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64 reviews for:
The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of Nxivm
Chet Hardin, Toni Natalie
3.61 AVERAGE
64 reviews for:
The Program: Inside the Mind of Keith Raniere and the Rise and Fall of Nxivm
Chet Hardin, Toni Natalie
3.61 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
DNF'd at 38% might just not be the right time for me.
This was not my first dive into the world of NXIVM, and I think having background knowledge worked to my benefit as a reader. Having listened to the CBC Uncover podcast on the same topic, I already knew about some of the more horrific details towards the end of Raniere's power.
This book focuses more on the beginnings of NXIVM, and how Raniere was able to gain the trust of his earlier followers and lovers. Toni Natalie goes into great detail about the business and economic side of NXIVM's formation. In fact, the more publicized aspects of the case aren't discussed until the last quarter of the book. I think that this is an important perspective on a fascinating case.
If you aren't already familiar with NXIVM or you aren't interested in the ethics of MLM companies, I would suggest reading or listening to some of the other journalism pieces about this subject first. I would absolutely recommend this book if you are interested in taking a deep dive into the horrific story, from someone who was part of it from the early stages.
This book focuses more on the beginnings of NXIVM, and how Raniere was able to gain the trust of his earlier followers and lovers. Toni Natalie goes into great detail about the business and economic side of NXIVM's formation. In fact, the more publicized aspects of the case aren't discussed until the last quarter of the book. I think that this is an important perspective on a fascinating case.
If you aren't already familiar with NXIVM or you aren't interested in the ethics of MLM companies, I would suggest reading or listening to some of the other journalism pieces about this subject first. I would absolutely recommend this book if you are interested in taking a deep dive into the horrific story, from someone who was part of it from the early stages.
I'm bailing at 43%. I should not be this bored this far in, not while listening to the audiobook (even speeding it up to 2.25x didn't help). For such a crazy cult, the author escaped pretty early on before the insane sex branding/Alison Mack crap happened. So she was there for most of the boring pyramid scheme type business failures and Raniere's borrowing from other cult like groups to form the beginning of NXIVM. Keith Raniere is definitely a sociopathic narcissist with masochist behavior, but he's also boring as hell. I'm not saying I couldn't fall for a cult (I mean, a bookish one would totally have my number), but how Keith Raniere mind-bamboozled so many people is astounding. I'm glad Toni Natalie made it out, and I've no doubt she's been through a shitstorm of crazy from Raniere and his acolytes, but I just couldn't get over the more mundane aspects of the cult.