I really enjoyed reading this take on some very famous cults. I think the author really address the similarities that exist in cult leaders. It was a bit dry in places but overall it had some very riveting pieces. The writing was a bit complex at times Lik the author wanted to use his word of the day. Overall a great book and synopsis of a variety of cults that have existed over the years.

I enjoy the podcast and I really enjoyed this book. There is so much content out now about cults but I really enjoyed how this book was written and I’ve recommended it to multiple people.

First of all, what the hell people?! Secondly, there should be some sort of IQ test or psych evaluation before people are allowed to read Book of Revelations. Because people either don’t know how to read or think too highly of themselves and go start a cult. Let me tell you buddy: nope, you are not the next messiah and nope, the world doesn’t revolve around you

It must be the trend especially in 60s and 70s where people think they all have “greater” purpose than just being good old normal human being. Everyone had these grandiose ideas about how they were the messengers and other should be in their service. While there were bunch of people like that, there seemed to be a lot of directionless, guileless people who were waiting to be convinced and put in use. Some cults in this book are very famous ones, even if you don’t have any interest in true crime you would have heard about them. And there are others, that are not spoken of as frequent, will blow your mind.

I pretty much listen to all Parcast podcasts (sometimes to put myself to sleep), so I was happy to see that all these major cults from the namesake podcast were collected in one place. If you a true crime fan, you’ll very much enjoy this book. It gives good amount of background without boring you.

Very good way to get into the cults that are included in this book, I knew a lot about Charles Manson and Jim Jones already but for other ones like the Ant hill kids it was very interesting to learn about.

*I received this copy of Cults from NetGalley and Gallery Books as an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to read and review!*

This book was great! If you are looking for factual information and thorough background information about the people behind infamous cults, this is a perfect text for you. This is a dense book, but ultimately fascinating as it provides information as to the potential "whys" behind the studied people. I would absolutely recommend this if you are interested in studying cults, deviant behavior, sociology, or love podcasts about these topics.

I really liked the idea of this book. I have knowledge of about half of these cases, but wanted to get new insight on those as well as learn about the ones I was unfamiliar with. I found myself interested in the cases but a little bit bored with how they were presented. I found myself skipping various long passages because they seemed unnecessary. I think I would have a preferred a more conversational tone, and I felt the book was more like looking at almost an encyclopedia rather than a true crime book. I also found that for me the book felt extremely long because of the writing style. I did still enjoy learning about the cases I hadn't previously heard of so I gave the book 3 stars.

Cults are a complicated subject that we don't fully understand how to identify, protect people from, and where to draw the line between what is a cult and what isn't.
This book by Max Cutler doesn't answer any of the questions the way I had hoped he would. Feeling like a surface layer look at 10 different cults, this book didn't give me any new or interesting takes on the cults discussed. Beyond Manson and Jonestown I will say the cults discussed were new and interesting. Or at least less popular cults to explore so THAT was very enjoyable.
I should also add I didn't realize this was based on the podcast when I picked it up. I gave up on the Cults podcast pretty early when I listened, so hearing it was based on the podcast did make me more hesitant about the book. Thankfully, beyond having most of the same information and reading like a quickly researched essay, it didn't bother me as much as the podcast does.

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!

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😅.

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, suicide

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this book! It was fascinating and full of information. This is the first nonfiction page-turner I have read in a while. If you are at all interested, pick this up!

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 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.

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 who wants a reference guide on their shelf.

Thank you Netgalley for my copy of this ARC.

This was ok. I am having a hard time leaving a helpful review because it is nonfiction… and it was a bit dense for me - but again it’s nonfiction and so this makes total sense… I did feel like the writing could have been a little more engaging - but it was most definitely informational.

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!

In recent years I've become more and more interested in cults and religions, mainly the psychology of their followers. I like dissecting how followers and leaders arrive at their ways of thinking through personal histories, rituals, and group validation. Max Cutler has written something of a "top ten" compilation and I absolutely devoured every word. Each chapter focuses on a different cult:
Charles Manson and The Family
Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo and The Narcosatanists
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Jim Jones and The People's Temple
Claude Vorilhon and Raëlism
Roch Thériault and The Ant Hill Kids
David Koresh and The Branch Davidians
Keith Raniere and NXIVM
Credonia Mwerinde and The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
Marshall Applewhite and Heaven's Gate
I was pretty familiar with Marshall Applewhite and Heaven's Gate because their mass suicide (the largest mass suicide in US history) occurred on March 26, 1997. My daughter was born 2 months prior so I was awake at all hours watching TV while the news ran this all on a loop. I also knew quite a bit about Charles Manson and The Family, Jim Jones and The People's Temple, David Koresh and The Branch Davidians, and Keith Raniere and NXIVM, but I still learned a lot from each chapter. The others I had never even heard of so I was definitely shocked by all of their contents. A couple of super interesting facts regarding Credonia Mwerinde and The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God, are:

1. She has a higher death toll than the mass suicide/deaths at Jonestown (which was 914 members) but because there were so many unverified killings and mass graves that her total death toll is unknown.
2. She took a bus out of town after one of her mass killings and has never been found!

I wasn't super into the Cults podcast itself, but I am very interested in cults and what leads people to become cult leaders, as well as cult members. This book was a thorough look into various big cults such as Manson, Jim Jones, and NXIVM. I am very interested in all of these, so this was an entertaining read. However, BIG trigger warnings throughout!!

I have been a fan of the Cults podcast for years so when I had the opportunity to read this I jumped.

Cutler and Conley brought an eye opening spread of some truly notorious cult leaders and the WHY of it all that makes cults bring in members. I have always been fascinated by the mechanics and the behaviors that give these leaders the ability to make people see them as how they want to be seen.

I enjoyed this one, though a lot of this is covered in the podcast through various episodes. This was just a different avenue.

I'm a huge fan of the Cults podcast so when I found out there was a book, of course I had to jump on it. Unfortunately, because I'm a fan and because I've also read a lot of other publications about many of the cults covered by the book, I felt like there was a lot of repetition. It's well-written and covers some of the most well-known cults, so it's a great starting point for people who want to learn more, but if you're expecting new ground, unfortunately this isn't the book for you.