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kdbrumbach 's review for:
Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown
by Candace Fleming
challenging
dark
informative
sad
medium-paced
Candace Fleming does an outstanding job telling the real and deeply tragic story of the People’s Temple, led by Jim Jones. A charismatic preacher turned socialist who led his followers into a gruesome death in their Guyanese settlement, Jonestown. Fleming tells the story matter-of-factly in language accessible to YA readers. She is sensitive and respectful to the victims and survivors and tells the story through their eyes.
Teen readers who are into true crime or cult documentaries will be drawn to this book because of the popular myths surrounding the event and the lurid details, but they will hopefully be educated and come to have empathy for the humanity of the people of the People’s Temple. Fleming clearly explains that these people were not sheep, blindly following a master. They mostly, did not die of suicide, but were murdered or left with only the grimmest of choices after years of mental and physical abuse. Fleming traces the story beginning with Jim Jones’ childhood through the founding of his “church” as a beacon of social justice, anti-racism, and equality in the turbulent sixties. Before Jones succumbed to drug abuse and paranoia, his church probably did help people and it was those acts of service that represented egalitarian ideals that drew people in. It was Jones’s charisma and talent for manipulating people as individuals and as a community that made them stay.
This work is the result of deep and incredibly thorough research. Fleming provides pages of sources and citations providing a solid sense of credibility and integrity in her reporting. I highly recommend this book for readers who feel they can grapple with the dark and difficult subject matter.
Teen readers who are into true crime or cult documentaries will be drawn to this book because of the popular myths surrounding the event and the lurid details, but they will hopefully be educated and come to have empathy for the humanity of the people of the People’s Temple. Fleming clearly explains that these people were not sheep, blindly following a master. They mostly, did not die of suicide, but were murdered or left with only the grimmest of choices after years of mental and physical abuse. Fleming traces the story beginning with Jim Jones’ childhood through the founding of his “church” as a beacon of social justice, anti-racism, and equality in the turbulent sixties. Before Jones succumbed to drug abuse and paranoia, his church probably did help people and it was those acts of service that represented egalitarian ideals that drew people in. It was Jones’s charisma and talent for manipulating people as individuals and as a community that made them stay.
This work is the result of deep and incredibly thorough research. Fleming provides pages of sources and citations providing a solid sense of credibility and integrity in her reporting. I highly recommend this book for readers who feel they can grapple with the dark and difficult subject matter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail