Cults: Inside the World's Most Notorious Groups and Understanding the People Who Joined Them
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- Create Date：2022-08-11 06:52:11
- Update Date：2025-09-13
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- Author：Max Cutler
- ISBN：1982133546
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Summary
Mystery。 Manipulation。 Murder。 Cults are associated with all of these。 But what really goes on inside them？ More specifically， what goes on inside the minds of cult leaders and the people who join them？ Based on the hit podcast Cults， this is essential reading for any true crime fan。
Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong; to find a deeper meaning in life; to live everyday with divine purpose。 Their existence creates a sense that any one of us， at any time， could step off the cliff’s edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause。 Perhaps it’s this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more， or it’s that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick。
The premier storytelling podcast studio Parcast has been focusing on unearthing these mechanics—the cult leaders and followers， and the world and culture that gave birth to both。 Parcast’s work in analyzing dozens of case studies has revealed patterns: distinct ways that cult leaders from different generations resemble one another。 What links the ten notorious figures profiled in Cults are as disturbing as they are stunning—from Manson to Applewhite， Koresh to Raël， the stories woven here are both spellbinding and disturbing。
Cults is more than just a compilation of grisly biographies， however。 In these pages， Parcast’s founder Max Cutler and national bestselling author Kevin Conley look closely at the lives of some of the most disreputable cult figures and tell the stories of their rise to power and fall from grace， sanity， and decency。 Beyond that， it is a study of humanity， an unflinching look at what happens when the most vulnerable recesses of the mind are manipulated and how the things we hold most sacred can be twisted into the lowest form of malevolence。
Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong; to find a deeper meaning in life; to live everyday with divine purpose。 Their existence creates a sense that any one of us， at any time， could step off the cliff’s edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause。 Perhaps it’s this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more， or it’s that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick。
The premier storytelling podcast studio Parcast has been focusing on unearthing these mechanics—the cult leaders and followers， and the world and culture that gave birth to both。 Parcast’s work in analyzing dozens of case studies has revealed patterns: distinct ways that cult leaders from different generations resemble one another。 What links the ten notorious figures profiled in Cults are as disturbing as they are stunning—from Manson to Applewhite， Koresh to Raël， the stories woven here are both spellbinding and disturbing。
Cults is more than just a compilation of grisly biographies， however。 In these pages， Parcast’s founder Max Cutler and national bestselling author Kevin Conley look closely at the lives of some of the most disreputable cult figures and tell the stories of their rise to power and fall from grace， sanity， and decency。 Beyond that， it is a study of humanity， an unflinching look at what happens when the most vulnerable recesses of the mind are manipulated and how the things we hold most sacred can be twisted into the lowest form of malevolence。
Reviews
Nathalia
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I think most of us know how to avoid a cult but if you don't， this book will for sure tip you off to all the red flags。 The baddest of the bad are in here， and it is gruesome and at times difficult to read。 However it's a thorough overview of how cult leaders manipulate and accumulate victims who follow them into madness。 I think most of us know how to avoid a cult but if you don't， this book will for sure tip you off to all the red flags。 The baddest of the bad are in here， and it is gruesome and at times difficult to read。 However it's a thorough overview of how cult leaders manipulate and accumulate victims who follow them into madness。 。。。more
Madison Martin
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I think that this is a very simple read， the vocabulary and explanations lack a lot of detail。 I think it would’ve been a stronger read if the author had dived deeper into the labeling of the leaders （exploitation， denial of reality， pathological liar） I do think that they provided a diverse set of cults， and you never really hear about the childhoods of these people。 But， while reading， I found myself thinking…I could’ve wrote this （that’s not good i’m 15 😭） The sentences were choppy and read a I think that this is a very simple read， the vocabulary and explanations lack a lot of detail。 I think it would’ve been a stronger read if the author had dived deeper into the labeling of the leaders （exploitation， denial of reality， pathological liar） I do think that they provided a diverse set of cults， and you never really hear about the childhoods of these people。 But， while reading， I found myself thinking…I could’ve wrote this （that’s not good i’m 15 😭） The sentences were choppy and read as a fact sheet rather than paragraphs。 The book had an introduction， but no conclusion。 I wish there was a section where the author tied all the stories together and gave his final thoughts。 。。。more
Buddy Scalera
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Tl;dr。 The writing was too dense。 The facts were too extensive。 It was like reading an list of facts on Wikipedia。
Brittany
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Cults is a nonfiction book that discuss various cults and the reasons why people join them。 I picked up this book on a whim when I saw one of my favorite true crime YouTuber's reading it。 I thought it was a really interesting read evne as someone who has studied a lot of cults。 I listen to a podcast called Cult Podcast that talks about cults in depth and so I had heard of most， if not all， of these cults。 I think this book would be a great one to read if you don't know as much about cults and wa Cults is a nonfiction book that discuss various cults and the reasons why people join them。 I picked up this book on a whim when I saw one of my favorite true crime YouTuber's reading it。 I thought it was a really interesting read evne as someone who has studied a lot of cults。 I listen to a podcast called Cult Podcast that talks about cults in depth and so I had heard of most， if not all， of these cults。 I think this book would be a great one to read if you don't know as much about cults and want to start off by learning about some of the big ones。 It was a really interesting read to get the backstory of the cult leaders and how they were able to influence people to join their groups。 This discuss how cults meet a certain need that people are looking for and their， usually， charismatic leaders are able to pull them in with the promise of meeting those needs and more。 Once the person is in， it's hard for them to leave due to that need being met and not wanting to lose everything they feel they have dedicated to the cults。 I also liked that this book talked about some of the bigger cults but also interspersed smaller cults。 While some cults were originally in the United States， it also discusses cults from other countries and showed how different belief systems were used to create a basis for the cults。 I also liked that with cults that took from certain belief systems， they wanted to make it clear that not every person in that belief system practices the way that certain cults did and actually condemned how certain cults acted。The reason this got four stars is that it talks about the psychology of cult leaders mostly。 I don't like the self-diagnosis of cult leaders using psychologists previous papers that discussed narcissism and megalomania that didn't reference those cult leaders。 I， personally， don't like self-diagnosing and while we can agree what these cult leaders did was egregious， I don't think we have a right to diagnose them without having a degree or background in psychology。Overall though， I think this is great book to pick up if you are just learning about cults。 It's a great jumping point to learn about their leaders， beliefs and get a general overview of cults。 。。。more
Momma’s Spooky Reads
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I loved this！ It’s extremely information heavy but in a good way。 I learned more about cult leaders I already knew （Manson， Koresh， Jim Jones） like their backgrounds and diagnoses that are only touched on in the documentaries I’ve watched。 This book also dives into leaders that are not as well known （Raël and Constanzo）。 I’ve listened to the Serial Killers podcast on Parcast Network for years and I’m excited to listen to the Cults podcast now as well！Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy！
Shayla Scott
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3。75 rating。 A solid read but not earth shattering。 Some of these groups I already knew about but learned something new about them and the ones that I didn't know， I was horrified by the gruesomeness of their actions。 3。75 rating。 A solid read but not earth shattering。 Some of these groups I already knew about but learned something new about them and the ones that I didn't know， I was horrified by the gruesomeness of their actions。 。。。more
Patricia Baker
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most interesting book about leaders who believed themselves to be godlike and developed followers mostly for bad things。 one of the most interesting leader was Roch Theriault whom I had never heard of but lived recently in Canada。 he reportedly performed abdominal surgery on a female follower extracting her intestines with his bare hands and had another female follower sew her back up with non sterile thread。 of course， she died quickly。 the same man used a razor blade on an infant causing his i most interesting book about leaders who believed themselves to be godlike and developed followers mostly for bad things。 one of the most interesting leader was Roch Theriault whom I had never heard of but lived recently in Canada。 he reportedly performed abdominal surgery on a female follower extracting her intestines with his bare hands and had another female follower sew her back up with non sterile thread。 of course， she died quickly。 the same man used a razor blade on an infant causing his immediate death。 in both these situations none of the followers felt the need to stop this mad man。 feel the misguided purpose of most of these leaders can somewhat be seen in a few of our current leaders。 。。。more
Marty
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The first chapter is about Manson。 Everyone knows about what he did but not about where it started。I’ve heard of some of the other cults in this book but not in any great detail。 This book gives a very good insight into each of the cults or religious groups。It’s scary how easy it is to start one。 Find vulnerable people and break their spirits， just to mould them into “servants”。Makes me question everything （especially as a women） about joining any group or making new friends。 Never listened to t The first chapter is about Manson。 Everyone knows about what he did but not about where it started。I’ve heard of some of the other cults in this book but not in any great detail。 This book gives a very good insight into each of the cults or religious groups。It’s scary how easy it is to start one。 Find vulnerable people and break their spirits， just to mould them into “servants”。Makes me question everything （especially as a women） about joining any group or making new friends。 Never listened to the podcast but moat of it seams to be easy found elsewhere since there seam to be the more famous cults。 。。。more
Sarah
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Cults by Max Cutler was a fascinating， alarming depiction of many of the major cults throughout the world。 I was only aware of a couple of them （Marilyn Manson， Jim Jones）， but there was so much I didn't know。 Part of me wished the book dove deeper into each rather than supply more of a basic overview， but this was an addictive book regardless。 Cults by Max Cutler was a fascinating， alarming depiction of many of the major cults throughout the world。 I was only aware of a couple of them （Marilyn Manson， Jim Jones）， but there was so much I didn't know。 Part of me wished the book dove deeper into each rather than supply more of a basic overview， but this was an addictive book regardless。 。。。more
Becka Dinner And a Book
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True life: I。 LOVE。 CULTS。 Cults is a deep dive into a number of cults — the history of its creator（s）， it’s members， and the journeys they embarked on。 Have I listened to just about every Cults podcast from Parcast on Spotify？ Yes。 Have I extensively looked into a TON of cults and watched countless documentaries？ Yes。 And did I STILL learn new things about the cults discussed in this book？ HECK YES。 There’s obviously trigger warnings for multiple forms of abuse， murder， suicide， trafficking， as True life: I。 LOVE。 CULTS。 Cults is a deep dive into a number of cults — the history of its creator（s）， it’s members， and the journeys they embarked on。 Have I listened to just about every Cults podcast from Parcast on Spotify？ Yes。 Have I extensively looked into a TON of cults and watched countless documentaries？ Yes。 And did I STILL learn new things about the cults discussed in this book？ HECK YES。 There’s obviously trigger warnings for multiple forms of abuse， murder， suicide， trafficking， assault — I’m definitely missing some - cults are busy bees that get into lots of trouble 👿 It’s an easy 🥰 （5/5） for me， not that it’s any shock to anyone who knows me😅。 。。。more
Haley Newlin
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Full Review Coming to Cemetery Dance - https://www。cemeterydance。com/extras/。。。The exceptional， well-researched， and thoroughness of the storytelling in Cutler and Conley's Cults makes this a standout read， even amongst some of the most acclaimed books about cults and their followers， like Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry。 Full Review Coming to Cemetery Dance - https://www。cemeterydance。com/extras/。。。The exceptional， well-researched， and thoroughness of the storytelling in Cutler and Conley's Cults makes this a standout read， even amongst some of the most acclaimed books about cults and their followers， like Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry。 。。。more
Elexndra
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Library borrow
Christine
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This book really opened my eyes to what some of the most notorious cult leaders have done。and continue to do to their victims and how they mess with the minds of a human so deceitfully！ Really opened my eyes this is a must read for sure
Jolanta （knygupe）
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Šiek tiek plačiau nei wikipedia "/ Šiek tiek plačiau nei wikipedia "/ 。。。more
Stephanie Gardner
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I was so annoyed by the format of this book that I just couldn’t get over it。 First page of chapter: summary。 First paragraph of first chapter: another summary？ Subsequent chapters: events presented in roughly chronological order with occasional， mostly uninspired insight。 For a book with the subtitle “understanding the people who joined [cults]，” there is almost nothing on members。 I’d stick to the variety of Netflix， etc。 documentaries available on these groups if you’re interested。
Barbara Waloven
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Eye opening accounts of 10 cults that all ended horrendously。 Themes are shame， exploitation， pathological lying， sadism， megalomania， escape， and denial of reality。 Some of these cults I had never even heard of and some are well known。 It always amazes me that people follow these （obvious to me） “disassociated from reality” leaders so faithfully。 Even when the followers recognize lies， sins， and wrongs they still believe the leader knows best。 I repeat…eye opening！
Manisha
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Listened to the audiobook。
Katy
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I've always been fascinated by cults。 What makes a person fall for something that seems so absurd to the rest of the world？ What drives them to do horrific things in the name of their group？ Where is the line between religion or a fandom and a cult？Cults by Max Cutler explores some of the most notorious cults in the world and tracks how their leaders rose to power。 It is based on the podcast of the same name。 I found that it did read much like a podcast。For the ones I have read about more extens I've always been fascinated by cults。 What makes a person fall for something that seems so absurd to the rest of the world？ What drives them to do horrific things in the name of their group？ Where is the line between religion or a fandom and a cult？Cults by Max Cutler explores some of the most notorious cults in the world and tracks how their leaders rose to power。 It is based on the podcast of the same name。 I found that it did read much like a podcast。For the ones I have read about more extensively like David Koresh， Jim Jones， and Charles Manson， this book offered a nice chapter long summary。 I was left wanting to know much more about the ones l was less familiar with。 I would say that this book offers a nice launch pad if you are wanting to learn more， but isn't definitive in any way。CW: sexual assault， sexual assault of minors， slavery， gaslighting， violence， murder， suicideThank you to the author， publisher， and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
OonaReads
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3。5 stars
Brianna
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I'm really perplexed as to why this book was released。。。 not because it was bad by any means， but because it did absolutely nothing to shed additional light on these cults or cults in general。 I'm really perplexed as to why this book was released。。。 not because it was bad by any means， but because it did absolutely nothing to shed additional light on these cults or cults in general。 。。。more
Bruce Bowman
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"Cults is more than just a compilation of grisly biographies。。。"Cults is a compilation of grisly biographies with a bit of "Sociology 205- The Sociology of Violent Religious Sects" thrown in for good measure。 This book provides an overview of some of the more homicidal cults the last 50 years， for anyone seeking such an overview。 Cult leaders and followers， like mass shooters and serial killers， all seem to be cut from the same cloth so the book actually became tedious after awhile。This book's b "Cults is more than just a compilation of grisly biographies。。。"Cults is a compilation of grisly biographies with a bit of "Sociology 205- The Sociology of Violent Religious Sects" thrown in for good measure。 This book provides an overview of some of the more homicidal cults the last 50 years， for anyone seeking such an overview。 Cult leaders and followers， like mass shooters and serial killers， all seem to be cut from the same cloth so the book actually became tedious after awhile。This book's bibliography relies heavily on websites and is generally very weak。 Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple had only one website listed as a source。 Given the body of literature available on Jonestown， one can't help but wonder how much research went into "Cults" Jones entry。 The same concern applies to the other entries as well。 In summary， "Cults" was OK。 Just OK。 。。。more
Talk Supe
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If you just started dipping your toes in the morbidly fascinating world of cults， then I highly recommend you read this book。 Unfortunately for me， I’ve read and watched quite a few cult-based books and documentaries so this didn’t offer a lot of new information for me。 Half the people mentioned here have several books/docus written about them already: Koresh， Manson， Applewhite， Renier。 I wish this featured other notable cult leaders around the world or even lesser known ones whose followers ma If you just started dipping your toes in the morbidly fascinating world of cults， then I highly recommend you read this book。 Unfortunately for me， I’ve read and watched quite a few cult-based books and documentaries so this didn’t offer a lot of new information for me。 Half the people mentioned here have several books/docus written about them already: Koresh， Manson， Applewhite， Renier。 I wish this featured other notable cult leaders around the world or even lesser known ones whose followers may be low but are still active to this day。 。。。more
Annamarie Davidson
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I knew I 5-stars-loved this book when I kept being unable to shut up about it with friends and family。 Even with the stories that I knew about prior to reading， like the Manson Family and Heaven's Gate， I still found myself fascinated。 Some of the cults I was unaware of， like the Ant Hill Kids and the Narcosatanists。 I was taken aback， horrified， and engrossed。。。 in the best way possible。 I couldn't put this book down and I might download the podcast to quench my "Cults" hangover。 I would recomm I knew I 5-stars-loved this book when I kept being unable to shut up about it with friends and family。 Even with the stories that I knew about prior to reading， like the Manson Family and Heaven's Gate， I still found myself fascinated。 Some of the cults I was unaware of， like the Ant Hill Kids and the Narcosatanists。 I was taken aback， horrified， and engrossed。。。 in the best way possible。 I couldn't put this book down and I might download the podcast to quench my "Cults" hangover。 I would recommend this book if you are as interested in reading about psychology and narcissistics， just don't read the Ant Hill Kids section before bed。 。。。more
Betsy
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Cults: Inside the World's Most Notorious Groups and Understanding People Who Joined Them is a very good overview on a variety of cults。 I’ve dipped my toe into some great true crimes books these days for a combination of writing research & mere curiosity。 Cults are my favorite subgenre of true crime so I thought this would be an interesting book to look at。 What I like about it is that it as a great overview of a wide variety of cults， as most of the books I’ve read are going into depth on one c Cults: Inside the World's Most Notorious Groups and Understanding People Who Joined Them is a very good overview on a variety of cults。 I’ve dipped my toe into some great true crimes books these days for a combination of writing research & mere curiosity。 Cults are my favorite subgenre of true crime so I thought this would be an interesting book to look at。 What I like about it is that it as a great overview of a wide variety of cults， as most of the books I’ve read are going into depth on one cult。 （The exception is Amanda Montrell’s Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism， which provides an insightful view on the rhetoric groups take when they exhibit cult-like behavior） Max Culter’s book is also a great thumbnail overview of cults I am familiar with like the Moonies and People’s Temple as well as a good introduction to cults that I haven’t heard of before picking up this book。 Cults makes for a great supplemental reference guide for people who want to study the phenomenon of cults。However， the flip end to this being a great overview and reference guide is that the writing style is very dry。 The result of this writing style may be that people who are very curious about the subject matter are most likely to read the entire book。 While much of my education on cults has been through podcasts and audiobooks， I have not listened to the podcast Cults that the book is based on。 Perhaps listening to the podcast would help compliment the direction of the book。 However， I did enjoy the well-researched content， the writing style just may be more suitable for an academic audience or an audience that already has an enthusiasm for the topic or anyone who wants a reference guide on their shelf。Thank you Netgalley for my copy of this ARC。I also am providing this review on my blog: http://glamorousbookgal。blogspot。com/。。。 。。。more
Aimee LaGrandeur
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While I’m not a big fan of true crime， I do understand the gruesome fascination with cults。 I thought this was a through and interesting overview of the most infamous cults in recent memory but I have two main gripes。 First， the book lacks the structure of other sociology & psychology books in which they establish concepts and definitions。 I don’t know if that’s a product of the chapters being adapted from podcasts， but I do know it was annoying to be reintroduced to the same concept each time i While I’m not a big fan of true crime， I do understand the gruesome fascination with cults。 I thought this was a through and interesting overview of the most infamous cults in recent memory but I have two main gripes。 First， the book lacks the structure of other sociology & psychology books in which they establish concepts and definitions。 I don’t know if that’s a product of the chapters being adapted from podcasts， but I do know it was annoying to be reintroduced to the same concept each time it was applied to a new cult。 Second， no conclusion！ We just drop off from the mass suicide of Heaven’s Gate straight into the author thanking his mom in the acknowledgements， which was jarring to say the least。 。。。more
Jamie Rutland
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I enjoyed this book。 Very informative。 If you like reading about true events or if you enjoy informational podcasts， then I highly recommend this book。
M Clausen
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I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review。 I very much enjoyed this book， particularly the chapter on Charlie Manson。 The chapter on the Mormons was pretty eye-opening and comparable to some political campaigns today。 I recommend this book。 It works reading it in spurts。
Caitie
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Everyone wants to believe in something or someone: a higher ideal， a god on Earth， a voice from heaven， an intelligence beyond our own。 When this appetite for belief combines with the need to belong， great things can happen: nations are born， temples and cathedrals rise， astronauts land on the moon。 The need to belong is a powerful instinct。This was an interesting look at several different cults and why people felt the need to join them。 Cutler goes into several cults， including Jim Jones and th Everyone wants to believe in something or someone: a higher ideal， a god on Earth， a voice from heaven， an intelligence beyond our own。 When this appetite for belief combines with the need to belong， great things can happen: nations are born， temples and cathedrals rise， astronauts land on the moon。 The need to belong is a powerful instinct。This was an interesting look at several different cults and why people felt the need to join them。 Cutler goes into several cults， including Jim Jones and the People's Temple， the events in Waco， Texas and even some I'd never heard of， like a group in Oregon who wanted to poison elected officials to gain control of the town。 The quote above is from the introduction， and the author is correct that people are sometimes desperate to belong somewhere， and this desperation can lead to dangerous results。 Sometimes with belonging comes wanting to believe something bigger than yourself， which is why many of these cults are semi-religious based。 However， I didn't give this a full five stars because I did like this， I guess just wanted more about why people joined them， at times it felt surface level。 Still very good， it's written well and I'm glad the chapters were broken down into chunks that were digestible。 。。。more
Holly
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Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery books for the ARC。 I really enjoyed this book。 It was clearly well researched （a strong bibliography says a lot about an author）。 Each chapter was comprehensive， well written， and clearly explained。 The only two issues I really had were 。 I would have enjoyed a second female cult leader to be included， and the introductions in each chapter were a little long so it felt a little repetitive later on。 This is a great work for anyone who wants a deep dive into spec Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery books for the ARC。 I really enjoyed this book。 It was clearly well researched （a strong bibliography says a lot about an author）。 Each chapter was comprehensive， well written， and clearly explained。 The only two issues I really had were 。 I would have enjoyed a second female cult leader to be included， and the introductions in each chapter were a little long so it felt a little repetitive later on。 This is a great work for anyone who wants a deep dive into specific cults and their leaders！ 。。。more
_Ex_Libris_Animus_
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