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A Thousand Lives
- The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
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A Thousand Lives
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Summary
They left America for the jungles of Guyana to start a better life. Yet what started as a Utopian dream soon devolved into a terrifying work camp run by a madman, ending in the mass murder-suicide of 914 members in November 1978.
In A Thousand Lives, the New York Times best-selling memoirist Julia Scheeres traces the fates of five individuals who followed Jim Jones to South America as they struggled to first build their paradise, and then survive it. Each went for different reasons - some were drawn to Jones for his progressive attitudes towards racial equality, others were dazzled by his claims to be a faith healer. But once in Guyana, Jones' drug addiction, mental decay, and sexual depredations quickly eroded the idealistic community.
For this groundbreaking book, Scheeres examined more than 50,000 pages of newly released documents that the FBI collected from the camp after the massacre - including diaries, crop reports, and letters that were never sent home - as well as hundreds of audiotapes of Jones addressing his group.
Scheeres's own experience at a religious boot camp in the Dominican Republic, detailed in her unforgettable debut memoir Jesus Land, gives her unique insight into this chilling tale.
Haunting and vividly written, A Thousand Lives is a story of blind loyalty and daring escapes, of corrupted ideals and senseless, searing loss.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- CB
- 24-01-19
Brilliant in depth book, great narration.
Really well explained and the narrator makes it easy listening., concidering the subject matter. Would recommend highly.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- John
- 05-02-14
Extremely Chilling
What did you like most about A Thousand Lives?
A very sinister often jaw droppingly chilling story that has obviously been incredibly well researched. I mainly listen to audio books whilst in the car this one in particular seems to have made me drive slower and regret a journeys end - it is that compelling. A credit to Julia Scheeres and Robin Miles who does a great job of narrating.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
Despite a bit of a slow start this never really stopped moving me.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- AmazonSusan Egan
- 27-11-18
Roads are layed for a deadly plan
This book is a good backdrop to what lead up to the Suicide and murder of over 900 people who followed Jim Jones to Guyana. The connections that Jones had to those who were willing to do his bidding without question can be glimpsed in this book. There are loads of contrast between what the public knew and what was really going on. Our Government, according to this book, knew a lot more than they ever checked out. The book itself is a bumpy ride that has to be taken in small chunks as it is too disconnected from a whole story to follow. I enjoyed parts of the book but as a whole, I would not recommend it for someone to read. It is probably best consumed via audiobook as I did.
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