This book is on the surface about the Jonestown massacre of 1978 in Guyana. But it is about much more than that. Naipaul brings a brilliant mix of on the ground journalism and insightful analysis to examine this tragedy and how it came about. From looking at the history of Guyana and its mix of socialist rhetoric and Third World corruption. To the eclectic mix of movements in California, from left wing radicals to zany new age to zealous fundamentalism, which Jim Jones swam in and steered through. Interviews with people from Huey Newton to Clark Kerr, to former survivors, detractors, government officials in Guyana, and many more, there is no book like this.

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