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The Road to Jonestown

Jim Jones and Peoples Temple

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The Road to Jonestown

By: Jeff Guinn
Narrated by: George Newbern
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About this listen

 An Edgar Award Finalist for Best Fact Crime

“A thoroughly readable, thoroughly chilling account of a brilliant con man and his all-too vulnerable prey” (The Boston Globe)—the definitive story of preacher Jim Jones, who was responsible for the Jonestown Massacre, the largest murder-suicide in American history, by the New York Times bestselling author of Manson.

In the 1950s, a young Indianapolis minister named Jim Jones preached a curious blend of the gospel and Marxism. His congregation was racially mixed, and he was a leader in the early civil rights movement. Eventually, Jones moved his church, Peoples Temple, to northern California, where he got involved in electoral politics and became a prominent Bay Area leader. But underneath the surface lurked a terrible darkness.

In this riveting narrative, Jeff Guinn examines Jones’s life, from his early days as an idealistic minister to a secret life of extramarital affairs, drug use, and fraudulent faith healing, before the fateful decision to move almost a thousand of his followers to a settlement in the jungles of Guyana in South America. Guinn provides stunning new details of the events leading to the fatal day in November, 1978 when more than nine hundred people died—including almost three hundred infants and children—after being ordered to swallow a cyanide-laced drink.

Guinn examined thousands of pages of FBI files on the case, including material released during the course of his research. He traveled to Jones’s Indiana hometown, where he spoke to people never previously interviewed, and uncovered fresh information from Jonestown survivors. He even visited the Jonestown site with the same pilot who flew there the day that Congressman Leo Ryan was murdered on Jones’s orders. The Road to Jonestown is “the most complete picture to date of this tragic saga, and of the man who engineered it…The result is a disturbing portrait of evil—and a compassionate memorial to those taken in by Jones’s malign charisma” (San Francisco Chronicle). Americas Murder Religious Studies South America True Crime United States Crime Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt Scary Thought-Provoking Exciting Social justice Socialism Indiana Biography

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Most relevant
Gripping story of the Peoples Temple and Jamestown massacre that includes both the megalomania of Jim Jones, but also the idealism and good works of him and his followers. This book doesn't give an answer as to the why of the matter, but illuminates much of the how using testimony of survivors and other evidence. I appreciated the balanced feel. It feels more chilling to hear of a mass-murderer who was seemingly both good and evil than it is to have him depicted as purely monstrous.

In the closing few chapters - don't listen at bedtime! This truly is the stuff of nightmares.

Nuanced true horror

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This book has got to be the new staple for those interested in the infamous cult.

Brilliantly read, outstandingly researched

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Load of information.
Well written.
Showcased the facts and what happened.
Fascinating and sad.
Truly the definitive book on the subject.

Great Information and Insight

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I enjoyed this as much as one can even a book about such a dark subject, but it felt like it was a well rounded account of the case. I would recommend to anybody interested in getting the whole picture, the good as well as the sad and tragic. Though I do find it interest that the author seems to make no mention or discussion of the fact that the peoples temple was a cult. Maybe as a show of respect for loved ones? Either way it was a fascinating and interesting account!

I kept listening but I don’t think the word “cult” was ever used in This book.

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I've delved into a lot of information on Jonestown over the years. From 5 hour long podcasts to TV documentaries and this is by far the best coverage of Jim's life and also the lives followers I've come across. It's got a perfect balance of readability and detail. If you are interested in anything to do with Jonestown you'll find it here.

The definitive book on Jim & The Peoples Temple.

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