Do you have any good recommendations for books about cults and sects? Really interested in this topic, wanna know more. Both fiction and nonfiction books are welcome.
Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco. It’s about a group of guys working for a publishing company that plan to increase profits by publishing conspiracy theories / pseudoscience books; they eventually come up with the idea of making their own bogus conspiracy, one that is more sophisticated than the rest (these guys are actually well read and have PhDs). They name their theory “The Plan” , but the more they include in it, the more it starts to “make sense”, and eventually they start to believe their own BS and go insane.
walk_with_curiosity on
I remember finding *A Thousand Lives* about Jonestown to be very engaging, although obviously also incredibly sad.
MindAlternative5186 on
Under the Banner of Heaven by Krakauer
skepticemia0311 on
Nonfiction: I found Cultish to be interesting.
velaurciraptorr on
A super long one, but worth it: The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk – a fictionalized account, but based on a real historic & fascinating Jewish sect
MidnightBooksASMR on
***Fiction***
When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur
Edenville by Sam Rebelein
I’ll Be You by Janelle Brown
Kraken by China Miéville
American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennet
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
SparklingGrape21 on
Seductive Poison by Deborah Layton (Jonestown)
Heaven’s Harlots by Miriam Williams (Children of God)
Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi (Manson family)
The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner (fundamentalist Mormon sect in Mexico)
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Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco. It’s about a group of guys working for a publishing company that plan to increase profits by publishing conspiracy theories / pseudoscience books; they eventually come up with the idea of making their own bogus conspiracy, one that is more sophisticated than the rest (these guys are actually well read and have PhDs). They name their theory “The Plan” , but the more they include in it, the more it starts to “make sense”, and eventually they start to believe their own BS and go insane.
I remember finding *A Thousand Lives* about Jonestown to be very engaging, although obviously also incredibly sad.
Under the Banner of Heaven by Krakauer
Nonfiction: I found Cultish to be interesting.
A super long one, but worth it: The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk – a fictionalized account, but based on a real historic & fascinating Jewish sect
***Fiction***
When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur
Edenville by Sam Rebelein
I’ll Be You by Janelle Brown
Kraken by China Miéville
American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennet
The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
Seductive Poison by Deborah Layton (Jonestown)
Heaven’s Harlots by Miriam Williams (Children of God)
Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi (Manson family)
The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner (fundamentalist Mormon sect in Mexico)