{"product_id":"the-penguin-book-of-cults-paperback","title":"The Penguin Book of Cults - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJoseph P. Laycock\u003c\/b\u003e (Editor)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA chilling documentary history of the most notorious cults of the past two thousand years, from the Celtic druids whose ritual sacrifices inspired the folk horror film \u003ci\u003eThe Wicker Man \u003c\/i\u003eall the way up to the Peoples Temple and Heaven's Gate \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA Penguin Classic \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe word \"cult\" conjures images of people in thrall to a charismatic leader who extracts obedience through lies and threats, and of apocalyptic prophecies, ritual sacrifices, sexual perversion, and mass suicide. \u003ci\u003eThe Penguin Book of Cults \u003c\/i\u003echarts the history of our fear of the religious other: the arrest and public execution of thousands of members of an ancient Roman cult devoted to Bacchus, the god of wine; the burning alive of victims in giant wicker effigies as an offering to Celtic gods; the nocturnal orgies, murder of children, and demon worship of medieval heretics; a church of \"human vampires\" in nineteenth-century Kansas City; moral panics over the hypnotic powers of yoga; and mass casualty events like the sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBringing to light little-known sources such as a \"death tape\" of Jonestown's final hour, when Jim Jones led more than 900 of his followers to drink poison, and a minute-by-minute log of the FBI's final assault on the Branch Davidian headquarters, and including accounts of drinking the blood of sacrificed cats, theories that we are living inside a hollow earth, and reports that space brothers from Venus are coming to redeem us from the threat of nuclear war, this volume opens a fascinating window into cults and why some of them have ended in spectacular violence. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePenguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJoseph P. Laycock \u003c\/b\u003e(editor) is an associate professor of religious studies at Texas State University; coeditor of \u003ci\u003eNova Religio\u003c\/i\u003e, the premier journal for the study of new religious movements; the author of several books about new religious movements, possession and exorcism, and moral panic; and the editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Penguin Book of Exorcisms\u003c\/i\u003e. He has written for \u003ci\u003eQuartz\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe New Republic\u003c\/i\u003e and been featured on the television documentary series \u003ci\u003eMysteries Decoded \u003c\/i\u003eand The History Channel's \u003ci\u003eHoly Marvels with Dennis Quaid \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe UnXplained with William Shatner\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 304\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.6 x 7.6 x 5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 07, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51966623711533,"sku":"9780143138693","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0938\/3185\/6429\/files\/3PtE0o3-W-9780143138693.webp?v=1775534939","url":"https:\/\/ishookbooks.com\/products\/the-penguin-book-of-cults-paperback","provider":"iShook Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}