Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown

Gr 8 Up–Fleming tackles the harrowing story of the Jonestown massacre, at which over 900 people, one-third of whom were children, died in a mass murder-suicide at the direction of Peoples Temple cult leader Jim Jones in Guyana in 1978. She covers how by preaching racial equality and faith healing, Jones, a white, charismatic Pentecostal preacher, founded his church in a poor, segregated section of 1950s Indianapolis. His ministry quickly became popular, particularly among African Americans. Fearing nuclear attack, in 1965, he moved his church and followers to northern California, where he started a communal living compound. He soon expanded, amassing a few thousand followers who signed over everything from their property to even guardianship of their children. Some members became disillusioned, and a few managed to leave, but overall numbers grew. By the early 1970s, Jones renounced all religion, was an avowed socialist, and lived a drug-addicted, paranoid life, controlling every aspect of his followers’ lives. In 1978, reports of financial misconduct and physical abuse led to a Congressional visit and the murder of visiting officials, the antecedent to Jones’s order for “revolutionary suicide.” Fleming’s writing is riveting as she adeptly chronicles Jones’s motivations, appeal, and downward spiral of his mental state while compassionately portraying the heartbreaking account of many victims. Extensive documentation shows her detailed research, including interviews with survivors interested in seeing their story told as a cautionary tale for young people.