Cults: Inside the Worlds Most Notorious Groups and Understanding the People Who Joined Them by Max Cutler

Cults: Inside the Worlds Most Notorious Groups and Understanding the People Who Joined Them Reviews

• 
  Sophie

  DNF, will not rate.
  
  From what I've read (20% of the book), this book only examines the gory details, and doesn't really go into the dynamics / psychology of cults and cult leaders.
• 
  BookStarRaven

  Quick Take: Cults come in many different shapes and sizes, but they are almost all lead by someone with traits from the dark triad narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.
  
  Cults by Max Cutler is a primer on why cults form and how people are manipulated into joining. Cutler describes 10 cults, their leaders and what made them unique as a cult.
  
  I really enjoyed reading this book. While there were cults I had heard of like Jonestown, NVIXM and Heaven’s Gate, there were many more that I hadn’t. Learning about cults is definitely one of my guilty pleasures. I find it fascinating how easily people are manipulated and I guess, deep down, by learning about cults I hope to avoid being manipulated myself.
  
  I appreciated how Cutler effectively wove psychology into the storytelling of the cult and its members. If you are interested in learning about cults this is a good place to start given that it covers many diverse groups. I would recommend this to anyone interested in cults or the psychology of manipulation.
  
  Rating: 5/5
  Genre: Non-Fiction/Cults
  
  I received this book from Simon & Schuster as a Goodreads Giveaway.
• 
  Erin

  Giveaway Win!
• 
  Proustitute (on hiatus)

  More a Wikipedia-style overview of cults from the Manson Family to the Rajneeshees, from NXIVM to Heaven’s Gate. There’s nothing new to learn here if you’ve read about or watched documentaries on these cults and their infamous leaders. In fact, you would likely know more than the overview that’s given here in these pages.


  
  While Cutler and Conley appear to have based this book on their popular podcast (to which this reader admittedly never listened), I would imagine that the podcast is more interesting in this instance than the book. I’m immensely interested in the psychology of cults, so this book’s subtitle—which includes “Understanding the People Who Joined Them”—piqued my interest quite a bit. However, there’s more on the biography of each cult leader, positing why or how they became the way they did, rather than much (if anything) about the members, why they joined, why they stayed, and why some might have left and, if so, what repercussions or trauma they suffered after leaving life in the cult. 


  
  For this, I imagine Janja Lalich’s Bounded Choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults would be the better choice; I look forward to delving into that one soon.
• 
  Erin Clemence

  How do cults form? What kind of people become cult leaders? Who joins cults and why? All of these questions are answered in
  Max Cutler and
  Kevin Conley’s book “Cults: Inside the World’s Most Notorious Groups and Understanding the People Who Joined Them”.
  
  Of course when you hear the word “cult”, you immediately think of infamous ones, like Charles Manson or the “Heaven’s Gate” cult, and Cutler mentions these in detail, but he also covers more international cults, such as those helmed by Canadian Roch Theriault, African Credonia Mwerinde and Mexican Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo, bringing his research worldwide. Each chapter focuses on one specific group, and goes into detail about the leader (or leaders), how they became the leader, and the kind of followers they recruited, as well as the specific outcome of the leader and the cult itself.
  
  Cutler focuses on the psychology of the cult, specifically on the upbringing and external factors that played on the cult leaders themselves. This was fascinating for the psychology major in me, as some details were provided that I had not known before. Of course, even for more known cases, Cutler discusses exactly what crimes the members committed and what (if any) consequences they faced.
  
  I appreciated Cutler’s writing style, as it was well researched without being wordy and intellectual, making “Cults” a generalizable yet informative read for anyone with interest. Although the subject matter is intense, it was an easy read, and I flew through the pages. “Cults” covers every time line, from the Manson group in the late sixties, to the NXIVM and Heaven’s Gate groups in the nineties and two thousands, making this read both engaging and modern.
  
  Anyone with an interest in cult behaviour, specifically the psychology of cults, including their leaders and members, will find Cutler’s novel intriguing and educational, which is a unique combination. I look forward to checking out some of Cutler’s podcasts, on this topic and others, as he definitely has a way of connecting to his audience.
• 
  Paula Hagar

  I have been fascinated by cults for over 50 years now, ever since I first heard of them after the Charles Manson murders. I read Helter Skelter when I was merely 15, and to this day I remember the horror I felt reading the details of Manson and his followers, and every time I heard his name. Later came Jim Jones, Heaven's Gate, David Koresh and others. This book focuses on 10 different cults, over half of which I'd not heard of before, so I was very excited when I saw this book, as I'd never heard of the podcast. It was interesting to read about them and learn how many smaller ones exist around the world.
  
  But what kept me from rating this higher is that it did not do what I'd hoped it would - give me any insights into not only what led the various cult leaders to do what they did, but more importantly the one thing I really hoped to get from this book was information, or even speculation, on the psychology behind cult followers, and what it is that makes them join and so blindly follow evil people. The core beliefs of each cult are so crazy I just cannot fathom how anyone could fall for them, no matter how desperately someone needs to belong. I understand why the always-narcissistic leaders take on power, but for the life of me I do not understand what makes their followers join - and then stay for years and years.
  
  The weirdest and most horrible cult, to me, is the first one discussed in this book: that of Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo, whose brutal torture methods and slow murders turned my blood cold.
  
  If you are looking for a basic outline of the variety of cults out there, this is a great introduction to them, but if, like me, you want a more in-depth psychological study of what makes cult followers join and stay, this is not the book for you.
• 
  Rennie

  Kind of wikipedia-like but reading wikipedia for fun is also ok sometimes. I don't listen to this podcast, but like any other podcast-inspired book I've read, it leaves me wondering what the point of a podcast-to-book was. It's fine, but why? Especially when a co-author was necessary, for this? A mystery.
• 
  A Home Library - Book Reviews

  Book Review — “Cults: Inside the World’s Most Notorious Groups and Understanding the People Who Joined Them” by @parcast’s Max Culter with Kevin Conley, based on the podcast “Cults”
  
  Details: published by Gallery Books, 2022, 3.61 average on GR with 500 reviews
  
  Categories: True Crime, Cults, Sociology, Psychology, Nonfiction
  
  My Summary & Thoughts ⤵️
  
  I’m approaching this review as someone who has *not* listened to the acclaimed podcast this book is crafted after. I like to read about cults, but I am not a true crime junkie, so my background info is at a beginner level on some groups. Also, I listened to the audiobook from @simon.audio & read physical.
  
  This book covers 10 notorious cults, each getting a thematic section categorizing them by a key component of a cult’s foundation: shame, exploitation, pathological lying, sadism, megalomania, escape, and denial of reality. Each section talks about the characterization of the leaders AND the followers.
  
  The cult leaders covered: Charles Manson, Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Jim Jones, Claude Vorilhorn, Roch Theriault, David Koresh, Keith Raniere, Credonia Mwerinde, and Marshall Applewhite
  
  Some of the criticism I’ve seen for this book says that it’s like Wikipedia articles. I don’t necessarily agree, but I will admit it’s very detail heavy. The flow of the sections allows for about 25-50 pages per cult, so it’s condensed substantially. A decent chunk is Wiki-esque facts, accompanied by a drop of narrative about the character of the leader/followers.
  
  For this reason, I think this book is best for beginner/intermediate true crime readers. It will not tell you new info if you’re already read up or listen to podcasts like these regularly, but if you’re like me and just have a casual background, it will be a good fit. I think the writing style is clear, not fluffed with anything unnecessary to the profile.
  
  I think it could’ve been improved by a little bit of something extra to set it apart from the thousands of books about cults. Maybe some pictures at the very least.
  
  At the end of the day, I blew through it and learned a lot. 3.5 stars from me!
• 
  Louise

  This book profiles 10 cults. Four are widely known in the US: those led by Charles Manson, Jim Jones, David Koresh and Marshall Applewhite. A fifth US cult, not as well known as the others, NXIVM, was a financial ponzi scheme along the the cult features of enslaving and raping its members. Cults profiled that operated in Mexico, France, India (this one expanded to the US), Canada and Uganda demonstrate that this is a human phenomena and not a product of one culture or another.
  
  For each of the cults, even those I knew something about, I learned something new. In the Manson group, it was where the participants are today; for Jim Jones it was his childhood, for Koresh it was the religious structure his group was a “branch” of and for Applewhite, the strange way his cult formed, lived and grew.
  
  Of the cults for which I knew nothing - I was happier before I learned of them.
  
  Three of these cults destroyed themselves. One petered out. Five, in response to clear murder and rape offenses, were ended by law enforcement. Only the Branch Davidians survives today; however, it appears to be in its original religious structure, not in the perverse direction Koresh took it.
  
  There is little analysis here… mostly reporting.
• 
  LibraryCin

  3.5 stars
  
  This book, based on a podcast(?), looks at ten cults and their leaders. Only three were ones I knew of, including Charles Manson, Jim Jones, and David Koresh (though I hadn’t ever read anything about Koresh previously). Unexpectedly, there were two that included UFOs! There was plenty of murder to go along with these cults. (Only) one of the leaders walked away from the carnage she left behind. I was interested to read about an actress who was highly involved with one cult. The cults were in various parts of the world, including Mexico, Uganda, Canada, and of course, the USA. (I hadn’t even heard of the guy in Canada – from Quebec – and he was twisted!).
  
  I had hoped to learn more about how people end up following these crazy people, but the book was more a short biography of each of the leaders, in addition to the stories of their respective cults and what happened – how they formed, the people that followed them, and how they combusted. Similar to a book of short stories, I found some more interesting than others.
• 
  Andi

  I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a chance at reading this book.
  
  Cults are fascinating, they're up there in terms of true-crime - to understand why people do what they do and what happened that a person or a group could have such a control over someone else. Cults is a book that is based off a podcast by Max Cutler, where he expands upon or brings awareness to six various people / cults that had a great impact on how we view cults.
  
  I feel like in order to enjoy this book one must have little to no knowledge about the cults covered, and are looking for a bite-sized recap of what made them a 'cult'. For me, I knew of all but two of the cults mentioned. I also found the book written almost like a textbook in school or a wiki article. If you're looking for an indepth, recap of the cults mentioned you will not get it from this book.
  
  What is presented is presented fairly, and with references. However, I am a bit at a loss of who this book is for? School? Teenagers? Why write something that is easily grabbed from other websites and or you can read in depth by others mentioned in the book?
  
  I don't know why this book exists and while it is not badly written I think that it was a waste of time.
• 
  Jolanta (knygupe)

  Šiek tiek plačiau nei wikipedia "/
• 
  Naomi's Bookshelf

  Cults are fascinating to me because of the mystery that surrounds them. I loved the deep dive approach with each cult that the author brought forward. I learned what created the mystery and how the leader kept his/her followers invested.
  
  I feel like I knew things because of the culture like “drinking the Koolaid” or “Helter Skelter” but I never knew the context until now. I also appreciated the humanity that was give to the victims, known and unknown. I was invested in the story and how it was told.
  
  My only complaint is a personal preference. I am not a fan of long chapters and each cult was one chapter without division. It didn’t take away from the quality of the material but it did impact my enjoyment.
  
  I received an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Buddy Scalera

  Tl;dr. The writing was too dense. The facts were too extensive. It was like reading an list of facts on Wikipedia.
• 
  Chloe Reads Books

  Very informative, and held my attention. Would recommend the audiobook.
• 
  thereadingowlvina (Elvina Ulrich)

  Based on the popular podcast Cults, Parcast founder, Max Cutler shares biographies of ten notorious cults in this book.
  
  These cults are categorized according to the types of manipulation they used (e.g: exploitation, shame, sadism, etc) and why do people joined these cults - the psychology behind it.
  
  I loved how the information was presented. It was easy to read and understand, and the depth of information for each cult, was just perfect - not too little, not too much.
  
  Although I am familiar with some of the more popular cults (e.g: Charles Manson, Jim Jones, Roch Theriault and the Ant Hill Kids) in this book, I still find myself learning something new about them. I find Raelism was the most bizarre cult I've learned so far.
  
  Heads up, though, some of the contents do contain graphic details especially on Narcosatanists and Roch Theriault's cults.
  
  Overall, this is a must read book for all true crime fans especially if cults is a topic that fascinates you.
  
  
  
  Pub. Date: July 12th, 2022
  
  ***Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for this gifted reading copy. All opinions expressed are my own.***
• 
  Bookishrealm

  If you want to know my full thoughts, be sure to check out my video here:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udsTj...
• 
  Vince

  It delivered what it was advertising. It was a collection of cults and how they came to be. I think I wanted a more thorough psych eval; the issues and symptoms were identified and addressed - so kudos - but I felt that the explanations were hit or miss. Also, the last two chapters felt kind of rushed for me. With Heavens Gate being quite infamous among true crime fans, maybe its presence in pop culture made it so that it wasn’t really necessary to explain what everyone already knows. But if that was the case, they shouldn’t have made it the last chapter. The narcosatanist and Jonestown chapters were pretty interesting and one of the better written chapters… also one of the longer ones.
• 
  Jane

  Cults reads like an encyclopedia about cults. It feels strange to say this given the topic, but I found it boring at times. Maybe the topic is better for podcasts because reading about one cult leader after another became numbing over time. I didn’t think the book lived up to its premise of telling us: “what goes on inside the minds of cult leaders and the people who join them?” I did learn about some cult leaders I was not familiar with, but I learned nothing new in the sections about cult leaders I had heard of. Still, the book will probably be popular with readers fascinated by cults or who like the podcast.
  
  I read an advance reader copy of Cults from Netgalley.
  
• 
  Nicole Wojtowitz

  I won this book in a giveaway and I'm so happy I did because I thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned a lot about several cults and cult leaders I had not heard of before and learned more about those I have. I would definitely recommend this book.
• 
  Kari

  I'm a big fan of true crime, well who isn't? I was really looking forward to reading Cults. I haven't listened to the podcast, but I expect it's as well researched as this book. The book is comprised of well known cults and some not so well known. at least by me.
  
  I did, for the most part, like the book. It covers the well known cult leaders like Charles Manson, David Koresh, and Jim Jones. I have read a lot of material and watched a lot of documentaries on the well known cults so I didn't feel like I learned anything really new. But the ones that I had not heard of were an interesting read. I think this is a fairly good comprehensive summary of each of the cults. I felt like they did delve into the motivations of the leaders fairly well. This is a book you could skip around fairly easily if you want to skip the cults you have heard about. I would recommend it.
• 
  Megan

  Perfectly average three stars. Arguably, a book about some of the world’s craziest cults - and the techniques used by these cult leaders to get even some of the most intelligent, rational persons to join, giving up all their earthly possessions to serve the every whim of this psychopathic narcissist - should be a lot more intriguing. Meaning, it doesn’t ordinarily take me a full ten days to get through a book that I should have finished in three.
  
  I mean, it wasn’t horrible. I can see perhaps how it works as a podcast (although unlike many reviewers, I have yet to listen to this podcast. I will soon to see how it compares to the book). As a book though? It’s just... stale.
  
  It’s a collection of case studies into cult leaders’ minds, with each study overlapping some into another, as all of the lunatics presented in the book share many of the same childhood issues/upbringings and resulting personality/psychological traits (most would say deep character flaws, but in the interest of objectivity...).
  
  Each leader “has some trait that sets them apart: ruthlessness, childhood shame, repressed sexuality, a grandiose belief in personal genius, the sense of pleasure derived by inciting terror in their intimates. Almost all share three distinguishing traits - what is known as the dark triad of malevolent narcissism: lack of empathy, a manipulative attitude, and excessive self-love.”
  
  Throughout the book, we are introduced to Charles Manson and “The Family”, Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo and his Narcosatanists, Bhagwan Rajneesh, Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, as well as Keith Raniere, the founder of the most recent cult, NXIVM (I believe he was just sentenced to 120 years in 2021) - and there are several other less recognizable names, but still just as savagely cruel and devoid of all empathy.
  
  Some reviewers complained that it didn’t really explore the backgrounds and mind traits of the cult leaders as it promised to do. I feel that was adequately addressed. My problem started from the beginning, with the pages devoted to Charles Manson and Co.
  
  You see, while I understand that different books and different narratives are inevitably going to have ... well, different narratives, different ideas...there are facts that are indisputable. When the author presenting the case studies prints fiction as fact, it makes it problematic for me for the rest of the book, in the cases I don’t know as well. For the very reason that it makes me doubt the credibility of his sources, that perhaps everything wasn’t as neatly and well-researched as one is inclined to believe.
  
  For instance:
  ”It was through Wilson that Manson met Terry Melcher, the son of actress Doris Day, and a powerful record producer. The three met regularly at Melcher’s home: 10050 Cielo Drive, the future site of Manson’s most horrific murders.”
  
  Okay, this is just factually not true. Given I read all 689 pages of lead (and sole) prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi’s book on the murders, when Melcher was questioned on Manson, he could barely recall him. He remembered meeting him I believe “once or twice”, but had told Dennis Wilson that Manson didn’t have what it took to make it in music. There were no regular meetings that ended in some falling out between Melcher and Manson.
  
  But I could possibly forgive that. It’s when you add fiction as facts to the actual crime(s) itself that makes your accounts suffer from credibility issues. Cutler mentions how after Manson sent Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian to 10050 Cielo Drive (where Sharon Tate and her unborn child, along with Roman Frykowski, Abigail Folger, Jay Sebring and Steven Parent were all brutally murdered) to murder and create a chaotic crime scene”, after they’d carried out his wishes, they came back to Spahn Ranch (the Family’s living headquarters at the time) to a “deeply unhappy Manson”:
  
  ”They’d barely retrieved any money, and as far as he could tell from their ensuing descriptions, they hadn’t created a dramatic enough crime scene. He then drove back to 10050 Cielo Drive himself to wipe down their fingerprints and spread an American flag on the couch near Sharon Tate’s corpse, hoping that in this era when young people were burning the flag to protest the Vietnam War, the juxtaposition of the flag and a dead pregnant woman would get significant attention”.
  
  Wait, WHAT?! Charles Manson never stepped foot into Roman Polanski’s mansion at 10050 Cielo Drive, nor took any part in “rearranging or cleaning up the crime scene.” Uh, Max Cutler? Where did you get this information? Because Vincent Bugliosi’s book makes no mention of Manson ever going near that crime scene, let alone entering the home after the murders were committed to “rearrange the flag and wipe away prints.” And I’m inclined to believe the lead prosecutor’s account, who lived and breathed this case for two full years, over Cutler’s.
  
  Unreliable narration is a big problem for future stories in the book. I don’t know what was embellished (like with Manson’s story) apart from what was actually established as fact. Not to mention, so many of the stories read very dryly. If the stories that followed Manson’s were all mostly factual, then they were interesting - but still not enough so, that even if I wasn’t in doubt about the truth of it all, I’d give this book any higher of a rating.
• 
  Crystal FL Girl

  What an eye opening look at the inside of some of the most notorious cults minds. I like how it shows Manson used Scientology as a way to learn mind control. I highly recommend this book.
  
  I received this as an ARC
• 
  Megan

  Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this advanced reader copy.
  
  This week’s headline? Helter Skelter
  
  Why this book? I’m obsessed with cults and Charles Manson.
  
  Which book format? ARC
  
  Primary reading environment? Cuddling with my cat
  
  Any preconceived notions? I know what I’m getting myself into.
  
  Identify most with? Not being susceptible to mind control.
  
  Three little words? “the Devil’s work”
  
  Goes well with? Cultish by Amanda Montell
  
  Recommend this to? People with a cult leader fascination.
  
  Other cultural accompaniments:
  https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/...
  
  Grade: 3/5
  
  I leave you with this: “…one can recognize destructive cults because they generally have three distinct features: a charismatic leader who becomes an object of worship; a shift in attitude that allows the cult leader to take advantage of group members for sex and/or financial gain; and near-total control that can be traced to the cult leader’s ability to exert something …[called] ‘thought reform’ — or how it’s colloquially known, mind control.”
  
  📚📚📚
  
  Cults: Inside the World’s Most Notorious Groups and Understanding the People Who Joined Them is more of a biography of cult leaders rather than diving into the psychology of people susceptible to cults as the full title suggests. It’s based off of a podcast hosted by Max Cutler and covers Manson, Jim Jones, Heaven’s Gate, and NXIVM amongst other well-known cults.
  
  What sets this book apart from others with the same subject is the way each cult is grouped itself, through Cutler’s perceived reasoning on why each cult leader ultimately came to be: shame, exploitation, pathological lying, sadism, escape, megalomania, and denial of reality.
  
  Like it is with biographies or anthologies, some are more interesting than others. There’s a reason he started with Manson, as he still garners interest to this day and most likely will for a long time. It’s what drew me in but I already knew all the information covered in his chapter because of my obsession with the Manson Family. Another draw was wanting to learn more about NXIVM. All in all, I enjoyed it for what it is, but it’s not groundbreaking and all of this information is just a Google search away.
  
  tw: cults, murder, suicide, abuse, torture, rape, heavy drug and alcohol use
  
  Cults will be released on July 11, 2022.
• 
  Mark Muckerman

  Meh.
  
  It reads like a compilation of transcripts from a podcast series - and I'm certain that's exactly what it is. There's where it falls short:
  
  As podcasts, each topic would be more interesting as individual bites, spaced out over time as they drop. As a book, it quickly becomes repetitive, and the shallowness of a podcast format becomes disappointingly evident when you read each chapter (cult). Painfully similar in format, layout, narrative, style and pretty uniformly lacking in any depth, I found CULTS to be a boring read.
  
  Manson was interesting. Jim Jones was interesting. Heaven's Gate was interesting.
  
  The rest were more obscure. Narrative was thin and there was no real compelling or revelatory storytelling.
  
  Not a Good Read.
• 
  Willa Scanlon

  I want to love it because I just love cults so much (not for me, just in theory). And to be fair I did love reading about the various cults. However, was it well written? Nay, it twasn’t. Also the author tried to catagorize each cult by one descriptor word and I do not think that was successful. Like claiming Charles Manson was such a whack job only bc he had shame that his mom went to prison doesn’t feel quite accurate.
• 
  Caryn

  Read about some I hadn’t ever heard of and this book detailed different tales on ones I had, especially NXIVM, Manson, and Heaven’s Gate. Very interesting if you find the subject fascinating, like myself but loads of trigger warnings also, because some leaders were extremely violent.
• 
  Lisa Welch

  3.5 stars. A ton of info about different cults that you have probably already heard about. It is pretty dry reading though, and I think it could have been edited down while still providing essential info.
• 
  Heather

  This book is more of a capsule history of various dangerous cults of the past several decades than an examination of the psychology of those who follow them, as seemingly promised in the subtitle. Disappointing.