Jim Jones and the Jonestown Massacre

Book: Suicide Cult by Marshall Kilduff

In 1978 the suicide-massacre of 900 people in South America shocked the world as Reverend Jim Jones' cult, named the Peoples Temple. In his book "Suicide Cult," Marshall Kilduff steps into Jim Jones' past and reflects on the man who brainwashed hundreds of people into donating their Social Security checks to his church, and eventually committing suicide in the Guyana jungle.

Jim Jones was born to a Ku Klux Klansman and as a young boy was practicing mind-control. He was a student minister in 1952, but left his Methodist church because they refused African-Americans into their congregation. Jones created his own mixed congregation church in Indiana in the 1960s. This was something unheard of for the time, and within his church Jones preached love and understanding. It's hard to believe this social harmony preacher would become the leader...
[ View Full Essay]