Seguaci, vittime e sopravvissuti Costruire astronavi per trasportare gli esseri umani su un nuovo piano di esistenza, rapire bambini per creare una razza superiore che sopravvivrebbe all’Apocalisse, uccidere persone innocenti per garantirsi un posto nell’aldilà... Queste sono solo alcune delle sinistre e scioccanti realtà delle sette più pericolose mai esistite. Nel corso della storia, gruppi simili si sono formati in tutto il mondo, promettendo ai seguaci libertà, famiglia e fortuna mentre in realtà finivano con il manipolare, controllare e spesso abusare delle persone che si erano affidate a loro. Dai massacri di massa ai matrimoni infantili, dalla poligamia alle polizze assicurative sulla vita, dal ricatto al sesso come esca, questa illuminante antologia riassume tutte le peggiori atrocità delle sette più famigerate, raccontandone origini, credenze, leader, seguaci e vittime, e svelando tutti gli impensabili orrori nascosti. Un’antologia di casi che hanno sconvolto l’opinione pubblica. I leader più carismatici, le credenze più assurde, gli esiti più catastrofici di sette politiche, religiose e non solo. Tra gli argomenti Sette religiose Terrorismo, teorie della razza ed estremismo politico Prepararsi all’Apocalisse Sette violente e distruttive Poligamia e fondamentalismo Alieni e astronavi La Family di Charles Manson L’ashram di Osho Il Ku Klux Klan
Jamie King Lavora come scrittore e redattore freelance, e vive a Wimbledon. La Newton Compton ha pubblicato Le società segrete e le sette più pericolose al mondo.
Pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. A very simple look at lots of cults. The tough thing with a book like this is that so many of the cults listed could have (and do have) entire books written about them on their own. So you definitely feel like you just KNOW there's more to the story than what's in the 5-10 pages they've been given in this book.
DNF 33% I feel like watching YouTube documentary would be more fun than reading such a short and not very descriptive stories about different cults. I didn’t find it engaging or it didn’t spark more interest in me. I knew some of the stories but I felt like there was so much more to tell in them; it would be better to remove the amount of cults and just expand more on the ones that author would prefer to prioritise. This was much „quantity over quality”. I don’t think I’ll reach for this author again but I can see some people enjoying this kind of book. I’ll give it 2* as at least I learnt some new facts and cults, just wish there was more to it so I’d actually be invested. Felt like reading an article than a book.
My main critique of this book is that the chapters about each cult were way too short. About four, five pages about a single cult before moving on feels like too little, when each one of them could have multiple books written on it, on its own. I understand that this was to be more of a summary of different big cults around the globe, and the different kinds of cults, however, keeping them these short felt like constantly reading introductions without the continuation you needed once you were hooked and your curiosity peaked. Although too short, the book did a great job summarizing itself at the end, and I also enjoyed the introductions or "segues" into the different parts of the book.
I would give this 3.5 stars. It was a decent enough read, and I liked that it didn't just focus on the typical well known cults, but mentioned ones from around the world and throughout the ages. However, you only get mere pages on each cult, which gives only a very basic outline of how it started, what happened and how/if it ended, therefore I would say this is probably a good introductory book. If you are looking for more detailed information about certain cults and their history then I would give this a pass.
A good overview of the many different cults that exist, however, I would hesitate to say that there was any focus on the survivors. Also, the order in which they are presented can be confusing, since you jump from modern cults to ancient cults and back again without any rhyme nor reason. Sometimes, the stories were disjointed and unrelated tangent given. Nonetheless, if you want a crash course, then it is a good read.
An interesting exploration of various cults, some famous some obscure. The author tells the tale well, often managing to fit long and complicated stories into a few short pages. Overall, a good read for anyone interested in cults or human/social history.
This is a good introductory book to cults. It contains some of the more obvious ones such as Heavens Gate, the Manson family, and Jonestown but also introduced me to some I never heard of. Really interesting read.