Zealot: A Book About Cults

Zealot is an admirable work, well researched and delivered in a breezy, irreverent style that I enjoyed.Many deaths of cult members are discussed, some voluntary, like Heavens Gate, but most may be considered murder. And one should not let the light tone detract from the horror of most of these organizations.The commonalities are interesting, narcissistic leaders, obsession with the Book of Revelations, sex, more sex, and an over arching paranoiaRead this book, learn and marvel at the basic human need for family, community, and someone to make all the decisions.But don't join a cult, they rarely end well

I am a huge fan of the Zealot podcast and love Jo's wit and sarcasm. I LOVE the fact that her same wit and sarcasm transferred to the writing of this book! It was an excellent read and I truly enjoyed it!!Adrianne

Jo is thoughtful, well researched, sympathetic to the victims, and wickedly funny. Highly recommend.

Being only a Yank, I knew nothing about this author when I bought this as an Audible selection. What a romp! The author states frankly that she got interested and wrote the book as an excuse to look into cults - and what she found! Even with cult stories I'd heard before, such as Jonestown, this irreverent-yet-accurate retelling and inimitable delivery make this well worth the reader's time. Treat yourself to the unabridged audio read by the author, and you'll be laughing out loud in traffic, with the bonus that you will then make your fellow motorists very uneasy about That Driver Next To Them.

This book is fantastic and I couldn't put it down. I listen to the podcast regularly and didn't think the book would be that interesting, since these stories have been covered on the podcast already, but I was wrong. The book is outstanding in that it is very well written. It gives additional details on each cult in a style that is both tragic and hilarious. I recommend it highly. Well done!!!

I adored the narration of the audio book but the book itself helped me have something to reference and source in a psycho-biography for university. Very informative to say the least.