A Thousand Lives

I just got done reading "A Thousand Lives" by Julia Scheeres.

It is about Jim Jones and the Jonestown mass suicide/murder.
I know that may sound awful to some people, but I thought it was really interesting. It's a famous story that most people know of or have at least heard about...maybe your knowledge of Jim Jones only goes as far as the phrase "don't drink the kool-aid".  That is all I knew before reading this book.  However, now I know facts about the years leading up to Jim Jones' plan to kill all his followers, and the path that lead to the death of so many.

It's fascinating that a book can show you a whole different side to a story.  It can tell the parts of peoples lives that you don't get in the quick synopsis of a terrible event in history.
The book exposed the life of Jim Jones and tracked his downward spiral into a man who manipulated, lied, and controlled the lives of a thousand plus followers.  It's terrifying to think that this only happened a little over 3 decades ago.  It's also terrifying to think that one person can get away with such a betrayal. It made me wonder how a person could even want to control the lives of everyone around them, let alone destroy the lives of that many people.
Luckily, most people who do lead groups of worship or a particular belief system do not want to hurt and mislead their followers.  Many try approaches of honesty and understanding.

I haven't read a novel recently and for some reason have been drawn to non-fiction.  I love that you can learn so much about a specific topic without being forced to take a class or crack open a dull text book. Instead, books like "A Thousand Lives" can educate through insight and empathy.  I think that makes it worth reading. Anything that makes you look at the world around you with a little more knowledge and curiosity is a must read in my opinion.