Road to Jonestown
Jim Jones and Peoples Temple
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Road to Jonestown
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Narrated by:
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George Newbern
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By:
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Jeff Guinn
About this listen
The definitive story of preacher Jim Jones, who was responsible for the Jonestown Massacre, the largest murder-suicide in American history, by the New York Times bestselling author of Manson.
In the 1950s, a young Indianapolis minister named Jim Jones preached a curious blend of the gospel and Marxism. His congregation was racially mixed, and he was a leader in the early civil rights movement. Eventually, Jones moved his church, Peoples Temple, to northern California, where he got involved in electoral politics and became a prominent Bay Area leader. But underneath the surface lurked a terrible darkness.
In this riveting narrative, Jeff Guinn examines Jones’s life, from his early days as an idealistic minister to a secret life of extramarital affairs, drug use, and fraudulent faith healing, before the fateful decision to move almost a thousand of his followers to a settlement in the jungles of Guyana in South America. Guinn provides stunning new details of the events leading to the fatal day in November, 1978 when more than nine hundred people died—including almost three hundred infants and children—after being ordered to swallow a cyanide-laced drink.
Guinn examined thousands of pages of FBI files on the case, including material released during the course of his research. He traveled to Jones’s Indiana hometown, where he spoke to people never previously interviewed, and uncovered fresh information from Jonestown survivors. He even visited the Jonestown site with the same pilot who flew there the day that Congressman Leo Ryan was murdered on Jones’s orders. The Road to Jonestown is “the most complete picture to date of this tragic saga, and of the man who engineered it…The result is a disturbing portrait of evil—and a compassionate memorial to those taken in by Jones’s malign charisma” (San Francisco Chronicle).
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Critic reviews
2018 Edgar Award Finalist—Best Fact Crime
“A thoroughly readable, thoroughly chilling account of a brilliant con man and his all-too vulnerable prey” (The Boston Globe)
What listeners say about Road to Jonestown
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Anoushka P.A. Anderson
- 21-04-18
Interesting
By the end of this audio book I was glad I had persevered and listened to it all. However, it does seem to drag in parts with detailed accounts of the upbringing and background of Jim Jones and some others. It is worth sticking with it, but I did feel disappointed that the chapters on events in Jonestown were left to the last 8 or so chapters and I would have enjoyed more details about how once they arrived at Jonestown the 918 who died had slowly been lead to their deaths. I was also disappointed that they skipped over the old lady who slept through the events that night presumed dead, as I have read other information about how she woke up to find the bodies. More information on her would have been an interesting addition.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Calum Francis Dougan
- 22-04-18
The definitive book on Jim & The Peoples Temple.
I've delved into a lot of information on Jonestown over the years. From 5 hour long podcasts to TV documentaries and this is by far the best coverage of Jim's life and also the lives followers I've come across. It's got a perfect balance of readability and detail. If you are interested in anything to do with Jonestown you'll find it here.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alyssa
- 07-03-22
Superb!
Fabulously narrated, a very respectful telling of what must have been a very difficult story to read. Wonderfully written, if you like learning about this sort of thing, ( which I really do! ) then I 100 percent recommend. Not enough stars here! Simply a great book, very educational, fascinating read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sean Larkin
- 20-04-21
couldn't stop listening
the story is so crazy its nearly hard to comprehend. how it gets from innocent beginnings to that fateful day in Guatemala is an amazing story and one ill think about a lot in the next few days. really worth the listen as the story building up to the tragedy is a real trip in it's self.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Clare McKeown
- 03-06-24
Brilliant and sad
The narrator was really good and kept me wanting to listen to more. The story went into so much detail, which was exactly what I wanted. So many other books don't give such insight.
Even though I knew the ending, it still moved me to tears.
Please get this book if you love true crime and want it told so well.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tim
- 20-02-21
Excellent audiobook
A great insight into the rise and fall of Jim Jones, the book was great at making me want to research more into the events leading up to Jonestown. Great performance, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject or cults in general.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ague
- 08-02-23
Lovely reader
I knew the story in depth and still enjoyed the book.
Terrible story. Listening to the book helps understand why this happened.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Leon Wood
- 14-09-22
Enlightening
I had only heard the headline points about Jonestown prior to listening to this book. The whole story has amazing background history on the individuals involved in the story.
The story seems balanced in the reporting and handles horrific incidents with respect.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- david mitchell
- 14-02-22
A detailed analysis
The book has lots of detail about the growth of Peoples Temple, and provides an insight into the gradual shift from well-meaning church to full-blown cult.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 22-03-23
Tragic story
Very insightful book into one of the greatest tragedies of living memory. Jim Jones was the ultimate manipulator
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