Praise for the first edition: "[This] ambitious and courageous book [is a] benchmark of theology by which questions about the meaningful history of the Peoples Temple may be measured." —Journal of the American Academy of Religion Re-issued in recognition of the 25th anniversary of the mass suicides at Jonestown, this revised edition of David Chidester's pathbreaking book features a new prologue that considers the meaning of the tragedy for a post-Waco, post-9/11 world. For Chidester, Jonestown recalls the American religious commitment to redemptive sacrifice, which for Jim Jones meant saving his followers from the evils of capitalist society. "Jonestown is ancient history," writes Chidester, but it does provide us with an opportunity "to reflect upon the strangeness of familiar . . . promises of redemption through sacrifice."

This in-depth investigation of Peoples Temple and its tragic end at Jonestown corrects sensationalized misunderstandings of the group and places its individual members within the broader context of religion in America. Most people understand Peoples Temple through its violent disbanding following events in Jonestown, Guyana, where more than 900 Americans committed murder and suicide in a jungle commune. Media coverage of the event sensationalized the group and obscured the background of those who died. The view that emerged thirty years ago continues to dominate understanding of Jonestown today, despite the dozens of books, articles, and documentaries that have appeared. This book provides a fresh perspective on Peoples Temple, locating the group within the context of religion in America and offering a contemporary history that corrects the inaccuracies often associated with the group and its demise. Although Peoples Temple had some of the characteristics many associate with cults, it also shared many characteristics of black religion in America. Moreover, it is crucial to understand how the organization fits into the social and political movements of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s: race, class, colonialism, gender, and other issues dominated the times and so dominated the consciousness of the members of Peoples Temple. Here, Rebecca Moore, who lost three family members in the events in Guyana, offers a framework for U.S. social, cultural, and political history that helps readers to better understand Peoples Temple and its members.

When over 900 followers of the Peoples Temple religious group committed suicide in 1978, they left a legacy of suspicion and fear. Most accounts of this mass suicide describe the members as brainwashed dupes and overlook the Christian and socialist ideals that originally inspired Peoples Temple members. Hearing the Voices of Jonestown restores the individual voices that have been erased so that we can better understand what was created—and destroyed—at Jonestown, and why. Piecing together information from interviews with former group members, archival research, and diaries and letters of those who died there, Maaga describes the women leaders as educated political activists who were passionately committed to achieving social justice through communal life. The book analyzes the historical and sociological factors that, Maaga finds, contributed to the mass suicide, such as growing criticism from the larger community and the influx of an upper-class, educated leadership that eventually became more concerned with the symbolic effects of the organization than with the daily lives of its members. Hearing the Voices of Jonestown puts human faces on the events at Jonestown, confronting theoretical religious questions, such as how worthy utopian ideals come to meet such tragic and misguided ends.

Mystery. Manipulation. Murder. Cults are associated with all of these. But what really goes on inside them? More specifically, what goes on inside the minds of cult leaders and the people who join them? Based on the hit podcast Cults, this is essential reading for any true crime fan. Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong, to find a deeper meaning in life, to live everyday with divine purpose. Their existence creates a sense that any one of us, at any time, could step off the cliff’s edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause. Perhaps it’s this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more, or it’s that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick. The premier storytelling podcast studio Parcast has been focusing on unearthing these mechanics—the cult leaders and followers, and the world and culture that gave birth to both. Parcast’s work in analyzing dozens of case studies has revealed patterns: distinct ways that cult leaders from different generations resemble one another. What links the ten notorious figures profiled in Cults are as disturbing as they are stunning—from Manson to Applewhite, Koresh to Raël, the stories woven here are both spellbinding and disturbing. Cults is more than just a compilation of grisly biographies, however. In these pages, Parcast’s founder Max Cutler and national bestselling author Kevin Conley look closely at the lives of some of the most disreputable cult figures and tell the stories of their rise to power and fall from grace, sanity, and decency. Beyond that, it is a study of humanity, an unflinching look at what happens when the most vulnerable recesses of the mind are manipulated and how the things we hold most sacred can be twisted into the lowest form of malevolence.

Avoid The Tourist Herds. What could be more uninspiring than seeing the identical attractions that everyone else has for decades? This Twisted Tour Guide escorts you to the places locals don’t want to talk about anymore…the same places people once couldn’t stop talking about. Long after the screaming headlines and sensationalism has subsided, these bizarre, infamous and obscure historical sites remain hidden awaiting rediscovery. Each visitation site in this guide is accompanied by a story. Many of the narratives defy believability, yet they are true. The profiled cast of characters feature saints and sinners (with emphasis towards the latter). Notorious crimes, murders, accidental deaths, suicides, kidnappings, vice and scandal are captivating human interest tales. Paranormal activity in the aftermath is common. The photography from each profile showcases the precise location where each event occurred. The scenes can seem ordinary, weird and/or sometimes very revealing towards clarifying the background behind events. If you’re seeking an alternative to conventional tourism, this Twisted Tourist Guide is ideal. Each directory accommodates the restless traveler and even resident looking for something unique and different. You will never imagine or scrutinize the San Francisco Bay area through rose tinted glasses again. The contents include: SAN FRANCISCO: CIA’s Sex and Drug Playhouse, Diamond Jessie Hayman’s Brothels, Jerome Bassity’s Tenderloin Fiefdom, Sublime’s Bradley James Nowell’s Heroin Overdose, 1937 Brothel Addresses, Chambers Mansion, 1885 Chinatown Vice, Cliff House and Sutro Baths, Killer Piano of the Condor Club, Curran Theater’s Haunting, Dan White’s Infamous Murders and Suicide, Dog Mauling of Diane Whipple, Chinatown’s Belle Cora and Donaldina Cameron, Gangland Slaying of Fung Little Pete Jing Toy, 101 California Building Massacre, Golden Gate Bridge Suicides, Jeff Adachi’s Double Life and Death, Contract Killing of Joe The Animal Barboza, Kevin Collins Kidnapping, Maiden Lane’s Infamous History, Mary Ellen Pleasant’s Legacy, Miles Archer’s Murder Plaque, Golden Dragon Massacre, President Warren Harding’s Death, People’s Temple, Queen Anne Hotel Legacy, Fatty Arbuckle’s Fall From Grace, Political Fixer Abe Ruef’s Penthouse, Spreckel’s Mansion, St. Elizabeth’s Center for Unwed Mothers, Terrific Street, and the International Settlement, Whittier Mansion Nazi Connection, Westerfield House and the Zebra Killings EAST BAY AREA Ashkenaz Murder, Port Chicago Explosion and Mutiny, Journalist Chancey Bailey’s Shooting, Children of Thunder Murders, Oakland Superintendent of Schools Assassination, Fat Lady Restaurant, Ghost Ship Warehouse Inferno, Henry’s Bar Hostage Nightmare, Port Costa’s Hotel Burlington, Huey Newton’s Demise, Laci Peterson’s Saga, Lovelle Mixon’s Police Killings, Gambling Era Survivor Oaks Card Room, Oikos University Massacre, Oscar Grant III’s Homicide, Patty Hearst Kidnapping, Pleasanton Hotel Phantom, Jockey Ron Hansen’s Plunge, Unabomber’s Berkeley Experience, USS Hornet’s Suicide Reputation and El Cerrito’s Dens of Iniquity MARIN COUNTY Mitchell Brothers Curse, Blue Rock Inn’s Seedy Past, Litchfield’s: California’s Las Vegas, Marin County Courthouse Shootings, Tamalpais Trailhead Killer, Marin Barbeque Murders, Robin Williams’ Suicide and Sausalito’s Infamous Madame Sally Stanford PENINSULA Brook Hart’s Kidnapping, Cameron’s Pub, Kohl Mansion, Moss Beach Distillery’s Blue Lady, Ocean Beach Hotel, PG& E’s San Bruno Pipeline Explosion, Sam’s Eclectic Castle and Historic Sanchez Adobe, SOLANO COUNTY Promoter Bill Graham’s Fatal Helicopter Crash, Benicia’s Capital and Brothel Heritage and Zodiac Killer Murders SONOMA & NAPA COUNTIES Blue Wing Inn, California Industrial Farm for Women, Fishhead Beach Murder, Petaluma’s Crooked History, Polly Klaas Abduction, Ramon Salcido’s Family Slayings, Napa’s Infamous Spanish Town and Washoe House Stagecoach Stop

Murder in California: Serial Killers and Unsolved Murders profiles some of California’s most infamous murder cases. The edition photographically transports you to actual murder sites along with images related to the case and perpetrator(s). The images and accompanying profiles offer a descriptive account and follow-up aftermath providing an important understanding into the far-reaching effects of each crime. Convicted killers and their confirmed victims are identified. For criminals still living, their current incarceration location is provided. A directory of precise crime site locations is included. The captured snapshots portray visual testimonies of extinguished lives removed by acts of violence. Crime scenes often revert back into unremarkable landscape or unassuming buildings over the ensuing years and decades. Several have altered little since their moment of infamy. Many are passed daily by pedestrian and vehicular traffic unaware of a location’s unique significance. California has been the site for many notorious serial killers. The following are portrayed in this edition: Zodiac Serial Killer: Public and media taunting Charles Manson’s serial killing clan Dorothea Puente: The elderly and frail targeted and eliminated for profit Efren Saldivar: Caregiving medical homicide The Unabomber: His UC Berkeley experience Zebra Killings: San Francisco’s racially targeted genocide Heaven’s Gate Cult mass suicide Edmund Kemper III: Monstrous hitchhiking murders Bittaker and Norris: Torture van murders Juan Corona: Migrant workers serial killer Richard Trenton Chase: The vampire killer The Speed Freak Killers and their burial bone yards Herbert Mullin: Killing for earthquake preventiveness David Carpenter: The devil behind bifocals and a stutter Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple Massacre: Lost in a jungle mass suicide The Hillside Strangler Duo: Killing Cousins Rodney Alcala: A beastly killing machine slaying beauty Richard Ramirez: Satan’s ambassador Golden State Killer: The triumph of forensic tracking A Black Hand of Death and Inhumanity (Jose Manuel Martinez) A Killing Rampage Preying On Society’s Most Vulnerable Population (Jon David Guerrero) The Santa Rosa Hitchhiking Murders: preying on the innocent David Nadel: The death of a man and rebirth of a performance icon Torrey Pines Beach: Sands, Secrets and A Butterfly Dancer The continued fascination with the Black Dahlia Murder Fatty Arbuckle’s sex and homicide scandal A Classic Mob Contract Killing Of An Unwanted Distraction Was a 1963 beachfront slaying a prelude to future Zodiac terror? Geneva Ellroy: The transference of tragedy into literary expression A Double Tragedy Complicated By Mysterious Scenarios (Spreckels Mansion Death) Kym Morgan: Death by classified advertisement Kevin Collins: A solitary bus bench memorial to every parent’s nightmare Unauthorized Celebrity Biography Comics and A Founder’s Murder (Todd Lawrence) Ted Healy: The suspected homicide of the fourth Stooge The Resolute Will to keep William Desmond Taylor’s murder unsolved A Contract Killer Terminated By His Own Profession (Frank Bompensiero) Ramona Irene Price strolls innocently into a vanished past Raymond Washington: A cycle of senseless violence devours the Crips gang founder The Senseless Murder of a Catholic Priest on Holiday (Monsignor Louis Gutierrez)

This text explores the major new or unconventional religions and spiritual movements in America that exist outside the Judeo-Christian tradition.

The world has become a scary place - religious wars, global terrorism, genocide. The Information Age has transported us into the Anxiety Age. Everyone is on edge, wondering what is coming next. People want answers to the following: * Was the 2020 worldwide Coronavirus outbreak foretold? * What do all the great prophecies mean - Nostradamus and the Book of Revelation among them? * What will happen in the next 50 years? The next 100 years? * If the world is going to end - what happens then? If there is anyone who knows what is going to happen, it is Sylvia Browne. There is no one better placed to lead us through the myriad prophecies, beliefs, portents and signs about the end of the world. All the answers will be revealed in END OF DAYS.