The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple by Jeff Guinn
Purchase The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple here
In Search of the End of the Sidewalk
Purchase The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple here
In Search of the End of the Sidewalk 
Great review! 🙂
I also thought I knew the story until reading that book and was surprised by how much more complicated it was, particularly Jones’s early career. He really did do a lot of admirable things before it went off the rails. I had also always really had difficulty understanding the mass suicide angle and why so many people would go along with it, but it made so much more sense after reading Guinn’s book.
I was particularly drawn in by the opening pages, when he starts with the Guyanese forces sent to deal with the aftermath, who stumble upon this horrific scene with no forewarning. It was a perspective I had never seen addressed before, and even though I knew what they were going to find, it was so suspenseful! It was in that moment that I was thinking, “This is going to be a great book!”
By the way, I mentioned on Facebook the topic of his new book. I finally found the article that discusses it. Not an official announcement but an intriguing mention about his current research.
https://www.newsleader.com/story/news/local/history/2018/02/13/celebrity-vagabonds-edison-ford-firestone-and-burroughs-had-staunton-stopover-1918/332293002/
I keep lobbying for him to be invited to our local annual book festival. Maybe we’ll get him one of these years!
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