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0805065114
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.86 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,158,998 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #617 in Religious Cults (Books)
- #1,188 in Terrorism (Books)
- #4,081 in Criminology (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.7 70 ratings

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Alpha

Listen to TLPOTL’s Podcast on Aum for an Audiobook

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 11, 2022

Verified Purchase

Listening to The Last Podcast On The Left’s series on Aum led me to buy this book, as they had read it to research the cult, he explains in great detail and humor the fine points of the book as an entertaining audiobook alongside reading made for a great experience to entertain oneself while understanding how insane AUM really was.

Helpful

K. Webster

Highly insightful work by one of the original scholars of mind control or "thought reform"

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 22, 2015

Verified Purchase

Building on his early work, this analysis by Lifton of a doomsday cult is even more insightful and nuanced. A great read for those fascinated by this particular cult (Aum Shinrikyo), as well as for those who want to see how Lifton's criteria for deciding whether a group is a cult play out in a very particular case. He also has great empathy for his interview subjects and how their differing backgrounds and dispositions, as well as their direct experiences with the guru and various stages of "initiation," affected their willingness to stick with him up to and through the sarin attacks, and their eventual disaffection.

3 people found this helpful

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Mr. G. E. Perkins

Very interesting read.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 30, 2014

Verified Purchase

RJLifton really is the 'go to guy' for the thoughtful analysis of violence and cultish behavior. Probably could have done with a bit more detail on the actual day to day workings of Aum, but the interviews and insight are brilliant. Lifton presents you with some interesting ideas, but the most shocking thing about this book, is that on reflection, we are all capable of being swept up into acts of madness and violence.

One person found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 20, 2014

Verified Purchase

Good summary of the event presented with some original ideas

One person found this helpful

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NH

Meh

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 15, 2013

Verified Purchase

Not the best work on Aum ever produced. I generally like Lifton's work, but this book just wasn't very compelling.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Bruce P. Barten

Guruism as an Object of Desire

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 21, 2000

Subjects like this are not always approached in the same way that someone might go to church, for example. An introduction to this book which depends entirely on a religious point of view might seem strange to the casual shopper, but it suggests the spirit in which this book might be brought into view with a certain humility.
I used to go to church a lot because it provided an opportunity to think. I have also gone to hear the author of this book speak for the same reason, but with much deeper results, because Robert Jay Lifton, at the time of the 50th anniversary of the atomic attack on Hiroshima, was in a perfect position to accuse the American President who tried to explain the attack, Harry Truman, of confabulating when he combined the elements of the situation in a way which was not quite factual. My impression of Lifton at that time was that he was quite old, and not open to the perverse glee that a personal encounter with me might provide, so we didn't quite meet. Given the differences between us, it should be obvious that he has written a much better book on the topic of Apocalyptic Violence than I ever could, embracing a wealth of detail with relentless fascination. Early in the book, on page 16, typical psychological judgments are considered insignificant, as Freud's association with the resolution of the Oedipus complex is compared to the possibility of a guru who can face a real "call to greatness, and a series of ordeals and trials culminating in heroic achievement." Religious greatness can surpass the usual psychological norm when it is possible to demonstrate "the hero's achievement of special knowledge of, or mastery over, death, which can in turn enhance the life of his people." Most of this book reports on terrible events, including the creation of weapons. The guru who is the subject of this book was born in 1955, and the events are quite recent. I see no reason to dispute that the people involved were thinking in the manner that is reported in this book. Some readers might consider this excessively factual, but people with books ought to be able to get real like this once in a while, too.

10 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

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Ivan M

Excelente

Reviewed in Mexico 🇲🇽 on July 10, 2020

Verified Purchase

Un buen libro con mucha investigación.

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Remtaddle

Tons of information in a digestible format.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 23, 2017

Verified Purchase

Great book, engaging writing with a mountain of research behind it and it shows. If you're interested in reading about cults and the thinking behind them, this book is a must-read.

2 people found this helpful

シンプル花子

アメリカ人から見た「オウム」事件

Reviewed in Japan 🇯🇵 on February 7, 2006

Verified Purchase

広島被爆者の心理、精神医学的な側面の著作で有名な日本通の学者リフキンのオウム真理教事件に関する著作。「オウム事件」のアウトラインやその原因論などが、日本国外からの視点で分析されていて興味深い。相当数の日本語文献を読み込んで構成された論述は、英語のソースだけから構成されたほかの外国人の表層的なオウム真理教分析とは一線を画している。しかし、日本人であるわれわれから見ると、この解釈はちょっと違うのではという側面もないことはない。しかし、日本人をステレオタイプでとらえすぎていないところは好感が持てる。

5 people found this helpful

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Hooley

Essential reading for cultural studies.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 7, 2019

Verified Purchase

Essential reading for cultural studies.

Alba

Muy buen libro

Reviewed in Spain 🇪🇸 on May 12, 2015

Verified Purchase

Bien planteado y desarrollado, con un interesante análisis de la personalidad de Asahara Shoko. Ha sido de gran utilidad en mis estudios sobre el "caso Aum".

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