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The Cult at the End of the World by David E. Kaplan
The brave new age of postmillennium terror is awakening and its harbinger is Aum Supreme a Japan-based global web of wired, technically expert New Age zealots armed with biologial weapons, driven by an apocalyptic vision of unprecedented destruction. With compelling immediacy, this book tells the terrifying story the cult reponsible for the Tokyo subway nerve gas attack, offering a revealing profile of its founder and leader, Shoko Asahara.
Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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About the author
David E. Kaplan
9 books14 followersDavid E. Kaplan is an investigative reporter and former director of the Center for Public Integrity's International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Before this post, he worked for the American newsweekly U.S. News & World Report. David E. Kaplan commonly writes about terrorism, organized crime, and intelligence.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
February 8, 2019
”Smart people don’t join cults.”
If you think this is a true sentiment I dare you to read this book, h*ck, any book about cults.
No. One. Joins. A. Cult.
People join things that speak to them. Save the world. Find inner peace. Strengthen your mind and body. Become a model. We have hot chics. We play awesome music. We are cool. We have the answers to everything. Simple answers, charismatic and authoritarian leaders, small things that seem to work in the beginning.
No one is too smart to be fooled. Everyone has a blind spot.
This insane cult became famous for the Sarin Attacks in the Tokyo Underground to people outside of Japan and they tried to fashion all kinds of biological, chemical and technological weapons to rid the world of people outside of Aum Shinrikyo. They themselves were immune to the effects 6of this deadly warfare thanks to their highly developed and enlightened minds. And this all started out as a Buddhist yoga class to most of the members.
If you’re fascinated by cults and quackery, this is a must-read.
If you think this is a true sentiment I dare you to read this book, h*ck, any book about cults.
No. One. Joins. A. Cult.
People join things that speak to them. Save the world. Find inner peace. Strengthen your mind and body. Become a model. We have hot chics. We play awesome music. We are cool. We have the answers to everything. Simple answers, charismatic and authoritarian leaders, small things that seem to work in the beginning.
No one is too smart to be fooled. Everyone has a blind spot.
This insane cult became famous for the Sarin Attacks in the Tokyo Underground to people outside of Japan and they tried to fashion all kinds of biological, chemical and technological weapons to rid the world of people outside of Aum Shinrikyo. They themselves were immune to the effects 6of this deadly warfare thanks to their highly developed and enlightened minds. And this all started out as a Buddhist yoga class to most of the members.
If you’re fascinated by cults and quackery, this is a must-read.
September 22, 2011
The story of Aum Shinrikyo (click to prounounce) is literally incredible. After reading this book I had to fact check a lot of it via Google, cos I couldn't believe this really happened.
If you don't remember these guys-- they're the ones who did a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in the late 90's. But the story is much, much crazier than that. To cite one random fact-- at one point these guys were responsible for 50% of the world's LSD supply. They murdered a slew of people, infiltrated the Japanese police and military, had 30,000 followers in Russia (!), bought military helicopters, manufactured their own AK-47s (well one anyway), mined uranium in Australia in the hopes of creating a nuclear weapon, kidnapped their enemies, conducted wiretaps, hooked up with Yakuza, tried to install their guru in Parliament (look at this picture of them campaigning! srsly!), and even today, after the gas attacks, the cult still has members!
Aside from the cult, the group that comes out of this book looking the worst is the Japanese police (Tokyo, federal, other.) What a bunch of incompetents. I hope they drastically reevaluated their crime solving abilities after completely failing to follow up on the hundreds of leads (including people accusing them of murder and numerous obvious clues) that could have led them to the cult in time to stop the gas attacks.
Man what a story. Cray-cray.
If you don't remember these guys-- they're the ones who did a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in the late 90's. But the story is much, much crazier than that. To cite one random fact-- at one point these guys were responsible for 50% of the world's LSD supply. They murdered a slew of people, infiltrated the Japanese police and military, had 30,000 followers in Russia (!), bought military helicopters, manufactured their own AK-47s (well one anyway), mined uranium in Australia in the hopes of creating a nuclear weapon, kidnapped their enemies, conducted wiretaps, hooked up with Yakuza, tried to install their guru in Parliament (look at this picture of them campaigning! srsly!), and even today, after the gas attacks, the cult still has members!
Aside from the cult, the group that comes out of this book looking the worst is the Japanese police (Tokyo, federal, other.) What a bunch of incompetents. I hope they drastically reevaluated their crime solving abilities after completely failing to follow up on the hundreds of leads (including people accusing them of murder and numerous obvious clues) that could have led them to the cult in time to stop the gas attacks.
Man what a story. Cray-cray.
July 26, 2013
The story of Aum Shinrikyo is astonishing. It had all the elements of failure in it - blind, sex-crazed self-proclaimed Jesus and yogic flyer who went from a room in Tokyo to 40,000 followers despite their own bumbling and self-interest.
It'd be almost funny if they weren't a millennial death cult which also undertook intensive chemical, biological and nuclear weapons research, used LSD and brain-zapping hairnets on their followers, microwaved dead members to goop which they then poured into nearby lakes, and generally behaved in ways that make Scientology and the Branch Davidians look like well-adjusted dudes.
It's a uniquely Japanese story and the most shocking part is how inactive the police were. Signs of their plans - test gassings! - occurred and nothing was done. How did they manage to generate enough sarin to kill four million people without notice? Pretty easily, it'd seem.
On the plus side, it was heartening to read that the Australian Customs Service wouldn't put up with any shit from the group and marked them as suss on their arrival in Australia.
This book is all the more chilling as it discusses, in the later chapters, the future of terrorism. When written, the Oklahoma bombing was the biggest act of terrorism that had been encountered. It seems almost quaint.
The writing style is pretty breathless-news but it suits the subject. Every chapter has its you're-shitting-me moment.
Read about the gassing victim with the contact lenses and try not to be creeped out.
It'd be almost funny if they weren't a millennial death cult which also undertook intensive chemical, biological and nuclear weapons research, used LSD and brain-zapping hairnets on their followers, microwaved dead members to goop which they then poured into nearby lakes, and generally behaved in ways that make Scientology and the Branch Davidians look like well-adjusted dudes.
It's a uniquely Japanese story and the most shocking part is how inactive the police were. Signs of their plans - test gassings! - occurred and nothing was done. How did they manage to generate enough sarin to kill four million people without notice? Pretty easily, it'd seem.
On the plus side, it was heartening to read that the Australian Customs Service wouldn't put up with any shit from the group and marked them as suss on their arrival in Australia.
This book is all the more chilling as it discusses, in the later chapters, the future of terrorism. When written, the Oklahoma bombing was the biggest act of terrorism that had been encountered. It seems almost quaint.
The writing style is pretty breathless-news but it suits the subject. Every chapter has its you're-shitting-me moment.
Read about the gassing victim with the contact lenses and try not to be creeped out.
September 15, 2023
the most disconcerting part of this whole affair was that the entire subway attack was done with 3 kilos of a key sarin precursor, and they had 10 tons of the stuff before they destroyed it preceding a police raid after the matsumoto attack
only reason why the cult's WMD program didn't do near its full potential in damage was from a series of blunders and lucky occurrences which is just crazy to me
only reason why the cult's WMD program didn't do near its full potential in damage was from a series of blunders and lucky occurrences which is just crazy to me
October 22, 2016
Horror movies don't scare me, but things like the twisted plans of Aum Supreme Truth make my skin crawl. It's amazing that Aum got so entrenched into Japanese society that nobody could really do anything. Really makes me worry about how unsinkable the Church of Scientology is, and how awful it would be if they suddenly shifted more to the dark side.
September 28, 2018
It took me two years to trudge through this book. Interesting topic, boringly-written (and the language used is very timely for the 90s). I'd recommend listening to the Last Podcast on the Left's coverage of the affair before this book.
April 13, 2021
One of the wildest cult stories I've ever heard. You'd never believe a lot of the stuff in this book if it wasn't backed up by evidence and investigation, it's like a sci-fi horror story.
May 21, 2017
Truth really is stranger than fiction.
The 1995 sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway aren't well-known in America, perhaps because the body count (12) was comparatively low alongside Jonestown or the Oklahoma City Bombing. I had heard about them on TV and figured it was a dozen religious fanatics, but I had no idea.
It's fascinating and horrifying to read how an impoverished, half-blind acupuncturist selling fake medicines gained tens of thousands of followers by promising to teach them psychic powers. This guru recruited people from the most prestigious universities, the yakuza, and the military to forge a mafia-like entity complete with an arms factory, a chemical weapons compound, and illegal drug production to rival any gang. Like many cults, they isolated members from their families and the outside world, seized all their assets, kept them starved and sleep-derived, drugged them, and physically and psychologically abused them. But that's just the beginning.
Aum's ideology was a bizarre melting pot of Buddhism, Nostradamus, manga and anime, Apocalyptic Christianity, Nazism, and the science fiction of Issac Asimov and William Gibson. They intended to bring about an armageddon from which the cult would arise and rule the world. Aum committed a series of terrorist attacks, thinking the U.S. Government would be blamed, and World War III would start. The sarin gas on the subway wasn't even the first nor the last attempt at this. With the fall of the Soviet Union, it was easy for them to obtain Russian scientists and weapons. Who knows how many they could have killed if the cult hadn't been brought to justice sooner.
"The Cult at the End of the World" reads like a blend of science-fiction, a mob story, the profile of a dictator, and an expose on terrorism and mass hypnosis. That sounds like it's too much all at once, but it's perfect for the subject matter. Kaplan does a great job explaining elements of Japanese society that allowed this to happen, the details of chemical weapons, and other information without bogging down the narrative or boring the reader. The writing is energetic and flows like a magazine article.
Kaplan points to the Japanese police's failure to link Aum to various crimes or investigate the cult, and he ends the book with a warning about how easy it is for fringe religious or political groups to acquire chemical and biological weapons especially with the rise of the Internet. These weapons of mass destruction are no longer limited to governments. Aum was a sort of pioneer as a truly tech-savvy terrorist organization. Kaplan predicts that more of these groups will rise and it'll only be a matter of time before there is another large-scale terrorist attack.
The book was published in 1996.
It really sucks to be right sometimes.
The 1995 sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway aren't well-known in America, perhaps because the body count (12) was comparatively low alongside Jonestown or the Oklahoma City Bombing. I had heard about them on TV and figured it was a dozen religious fanatics, but I had no idea.
It's fascinating and horrifying to read how an impoverished, half-blind acupuncturist selling fake medicines gained tens of thousands of followers by promising to teach them psychic powers. This guru recruited people from the most prestigious universities, the yakuza, and the military to forge a mafia-like entity complete with an arms factory, a chemical weapons compound, and illegal drug production to rival any gang. Like many cults, they isolated members from their families and the outside world, seized all their assets, kept them starved and sleep-derived, drugged them, and physically and psychologically abused them. But that's just the beginning.
Aum's ideology was a bizarre melting pot of Buddhism, Nostradamus, manga and anime, Apocalyptic Christianity, Nazism, and the science fiction of Issac Asimov and William Gibson. They intended to bring about an armageddon from which the cult would arise and rule the world. Aum committed a series of terrorist attacks, thinking the U.S. Government would be blamed, and World War III would start. The sarin gas on the subway wasn't even the first nor the last attempt at this. With the fall of the Soviet Union, it was easy for them to obtain Russian scientists and weapons. Who knows how many they could have killed if the cult hadn't been brought to justice sooner.
"The Cult at the End of the World" reads like a blend of science-fiction, a mob story, the profile of a dictator, and an expose on terrorism and mass hypnosis. That sounds like it's too much all at once, but it's perfect for the subject matter. Kaplan does a great job explaining elements of Japanese society that allowed this to happen, the details of chemical weapons, and other information without bogging down the narrative or boring the reader. The writing is energetic and flows like a magazine article.
Kaplan points to the Japanese police's failure to link Aum to various crimes or investigate the cult, and he ends the book with a warning about how easy it is for fringe religious or political groups to acquire chemical and biological weapons especially with the rise of the Internet. These weapons of mass destruction are no longer limited to governments. Aum was a sort of pioneer as a truly tech-savvy terrorist organization. Kaplan predicts that more of these groups will rise and it'll only be a matter of time before there is another large-scale terrorist attack.
The book was published in 1996.
It really sucks to be right sometimes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 9, 2016
If you have any interest at all in the history of Aum or cults in particular, this books is probably worth reading. Considering the behaviors and practices of Aum grew ever more brutal over time, be prepared for some graphic and disturbing content. While at times I found the catalog of information regarding finances and acquisitions overwhelming, these lists demonstrate just how rapidly Aum's sphere of influence grew both within Japan and internationally. I also found the critique of the Japanese police's inability to respond to the cult's terrifyingly destructive and murderous behavior in a timely fashion both fascinating and tragic. I was also struck by the message of the epilogue. Considering this was written in 1996, the discussion of a need for better worldwide surveillance of potentially threatening sub-national organizations was an apt conclusion, especially when one considers the increased influence and damage terrorist organizations have caused world wide during the last fifteen years.
My one criticism is that the authors' tone came off as a bit too incredulous for me at times. Albeit, this is understandable considering just how extreme Aom's practices became and how passively these behaviors were accepted or simply ignored by both members and non-members. However, considering some of my own experiences, I have to say I feel a great deal of pity and sympathy for many of the people who were manipulated or persuaded using fear tactics to becoming members of the cult.
My one criticism is that the authors' tone came off as a bit too incredulous for me at times. Albeit, this is understandable considering just how extreme Aom's practices became and how passively these behaviors were accepted or simply ignored by both members and non-members. However, considering some of my own experiences, I have to say I feel a great deal of pity and sympathy for many of the people who were manipulated or persuaded using fear tactics to becoming members of the cult.
July 31, 2022
Shoko Asahara was born Chizuo Matsumoto in Japan in 1955. He founded Aum Shinrikyo in 1995. The religious principals are a combination of several Eastern religions, and also some Christian elements. He referred to himself as a Christ and a Lamb of God, which I found to be really odd, given the beliefs of Eastern religions. This cult was a doomsday cult, only the end of the world would come in the form of nuclear devastation. He told his followers the world was going to end in 1997, which it clearly did not. He also said the United States would instigate a World War III, and of all the things he said, this one may be the only plausible one. They got up to a lot of shenanagins, including holding cult members against their will, creating disturbances, and even murdering one member who tried to leave. They created an assassination list for people who spoke against the cult and the members, which included members of the media and government. They tried to cause an anthrax problem by spraying anthrax spores all over the place, but it didn't work. The first major incident was the Matsumoto Incident, where the cult used sarin gas they manufactured to kill eight and injure over 500 more. Police only got one person for that attack, but this entire plot was finally brought to light after the more infamous 1995 Tokyo Subway Attack. In that incident, members released sarin gas into trains during rush hour. This wound up killing 13 people, seriously injuring 54 people, and affecting 980 more people in some way. They found all kinds of drugs and weapons in cult buildings after these attacks, which shouldn't have really been a shock. 17 cult members were convicted and sentenced to death, with the executions being carried out in 2018.
This book is on The Last Podcast On The Left reading list, so if you are following that list, or are a fan of that podcast, add this to your to be read list. The book was well researched, and offered a great deal of information about Aum Shinrikyo, Shoko Asahara, and the things they got up to. The cult was still active into the 2000's, changing the name and symbol. The current name is Aleph. I cannot believe that this cult is still active and was still having documented shenanagins going on as recently as 2019!! You would think they would have moved on after all this stuff happened and the founder and leader that was supposed to be the Christ, who was a clear scam artist, was put in prison and then executed, but they apparently are in really deep. The most recent attack in 2019 occurred when one of the members rammed a crowd of people with his car in retaliation for executions. This was a wild ride.
This book is on The Last Podcast On The Left reading list, so if you are following that list, or are a fan of that podcast, add this to your to be read list. The book was well researched, and offered a great deal of information about Aum Shinrikyo, Shoko Asahara, and the things they got up to. The cult was still active into the 2000's, changing the name and symbol. The current name is Aleph. I cannot believe that this cult is still active and was still having documented shenanagins going on as recently as 2019!! You would think they would have moved on after all this stuff happened and the founder and leader that was supposed to be the Christ, who was a clear scam artist, was put in prison and then executed, but they apparently are in really deep. The most recent attack in 2019 occurred when one of the members rammed a crowd of people with his car in retaliation for executions. This was a wild ride.
March 24, 2022
*The Cult at the End of the World* brings back the transcendental eastern religion heyday of the ‘80’s when suddenly your friends and coworkers were seeking enlightenment with flavor of the day gurus. Most everyone around that time had their brushes with cultists of various degrees of hardcore. The Aum movement under Shoko Asahara reflects the horrific dark side of the dream.
The biggest fear was bio/chemical warfare, which began in labs around the world as early as 1949. One leaves this book all the more suspicious about the Corona virus.
~~~~~~~~
“If Japan’s youth retreated into these far-out worlds, one could understand why. For many, there was nowhere else to go. Students spend 240 days at school. The emphasis is on following rules and on rote memorization. Students are not encouraged to analyze or challenge; questions are not asked in Japanese classrooms. They are there only to swallow facts and spit out answers like human computers.
The system has helped breed a generation of nerds, of technically literate, highly knowledgeable young people who lack basic social skills and little understanding fo the world outside.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are some 80,000 “made” members and associates of the yakuza—four times the size of the American Mafia.
The biggest fear was bio/chemical warfare, which began in labs around the world as early as 1949. One leaves this book all the more suspicious about the Corona virus.
~~~~~~~~
“If Japan’s youth retreated into these far-out worlds, one could understand why. For many, there was nowhere else to go. Students spend 240 days at school. The emphasis is on following rules and on rote memorization. Students are not encouraged to analyze or challenge; questions are not asked in Japanese classrooms. They are there only to swallow facts and spit out answers like human computers.
The system has helped breed a generation of nerds, of technically literate, highly knowledgeable young people who lack basic social skills and little understanding fo the world outside.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are some 80,000 “made” members and associates of the yakuza—four times the size of the American Mafia.
February 22, 2020
No one ever thinks they are ever naïve enough to get involved with a cult, but much like frogs in hot water, people often don't notice until it's too late. A cult often times doesn't look like a cult - it looks like yoga classes, alternative medical treatment, acceptance, friendship, enlightenment, a way out, safety. It looks like whatever that person needs at that time.
This story is literally incredible. The story of Aum Shinrikyo feels like something out of a movie. It's hard to believe that Asahara was able to gather enough momentum to carry out the horrors he did and that the police turned a blind eye until they no longer could (the sarin gas attack in Tokyo, 1995). I had to keep reminding myself this a non fiction.
A very comprehensive history of Asahara and Aum. If the events of the attack intrigue you, or cult ideology - READ THIS.
This story is literally incredible. The story of Aum Shinrikyo feels like something out of a movie. It's hard to believe that Asahara was able to gather enough momentum to carry out the horrors he did and that the police turned a blind eye until they no longer could (the sarin gas attack in Tokyo, 1995). I had to keep reminding myself this a non fiction.
A very comprehensive history of Asahara and Aum. If the events of the attack intrigue you, or cult ideology - READ THIS.
June 30, 2023
Four stars for the truly astonishing story; as big as the subway attack was in the news at the time, I'm shocked that more of these incredible details aren't better known. These people were totally insane and yet brilliant, well-resourced, and disciplined. If they hadn't insisted on that dumb attack, they could have done much more damage. They actually made a credible attempt at getting a nuclear weapon. The book itself is workmanlike, although there's a little wince-inducing cultural stereotyping of the Japanese. Published just a year or two after the subway gassing, which is both good and bad; I'm sure some details wouldn't have stood the test of longterm scrutiny. But a deeply creepy story and effective journalism.
August 20, 2021
I read this book a year and a half ago in January 2020 prior to the pandemic... This book scares me more than the pandemic or anything else I've read. It is VERY thoroughly investigated! If you can find it (and good luck not paying through the nose for it) it is worth it even at the inflated price!!!
April 1, 2018
This cult is fascinating and horrifying, but the book (published in 1996) didn't age as well as I'd hoped. I didn't know much about the Aum cult before my team missed a trivia question a few weeks ago. Informative, if a little dry.
January 26, 2024
An incredibly thorough and shocking account of the Aum Shinrikyo cult up through their sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995. A bit dryly written which contrasts a bit harshly with absolutely bonkers story being told, but otherwise an extremely interesting book.
September 2, 2019
Fascinating, I did not remember this happening, my daughter told me about it. It was very interesting, but the writing was dry and tough for me to slog through.
August 25, 2020
Very interesting and accessible, but could've been a bit less dramatic/salacious.
August 21, 2023
Really interesting book, but very dry and factual.
March 10, 2025
Incredibly informative and well paced. A stunning reminder of the ease at which even the most intelligent people can be manipulated to nefarious ends.
March 8, 2014
Crazy. Reads like an Onion article meets Vanity Fair exposé. Aum is basically Japanese Scientology in that it was and incredibly well-financed, lawsuit-happy cult based on techno-spiritual hokum. But its difference lies in that it truly wanted to bring about a doomsday so that it's enlightened members could rise from the ashes of the rest of the non-Aum world. Typical millenarian motivations. It's fascinating how much stuff they tried to bring the end-times about though. Cyanide gas, botulism poisoning, death-rays, laser weapons building a failed AK-74 factory and trying to procure a loose nuke. They botched everything even though they were comprised of high-level physicists, chemists and engineers. Just could pull anything together. Except sarin, which wasn't even that effective in the grand scope of things.
All in all another fascinating read on how totally nuts people can be and the bizarre trends that occur when they come together in groups in search for meaning. Recommended.
All in all another fascinating read on how totally nuts people can be and the bizarre trends that occur when they come together in groups in search for meaning. Recommended.
March 20, 2018
It is crazy to believe that this book is non-fiction. A very sophisticated cult with the ability to manufacture and use chemical weapons. In subway stations in Korea and Japan, you'll notice huge glass cases full of gas masks and other chemical weapons first aid items - which always reminds me of this cult's culminating terror attack. Very good read for those interested in cults psychology or chemical weapons manufacture and use (definitely on the CBRN/NBC reading list).
January 21, 2016
This was a very very interesting (and chilling) story. It was an excellent examination of the phsycology of a cult (Aum Shinrikyo), to compare and contrast to more well known cults in the western world. I found especially interesting the details about their biological and chemical weaponry development. However it was also extremely scary and make you think that if this happened more than 15 years ago, what could be happening now? One of my favourite books.
October 20, 2010
Not a cheering read, but a fascinating exploration of the demented cult responsible for the Tokyo subway poison gas attacks, why nothing was done to stop them - and some courageous people who stood up to the madness and paid with their lives.
August 6, 2014
Good read, with lots of background on the cult and its leaders.
August 13, 2021
Omg never underestimate the potential of a bunch of guys who are good at science and believe in strange things coming together!
June 22, 2012
A reminder of what it really takes to carry out a terrorist attack and the resources required.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews