This is one of those books where you know the ending to the story: Pastor Jim Jones transports 1,200 of his Peoples Temple followers into the jungles of Guyana. The rest becomes history:
Congressman Leo Ryan becomes the only Congress member to die on the job, a number of NBC reporters are shot down in Port Kaituma, and back at Jonestown, over 900 of Jones’ followers drink the poisoned drink, while Jones himself is shot. The names Jim Jones and Jonestown have since become synonymous with brainwashing and cult following, for the Jonestown Massacre is the largest mass-suicide of Americans to date. Not to mention the event has since become an incredible embarrassment to the Guyanese government. Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People by Tim Reiterman offers a detailed and thorough account of Jones the man, his followers, his brainwashing techniques, his political influence and power, and his ultimate transport to Guyana, where he convinced over 900 of his members to commit an act of “revolutionary suicide” in the name of socialism.
Among the key points the author mentions are that 1) Jones was never a nice man gone wrong, that he in fact showed signs of sadism and megalomania at an early age, and that 2) the author compares Jones to the likes of Hitler, just on a smaller scale, and 3) the members of the Peoples Temple were murdered, rather than forced to commit suicide. Reiterman also provides his own first hand account of the shooting at Port Kaituma, where as a journalist covering the story, he himself had been shot. In light of his points, Reiterman’s early description of Jones’ youth certainly does offer a portrait of a disturbed individual who, if he had not evolved into the role of wannabe dictator, very likely he would have evolved into a future Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer. Jones’ early malice towards fellow classmates, as well as his cruelty to animals, is very much in line with the behaviors of famous serial killers. Also, the comparison to Hitler, just on a smaller scale, is apt, notably because both Jones and Hitler were delusional and arguably mentally ill, believing that their despicable acts would land them favorable places in history, as opposed to someone like Stalin, who is known not to have suffered from any psychosis, despite his pathological tendencies. The problem I have is the author’s presumption that the Jonestown slaughter was mostly murder. Certainly, when you read the accounts, there are some who were murdered. But many were ready and willing to die without a fight — even thanking Jones for his kindness up until their last moments.
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