librarymouse's review against another edition

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2.5

This whole book has an odd pro-Israel tilt, most directly addressed in the second to last chapter. The author notes the Zionist roots of many of the cults without ever considering or critiquing the role of Zionism in the destructive and deadly nature of the cults. Overall, this reads more like a poorly thought through encyclopedia of cult activity than the human-framed perspective promised by the title. In the chapters about the more violent acts committed by cult leaders or in the name of their beliefs, the author's focus was more on the act than the aftermath, which was unexpected with the title framing this book as focusing on the people who joined and the impact their respective cults had on them.
 I will not be listening to the podcast, and after the overt praise for Israel, I finished this book as a hate read.

The narrators of the audio version of the book pronounce religious terms like "vicar" oddly. There should have been some oversight to make sure a book about cults and religious movements that became cults had their terms pronounced correctly 

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avonleegrace's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative mysterious sad slow-paced

2.75


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kylieabbynormal's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative medium-paced

3.25


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hubes's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

3.0

Too much (armchair) diagnoses and not enough nitty-gritty of life in each of the cults

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