Jim Jones started preaching about the injustices of American society, specifically racism and income inequality, when he was still in high school. I learned so much about his life and how his church truly helped people who were in need of food, jobs, education, shelter, recovery, and clothing for decades. Jones had high ambitions and a gift for speech and influencing others. He started with the best of intentions, but we all know what the road to hell is paved with.

Jim Jones Was a Demagogue

By the time he moved his flock of believers to Guyana, he was besot by narcotics, narcissism, and paranoia and was a true demagogue:
"In every society there are inequities, and in American the most obvious of these affect people of color and the poor. Demagogues recruit by uniting a disenchanted element against an enemy, then promising to use religion or politics or a combination of the two to bring about rightful change."

"Don't Drink the Kool-Aid"

We have made a joke of "don't drink the Kool-Aid," or "I already drank the Kool-Aid," but this book soberly reminded me of the over 900 people, at least 300 of whom were children, who died. We also think that we would never have been so naive as to follow the orders of a "cult" leader. However, he appealed to the poorest members of society who idealized a world where everyone was treated equally and shared in the wealth. Jones's actual religion was socialism. They wanted to "set an example of how people could live together in real equality and harmony and hoped everyone else would be moved to emulate them." When they drank the poison, they truly believed they were martyrs who were making a statement that would bring attention to the ills of society.

Summary

This was a most informative and well-researched non-fiction book. I give it a solid three stars. I would have given it more, but it dragged in the middle. There were way too many names and details to keep track of. Some non-fiction works read like a page-turning novel, but this was very dry, not emotional at all. I learned a lot about Jim Jones, and if you are interested in knowing the true, whole story, then read this book by Jeff Guinn.