I had thought that learning about L. Ron Hubbard’s Scientology in Going Clear by Lawrence Wright would have been the kookiest and nuttiest thing I’d ever read regarding religion and cults. Charles Manson is definitely another very weird chapter in American history, but I feel that both can’t really compare to the story of the Reverend Jim Jones. This is a different kind of nutty, and I can say that I actually feel grossed out and very disturbed, on a personal level, after having read this book. I had thought of the saying that goes something like “if you don’t believe in something, you’ll fall for everything” when applying it to the members of this cult. However, that couldn’t be farther from the truth, and I think that’s one of the scariest parts of this tragedy.

I had to choose between reading Raven by Tim Reiterman or The Road to Jonestown by Jeff Guinn, the latter being more recent and likely to include more details and information. However, I chose Raven simply because of the author’s personal experience in dealing with Jim Jones and his near-death experiences in Guyana. I had to hope that bias wouldn’t taint his investigation, and I think he succeeded in accounting for this due to his co-author and the requirement to confirm the information he acquired with at least two credible sources. *Raven* goes over the childhood of Jim Jones and every step of the way until the tragic final ending. It basically feels like a chronological account of his life and the events, and I think that appealed to me as well.

“They whip dreams of madness out of their own nightmares and evil souls. These are wicked people.”

Jim Jones

The last chapter of the book, “Holocaust,” is likely one of the most disturbing and chilling chapters of a non-fiction book I’ve ever read. The author switches to first person and details his journey to Jonestown with the Concerned Relatives and Congressman Leo Ryan. You can just feel the tension of everything that was happening when they finally confronted Jim Jones inside his own territory. It feels almost useless to go over many things because this is a book that just needs to be read to be believed. In addition, for those brave enough, they can head over to YouTube and listen to the actual last recording of Jim Jones during the White Night, when all was lost according to him and he commanded everyone to commit revolutionary suicide. I swear this audio will chill you like no other. Hearing the babies screaming in the background due to the cyanide poisoning, hearing the members agreeing with Jim Jones till the very end, knowing that out of the 900+ members who died, only one dared to challenge Jones, as well as just listening to Jones himself rambling incoherently, will give you nightmares.

“It’s better for us all to die together, proud, than have them discredit us and take us apart and make us look like a bunch of crazy people. Well, at first, maybe they’ll think we’re crazy. But it’s going to go down in history as a great act.”

Jim Jones

I think it’s still difficult to sum up and explain with any real coherence how this could have happened. There were certainly politicians and other bigwigs who, while not necessarily being able to prevent the mass murder by themselves, could at least have rung the alarm but ultimately chose not to. While there were obviously true loyalists to Jim Jones regardless of what he did or said, it is sad that so many other people who genuinely believed they were doing good for society by helping the poor and fighting racism succumbed. Jim Jones is another example in the classic debate between nature vs. nurture. Would things have turned out differently if he had received more love and attention during his childhood from both his mother and father? Would he have succeeded in a different social environment than that of the turbulent eras of the 60s and 70s?

“That’s my purpose in being here. When that transition comes, there shall be no need for Gods, any other kind of ideology. Religion, the opiate of the people, shall be removed from the consciousness of mankind. There shall no longer be any need for anything religious when freedom comes.”

Jim Jones

In the end, Jim Jones was an amalgam of a person. He was a bully but he was also an extreme coward who couldn’t cope with anyone, not one person disagreeing with him. But he was smart in that he knew how to charm others with his personality like Hitler. He knew when to go on the offensive and when to back off. He knew how to placate others when they were disappointed with his church. He knew how to use peer pressure to condition his members into keeping all doubts and disappointment to themselves and never to voice them aloud. He knew how to utilize self-criticism sessions similar to that of Mao Zedong’s China, to strip a person of all identity and lay bare their souls for all to see in order to better control them. And like with many cowards and bullies in history, he knew how to use paranoia to stoke the flames of fear, uncertainty and doubt into all members. Paranoia in which he ultimately succumbed to as well.

A preacher can “discern” something about the past or present of a subject, using trickery, intuition or a quick eye. Success is a direct result of his ability. But with healing, success hinges heavily upon the faith of the sufferer.

Tim Reiterman

Finally, I’m convinced that Jim Jones ultimately wanted to flee. There’s nothing that can convince me that this narcissist wouldn’t have planned his own escape so he could later explain to the world why the Jonestown massacre “had” to happen in the name of socialism. Maybe, in the end, he really was shot by Annie Moore, who was a true loyalist and believed every single word Jones uttered. Maybe even he couldn’t come up with a believable excuse when he was surrounded by nine hundred dead adults and children, and so Annie or another member killed him. That half a million in cash he had three members take out of Jonestown was likely for his escape to another location, either to rebuild from scratch or, more likely, to just live out his days in luxury. Raven by Tim Reiterman is a must-read book and one that will likely stick with you for a very, very long time.