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The Penguin Book of Cults
A chilling documentary history of the most notorious cults of the past two thousand years, from the ancient Roman ritual sacrifices that inspired
The Wicker Man
all the way up to Heaven’s Gate
A Penguin Classic
Hypnotism. Human sacrifice. Sexual perversion. Mass suicide. For millennia, people have been enthralled by graphic descriptions of terrible rites performed by the religious other. The Penguin Book of Cults compiles the most notorious and uncanny of these true salacious stories of frenzied worship by the cult of Dionysus; human sacrifices burned alive in giant wooden effigies, the inspiration for the (cult) classic movie The Wicker Man; moral panics over the hypnotic powers of yoga; the massacre at Jonestown, which left hundreds of bodies strewn across a foreign jungle; the bloody FBI siege of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas; the deadly chemical attack in a Tokyo subway by the Aum Shinrikyo cult; and the mass suicide of Heaven’s Gate. Both terrible and tragic, this illuminating history of cults exposes the seductive power with which new religious movements have ensnared their followers and beguiled outsiders for generations.
A Penguin Classic
Hypnotism. Human sacrifice. Sexual perversion. Mass suicide. For millennia, people have been enthralled by graphic descriptions of terrible rites performed by the religious other. The Penguin Book of Cults compiles the most notorious and uncanny of these true salacious stories of frenzied worship by the cult of Dionysus; human sacrifices burned alive in giant wooden effigies, the inspiration for the (cult) classic movie The Wicker Man; moral panics over the hypnotic powers of yoga; the massacre at Jonestown, which left hundreds of bodies strewn across a foreign jungle; the bloody FBI siege of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas; the deadly chemical attack in a Tokyo subway by the Aum Shinrikyo cult; and the mass suicide of Heaven’s Gate. Both terrible and tragic, this illuminating history of cults exposes the seductive power with which new religious movements have ensnared their followers and beguiled outsiders for generations.
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First published October 7, 2025
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November 16, 2025I have no clue why this has such bad reviews…?
October 13, 2025
More like The Penguin Book of Moral Panics. The majority of the pieces Laycock has chosen are about groups accused of being cults by their political or cultural enemies. Which, an example of -- sure! But until the grand finale of Jonestown (horrifying), Waco, Heaven's Gate, I think there's only one or two actual cults featured, and every example pre-20th century is a hoax. Could Laycock just not find anything, but neglected to reframe the book? Or is there some other agenda at play? In his (often very side-eye-inducing) commentary, he seems...weirdly pro-cult, or at least against the labeling of anything as a cult. Aside from noting that the label can be used as a tool of dehumanization (fair!) he never really explains why, though. And the lens he brings to this collection struck me as generally questionable: for example, you're going to find a (presumably rare) example of Christians being accused of blood libel, and not discuss or even mention the Blood Libel against Jews? Ok.
Does not at all do what it says on the tin.
Does not at all do what it says on the tin.
December 29, 2025
This was interesting for what it was (primary sources related to some cults), but wasn't as extensive as I'd hoped from the title.
October 15, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I was expecting this to be more like an encyclopedia, and less of a collection of primary source materials on a very small handful of cults throughout history. That fault lies with me in not checking the page count before reading. I really enjoyed the author's exposition before each primary source material, but I thought his choice of cults was strange. Very few of them actually happened, until we came into the 20th century. It almost made it seem as if cults are a 20th century malady and they were just hoaxes prior to that time. I think he would have been better served to actually explain some of the ancient cults, such as the cult of Dionysus, in more detail and trace how the meaning of that word has changed over time into its modern understanding today.
I was expecting this to be more like an encyclopedia, and less of a collection of primary source materials on a very small handful of cults throughout history. That fault lies with me in not checking the page count before reading. I really enjoyed the author's exposition before each primary source material, but I thought his choice of cults was strange. Very few of them actually happened, until we came into the 20th century. It almost made it seem as if cults are a 20th century malady and they were just hoaxes prior to that time. I think he would have been better served to actually explain some of the ancient cults, such as the cult of Dionysus, in more detail and trace how the meaning of that word has changed over time into its modern understanding today.
June 27, 2026
5/10
Makes a fair point in the introduction about how anxieties over "new religious movements", and the statistically rare phenomenon of headline-grabbing groups such as Heaven's Gate/Aum Shinrikyo, are effectively moral panics rooted in suspicion anything seen as potentially threatening the entrenched "moral values" of any given society. And the fact that a lot of said paranoia has subsequently infected our political mainstream on both sides of the divide,
But on the whole, this collection is still edited in a way which I find lacking.* At best, it fails to really delve deep into the psychological/sociological dynamics that underpin cult structures, practices, and their relationship with outside society, and at worst, feels marketed towards those who view these groups in a similar way to those with a voyeuristic/salacious interest in true crime and/or serial killers. I reckon I'd prefer to read some monographs or in-depth individual studies on the groups mention here rather than have to try and make eligible sense of the Jonestown "Death Tape" as printed on the page.
*I'm staggered at the fact that this just completely skips anything of interest between 1022 - 1798, and the inclusion of Ancient Roman material about early Christianity just feels like a reiteration of that very well-worn point about, yeah, turns out Christians were once viewed as cultists as well! Insightful!
Makes a fair point in the introduction about how anxieties over "new religious movements", and the statistically rare phenomenon of headline-grabbing groups such as Heaven's Gate/Aum Shinrikyo, are effectively moral panics rooted in suspicion anything seen as potentially threatening the entrenched "moral values" of any given society. And the fact that a lot of said paranoia has subsequently infected our political mainstream on both sides of the divide,
But on the whole, this collection is still edited in a way which I find lacking.* At best, it fails to really delve deep into the psychological/sociological dynamics that underpin cult structures, practices, and their relationship with outside society, and at worst, feels marketed towards those who view these groups in a similar way to those with a voyeuristic/salacious interest in true crime and/or serial killers. I reckon I'd prefer to read some monographs or in-depth individual studies on the groups mention here rather than have to try and make eligible sense of the Jonestown "Death Tape" as printed on the page.
*I'm staggered at the fact that this just completely skips anything of interest between 1022 - 1798, and the inclusion of Ancient Roman material about early Christianity just feels like a reiteration of that very well-worn point about, yeah, turns out Christians were once viewed as cultists as well! Insightful!
May 28, 2026
Thoroughly researched and a fascinating glimpse into cults ranging back centuries. I especially enjoyed the synopsis sections preceding each presentation of materials that give a firsthand look at how cults are presented and maintained. On an unrelated note, the thin paper stock this book is printed on is soft and easy to turn the pages/keep the book open.
October 11, 2025
A fairly interesting collection of documents with nicely informative preambles by the editor. The Jim Jones transcript was particularly chilling.
May 31, 2026
The Penguin Book of Cults, edited by Joseph P. Laycock
Laycock presents the concept of cults in a really interesting way. As he notes, hen some ancient and now-mainstream religions were introduced to different parts of the world, the response was often harsh condemnation based on either ignorance or bigotry. The response to things as innocuous as yoga is a bit wild to read, for example. Laycock's commentary can get a little thick - there are times he almost seems pro-cult (?) - but I choose to think he's asking us to view cult members as humans first, and perhaps to recognize that reflexively dismissing things as "cults" is not helpful. Maybe. I don't know
In most of the book, the focus is less on actual "cults" as opposed to people delivering commentary on purported "cults". Samples include early anti-Christian content from the second century CE, or anti-Catholicism wrapped up in conspiracy theories about convents in the US in the nineteenth century. Were these "cults" in a pejorative sense? No, but that didn't stop folks from describing them as such.
The later chapters get a bit harder to read. At one point I watched a documentary on Jonestown that included audio from the "death tape" and remember the sounds - not of Jones himself, but of folks in agony - to be deeply disturbing. Reading the whole transcript is disturbing. Laycock's commentary notes that in descriptions of Jonestown, so many of the folks who died are dehumanized or dismissed, and that's deeply unfair. For example, I had never heard of Christine Miller, who makes a last stand on the death tape to try and convince Jones and other followers to change their minds. (If you want to get emotional, check out her grave on Find a Grave.) In discussions of Jonestown, the people beyond Jones and his lieutenants seem to get lost pretty easily. Laycock asks readers not to do that.
The Heaven's Gate content in interesting, because while the theological content reads as nonsensical to me, there's an intelligence to the writing. These were people who made a deliberate choice - and a tragic choice - but one that presumably felt entirely in line with a worldview. It's less that we sympathize with that worldview than we acknowledge that the people involved were in fact human. They may have had beliefs that feel completely ridiculous to nonbelievers, but that doesn't negate their humanity.
So. If you're looking for a book about people being wild and having wild beliefs and doing things acting on those wild beliefs that seem beyond normal humanity, then, yeah, you'll get some of that. But you'll get a lot more commentary on, dare I say, respecting the people even if you don't respect their beliefs?
Also, again, the Jonestown death tape requires being in a good headspace for handling something like that.
Reading history:
Normally I keep this in my private notes section, but I'm moving it. Yay!
Reading history was not added on Goodreads, but was instead kept on a small piece of paper with the book.
Started May 26th, 2026.
Finished May 30th, 2026.
May 26th, 2026: listened to intro + chapters on the Bacchanalian Affair + The Wicker Man (pp. 1-19) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 27th, 2026: listened to chapters on Christian orgies, Pseudo-Nilus, the Orleans heresy, and William Dorrill (pp. 20-54) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 28th, 2026: listened to chapters on Maria Monk, Mediomania, the Kansas City vampire cult, Cyrus T. Reed, and George J. Schweinfurth (pp. 55-124) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 29th, 2026: listened to chapters on yoga cults + Aleister Crowley trial (pp. 125-155) + through 12 minutes into chapter on brainwashing (through roughly page 161) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 30th, 2026: restarted brainwashing chapter; listened to chapters on brainwashing, UFO religions, Jonestown, the Brand Davidians, Shoko Asahara, and Heaven's Gate (pp. 156-262) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
Laycock presents the concept of cults in a really interesting way. As he notes, hen some ancient and now-mainstream religions were introduced to different parts of the world, the response was often harsh condemnation based on either ignorance or bigotry. The response to things as innocuous as yoga is a bit wild to read, for example. Laycock's commentary can get a little thick - there are times he almost seems pro-cult (?) - but I choose to think he's asking us to view cult members as humans first, and perhaps to recognize that reflexively dismissing things as "cults" is not helpful. Maybe. I don't know
In most of the book, the focus is less on actual "cults" as opposed to people delivering commentary on purported "cults". Samples include early anti-Christian content from the second century CE, or anti-Catholicism wrapped up in conspiracy theories about convents in the US in the nineteenth century. Were these "cults" in a pejorative sense? No, but that didn't stop folks from describing them as such.
The later chapters get a bit harder to read. At one point I watched a documentary on Jonestown that included audio from the "death tape" and remember the sounds - not of Jones himself, but of folks in agony - to be deeply disturbing. Reading the whole transcript is disturbing. Laycock's commentary notes that in descriptions of Jonestown, so many of the folks who died are dehumanized or dismissed, and that's deeply unfair. For example, I had never heard of Christine Miller, who makes a last stand on the death tape to try and convince Jones and other followers to change their minds. (If you want to get emotional, check out her grave on Find a Grave.) In discussions of Jonestown, the people beyond Jones and his lieutenants seem to get lost pretty easily. Laycock asks readers not to do that.
The Heaven's Gate content in interesting, because while the theological content reads as nonsensical to me, there's an intelligence to the writing. These were people who made a deliberate choice - and a tragic choice - but one that presumably felt entirely in line with a worldview. It's less that we sympathize with that worldview than we acknowledge that the people involved were in fact human. They may have had beliefs that feel completely ridiculous to nonbelievers, but that doesn't negate their humanity.
So. If you're looking for a book about people being wild and having wild beliefs and doing things acting on those wild beliefs that seem beyond normal humanity, then, yeah, you'll get some of that. But you'll get a lot more commentary on, dare I say, respecting the people even if you don't respect their beliefs?
Also, again, the Jonestown death tape requires being in a good headspace for handling something like that.
Reading history:
Normally I keep this in my private notes section, but I'm moving it. Yay!
Reading history was not added on Goodreads, but was instead kept on a small piece of paper with the book.
Started May 26th, 2026.
Finished May 30th, 2026.
May 26th, 2026: listened to intro + chapters on the Bacchanalian Affair + The Wicker Man (pp. 1-19) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 27th, 2026: listened to chapters on Christian orgies, Pseudo-Nilus, the Orleans heresy, and William Dorrill (pp. 20-54) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 28th, 2026: listened to chapters on Maria Monk, Mediomania, the Kansas City vampire cult, Cyrus T. Reed, and George J. Schweinfurth (pp. 55-124) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 29th, 2026: listened to chapters on yoga cults + Aleister Crowley trial (pp. 125-155) + through 12 minutes into chapter on brainwashing (through roughly page 161) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
May 30th, 2026: restarted brainwashing chapter; listened to chapters on brainwashing, UFO religions, Jonestown, the Brand Davidians, Shoko Asahara, and Heaven's Gate (pp. 156-262) via Libby with physical copy nearby.
June 14, 2026
Pretty solid! Interesting how the idea of cults has usually been propaganda to warn against other cultures for most of history... Until leaded gasoline was widely used (esp in the US, where most of the cults are). Not saying that it was a contributing factor but I'm also not not saying that
May 19, 2026
I really enjoyed the author’s approach of handling the details of alleged cults that date back thousands of years. The term “cult” has lost much of its value over the years with mainstream media and it was interesting to see how the label impacted groups across the timeline. From my experience with books exploring cults, you usually hear the same information about the same groups. I was happy to learn about groups I have never heard of before, whether they were truly cults or suspected fabricated stories. Even when handling well known stories, like the Branch Davidians, the author pulled resources that highlighted the actions of Koresh prior to the controversial standoff.
June 1, 2026
Not enough major cults for a “book of cults”— the obvious ones were talked about but not the truly horrifying ones…
March 16, 2026
It feels like there should be some sort of narrative thread linking cults together. otherwise, this feels like a random examination of different cults throughout the years. the heavens gates story was the most interesting in my opinion.
March 17, 2026
Wonderful primary source. This is based around a selection of cults with their history as intro and then their texts. Fascinating and hard to read at points.
April 20, 2026
Excellent dive into cults over the ages, yet offers alternate perspectives to each feature that leave a lot of questions for the reader to mull over.
August 22, 2025
My thanks to NetGalley and Viking Penguin - Penguin Classics for and advance copy of this new tome that looks at the history of cults throughout human history, some that were misunderstood, some that went away by themselves, and more than a few that ended in violence, all of them preying on people who just wanted to find reason in the world that they lived in.
Life in this modern world seems a whole lot lonelier than I expected it to be. My brother has a family that absorbs his time, my friends have moved away, my skills at making new ones is pretty much gone. My co-workers are all younger so while my Simpsons jokes are funny, they enjoy Steven Universe much more. So I can see why people are drawn to things that seem sto strange. It might not make sense to me, but to them, well it offers them something that the silence of a room at home does not. Again, I can understand that. However I am not much of a joiner, and am much to cynical to belive anyone politician, medical, even comic book movie producers who promise me a grand world, if I just follow them. Many do. Some get out, some have the group around them come apart. Others will destroy democracy in an effort to not be proved wrong, of for believeing things like horse medicine, flat earths and orange leaders. And that's when a fun little gathering of like minded people goes really, really bad. As many in this book have. The Penguin Book of Cults by Joseph P. Laycock is a guide and history through documents of the time, and statements of members detailing the acts of many groups, cults, religious, political, sexual, social and more, that either lost the script, were attacked for their beliefs, both rightly and wrongly, or just were plain weird.
The book begins with a section on how cults grow and why people are drawn to them. Usually for a lot of the same reasons, no matter the time. People are confused by the world around them. Things are moving too fast, they are left behind. They find people also lost, who feel the same, their is a sense of community and shared struggle. And sometimes these things go wrong. Violently wrong. The book is written chronologically starting from early Roman cults, up to the present day with the Branch Davidians. There is a brief history of the cults, a look at what made them a drawer, a enigmatic leader, a positive message, and what brought their downfall. Not only are the tactics the same in having people join the cult, but so are the tactics that people use to besmirch them. Rumors of children being abused, or sacrificed, weird sexual practices,cavorting with dark arts. Gathering a lot of weapons with plans to bring down governments. Many of these cult do have plans, and the book looks at these, using documents of the time, histories, biographies, some real some fictional, and in the case of modern cults police reports.
The book is well laid out and well-written, with a lot of good examples, and lots of explanations for why things sound like this, what people had against the cults, and why they failed. Laycock has sympathy for those caught up in the cult actions, those innocents looking for something, but unable to find it. The history is interesting, and gives a good idea, if one can, what the beliefs were, and what life might have been like both living in the world, and why the cult made sense. a few of these were new to me, and in the case of the familiar, ones I lof ot new information was presented, as well as explained in further detail.
Not a book for everyone, but one that can explain a lot of what is going on in the modern world. There is a draw to being with people who share the same ideas, even if the ideas are a little out there, or wrong. Social media has ruined us in many ways, I expect that there are more cults and weird groups than even the most savvy of web surfers are aware of. A book that is a good reference to writers and podcast hosts, looking for subjects.
Life in this modern world seems a whole lot lonelier than I expected it to be. My brother has a family that absorbs his time, my friends have moved away, my skills at making new ones is pretty much gone. My co-workers are all younger so while my Simpsons jokes are funny, they enjoy Steven Universe much more. So I can see why people are drawn to things that seem sto strange. It might not make sense to me, but to them, well it offers them something that the silence of a room at home does not. Again, I can understand that. However I am not much of a joiner, and am much to cynical to belive anyone politician, medical, even comic book movie producers who promise me a grand world, if I just follow them. Many do. Some get out, some have the group around them come apart. Others will destroy democracy in an effort to not be proved wrong, of for believeing things like horse medicine, flat earths and orange leaders. And that's when a fun little gathering of like minded people goes really, really bad. As many in this book have. The Penguin Book of Cults by Joseph P. Laycock is a guide and history through documents of the time, and statements of members detailing the acts of many groups, cults, religious, political, sexual, social and more, that either lost the script, were attacked for their beliefs, both rightly and wrongly, or just were plain weird.
The book begins with a section on how cults grow and why people are drawn to them. Usually for a lot of the same reasons, no matter the time. People are confused by the world around them. Things are moving too fast, they are left behind. They find people also lost, who feel the same, their is a sense of community and shared struggle. And sometimes these things go wrong. Violently wrong. The book is written chronologically starting from early Roman cults, up to the present day with the Branch Davidians. There is a brief history of the cults, a look at what made them a drawer, a enigmatic leader, a positive message, and what brought their downfall. Not only are the tactics the same in having people join the cult, but so are the tactics that people use to besmirch them. Rumors of children being abused, or sacrificed, weird sexual practices,cavorting with dark arts. Gathering a lot of weapons with plans to bring down governments. Many of these cult do have plans, and the book looks at these, using documents of the time, histories, biographies, some real some fictional, and in the case of modern cults police reports.
The book is well laid out and well-written, with a lot of good examples, and lots of explanations for why things sound like this, what people had against the cults, and why they failed. Laycock has sympathy for those caught up in the cult actions, those innocents looking for something, but unable to find it. The history is interesting, and gives a good idea, if one can, what the beliefs were, and what life might have been like both living in the world, and why the cult made sense. a few of these were new to me, and in the case of the familiar, ones I lof ot new information was presented, as well as explained in further detail.
Not a book for everyone, but one that can explain a lot of what is going on in the modern world. There is a draw to being with people who share the same ideas, even if the ideas are a little out there, or wrong. Social media has ruined us in many ways, I expect that there are more cults and weird groups than even the most savvy of web surfers are aware of. A book that is a good reference to writers and podcast hosts, looking for subjects.
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July 16, 2026I juuuust want somewhere 2 belong and i really dont think thats such a wrong thing 2 do, and its not like ur any different since your idea of what is a respectable institution is all skewed and imported from your parents or wat people tell u is okay to do, even though the religion u follow used 2 be such a dangerous cult oooh, a cult that killed babies and ate their blood and stamped on mattresses with lady nuns inside til they died and some stupid shit about Candles, and you probably didnt do that then either, u know; its just lying, all just lying; i mean, probably, its a mix, coz the horrible things that people do when they gather in a group gets overblown and made 2 be a mission statement by people who already had preconceived reasons 2 dislike it bcoz its new fangled or strange or sounds silly 2 them, which isnt so surprising since such a person already has a tendency 2 construe any aspect of anything 2 be a sign of malcontent, like a snake must be a symbol of evil, just refusing 2 understand, u dont believe that any1 can think something that is outside of the frame of your thoughts, it must be that they think about it like u but just decided that evil is good; there is no brainwashing theres just no such thing, the truth is that people will do anything and build upon ideas that then swirl in2 manic chaos and theres no amount of repression of religion or demonization of the evil cults that will do anything 2 stop it, its just that we’re a suicidal species and we’re going 2 find a way to kill ourselves no matter wat, or we’ll find a way 2 be killed by someone else, or we’ll find a way to justify killing others, its the most permanent thing u can do so people get attracted 2 it bcoz they know it wont fizzle out and lose followers like a new religious prophet. I think… That i am jesus! I think i am!!!!! Good book, fun 2 read a little history on cults with an openminded view on the idea of “cult”, very unjudgey… I mean, in some cases judgment is necessary, but i mean that it takes a well rounded approach which is admirable. Also, very fun format, almost like an epistolary novel with its usage of clippings and media releases and book excerpts… Its weird 2 imagine people being so against Yoga especially with how prevalent and essentially secular it is now. That article by that lady is probably one of the more racist things ive ever read; theres an idea now that feminism and thus everything that is endorsed as an Idea that u need 2 have if ur a Real Feminist is inherently good, but since feminism is just one facet of liberation, people who believe that is all they need 2 think about have a horrible tendency of being just as demonic as any other person with bigoted beliefs, i guess because they dedicated all their energy to one muscle and let every other get all limp and sad. Its very easy 2 be racist when u dont think racism really actually matters! The writings of the first Koresh were so beautiful and lovely 2 me i enjoyed them a lot. I think he had a great style. Government thinking is that a compound is full of kids being molested so u have 2 bomb it and cover it in tear gas and burn them all up immediately. I guess its just watever makes the problem not exist anymore. If i cant see it that means not only is it not there, but that nobody is even Thinking of making it ever be there again!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2025
okay, this was fascinating in the best possible way. i’ve always been obsessed with cults and weird belief systems, so this was basically a guaranteed win for me, but it still surprised me how readable and genuinely interesting it was. it’s not just another “look how crazy these people were” kind of book. it actually digs into why people believed what they did, what made these movements so magnetic, and how they spiraled.
it’s dense, but not boring. every section has this mix of horror and curiosity, like watching something awful unfold and not being able to look away. i kept googling things every other page just to see if certain quotes or events were real (spoiler: most of them were, and they’re even more messed up in context).
it’s not perfect though. some parts felt a little too much like a list of “here’s another group that did this insane thing,” and i wanted more depth on the lesser-known ones. a few transitions felt abrupt, like the book was rushing to squeeze in one more wild story before moving on. but still, the research is insane, and it’s clearly written by someone who knows how to balance intrigue and respect.
it’s smart, eerie, and completely absorbing. the kind of book that makes you stare at the wall after finishing a chapter and go, “holy shit, people really did that.”
it’s dense, but not boring. every section has this mix of horror and curiosity, like watching something awful unfold and not being able to look away. i kept googling things every other page just to see if certain quotes or events were real (spoiler: most of them were, and they’re even more messed up in context).
it’s not perfect though. some parts felt a little too much like a list of “here’s another group that did this insane thing,” and i wanted more depth on the lesser-known ones. a few transitions felt abrupt, like the book was rushing to squeeze in one more wild story before moving on. but still, the research is insane, and it’s clearly written by someone who knows how to balance intrigue and respect.
it’s smart, eerie, and completely absorbing. the kind of book that makes you stare at the wall after finishing a chapter and go, “holy shit, people really did that.”
July 30, 2026
Disappointing. I didn’t really like the majority of the book being primary texts, I found it very difficult to engage with. The book clearly sought to disprove salacious rumours about cults and emphasise that religious organisations are usually only labelled as cults by those fearful of an “other”. There was way too much emphasis on this idea, rather than actually delving into the cults that really do exist to manipulate, control and harm people. Overall, it only really reinforced my belief that all religions are, to an extent, cults.
August 13, 2026
Interesting premise ruined by poor execution. The Penguins Book of Cults is less extensive and informative at-least for a lay reader like myself. While topics are given a forewords the primary sources are not. While the author decides to exclude the Manson Family for not meeting their definition of a cult (framing Helter Sketler as a prosecution tactic), it includes the Narratives which the book claims could have been made up. Instead of nuancing it by recognizing the importance of “Cult” as a label, the author instead applies their definition rigidly.
July 21, 2026
limp and lame
August 8, 2026
A little brief but this was a thoughtful introduction to a cross section of cults with a fair few that were completely new to me
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