I requested this book because, in general, I find cults fascinating, and because a friend told me she had just watched a really interesting documentary on NXIVM. However, this book was just not for me. It felt like just a very long description of a bad pyramid scheme that had attracted some minor celebrities. There were far too many "characters" and while the writing style was fine, the topic just did not hold my interest. If you find the NXIVM cult and it's trial interesting, this would be great to read.

A detailed, through and meticulously researched book of investigative journalism about the infamous NXIVM cult. Riveting reading indeed. Clearly and accessibly written, it kept me absorbed – and often horrified – throughout. Avoids sensationalism – just presents the facts. A compelling book – and an important one as it explores how such cults become so successful in duping the people who get caught up in them.

When I saw the cover for Sarah Berman's Don't Call it a Cult, I knew I needed to read this book.

If you haven't heard of Keith Raniere and the NXIVM cult, where have you been? Unfortunately, I am all too familiar with this cult, as I am from the area. The rumors about the dangers were rampant for years.

As well, I watched HBO's The Vow and learned ever more about the details.

This book gave me even more of an insight into this insane cult. I am still in shock.

If you've heard of NXIVM and want to learn more, read this book.

If you are interested in how people fall into cults, read this book.

The author gives an in-depth recounting of how NXIVM started and how it all evolved, as well as how it unraveled and details of the trials.

This is a heavy read that is not easy to consume. But it's all too realistic and riveting.

Don't Call it a Cult is a fascinating read. I know I'll be recommending this book to many of my friends and family.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. I literally couldn’t put this book down and finished in one reading. The twists and turns that come after will give you whiplash. I literally couldn’t put this down until I found out the truth. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you Sarah Berman, for really diving into this story and giving us a complete look at the way this horrible man worked his way up to destroying so many lives. I still can’t wrap my head around it to be honest. I’ve watched many documentary’s on this guy/Cult, and they are all great, but this went into so much more detail and background. I hope the women and men most affected can go on with their lives. Especially those who didn’t know what was really going on.

Expertly written and researched. There's just SO MANY LAYERS to this story but the base - the crux of the story is that Keith Raniere is a manipulative liar.


Blech.

I am definitely in the minority but I just could not get into this book. That really surprised me since it was such a bizarre real life story and I was especially drawn to it since my kids and I had watched 9 1/2 seasons of Smallville (star Allison Mack was heavily involved in NXIVM). To my surprise, I found it incredibly dull. Another reviewer described it as "unputdownable" but I found it "unpickupable." I kept telling myself to just open it and read one more chapter to get closer to finishing it and being done with it.

Why was it not a hit with me? First off, there's an incredibly long cast of characters who were nearly impossible for me to keep straight. There were so many women who were business partners or financial backers or girlfriends or whatever, and I felt like I needed Cliff notes to remember who she was ever talking about. Secondly, it's incredibly heavy on details. This goes all the way back to the beginnings and tells you everything that happened, starting with Raniere's college days and the start of the company as some sort of MLM company. Thirdly, there are no photographs at all. Berman frequently went to great lengths to describe people, and I found myself hopping out of Kindle to just google them and try to find out what they looked like. It would have been made so much better with copious photographs, news clippings, etc. Lastly, it just read like the world's longest article. It was all terrible stuff that happened to people, and it was just chapter upon chapter of details about it.

Ultimately, this wasn't a book that I enjoyed or would read again. If you want to know the full history of this *sshole and all the awful stuff these people did, then this will definitely give it to you.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

Don't Call it a Cult takes a deep dive into the inner workings of NXIVM, Keith Raniere, and those closest to them. The book follows the story from the beginning of Keith Raniere's career in multi level marketing campaigns all the way through his downfall and trial.

This book may be one of the best well done nonfictions I have ever read. The flow and organization of the facts made it so effortless to follow the story in a very linear way. It was so easy to follow the facts and, even though there were a lot of players in the story, the organization made it easy to follow who was who.

I went into this book thinkin that I knew a lot about NXIVM. Turns out I did. However, there was so much more that I did not know. I kept looking up from reading and looking around the room trying to wrap my brain around how just truly abusive, coercive, and wrong this whole thing it. The fact that there were women at the top encouraging it too is just baffling to me. I was mortified, intrigued, floored, and disgusted all at once. Few books have ever made me feel that way. This is a must read nonfiction for anyone interested in group think, cults, abuse, or just learning about the worst things humans can do to one another.

This book is long, like really long but I guess what's that happens when you write a book about one of the most insidious cults in the last 20 years. The author leaves no stone unturned and breaks it up into sections based on the groups history. A lot of it is common knowledge if you've watched any TV shows or documentaries on NXIVM. A lot of it is hard to read too, especially when you get to the sexual grooming. Hopefully in another 20 years we'll look back at this as a text book to learn from our mistakes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking for an advanced copy of this book, Below is my honest opinion.

I remember vague mentions of NXIVM in the news a few years back, but I didn't follow the headlines closely. I knew there were some actresses, unknown to me, who were in trouble for some type of cult-like activities. And while I am always fascinated by cults, the sixty-second news clips as the story is unfolding aren't enough. When I saw this book was coming out I knew I wanted to read all about what actually happened inside the supposed self-help group.

This book was fantastic. Sarah Berman effortlessly pulled me in with her easy-to-follow writing. The book starts out with a lengthy cast of characters, which can be intimidating at times. I worried I wouldn't be able to keep the various people involved straight but it didn't wind up being a problem. Berman almost never inserted herself into the story unless absolutely necessary which I appreciate so much in a true-crime book. The research was thorough and the writing was engaging.

I would recommend this book for fans of true crime or readers who are curious about what happened to make so many smart, successful women get involved with an organization that ultimately did more harm than good. Beware that some of the content is difficult to read, however. There was a good amount of abuse, manipulation, and harm that occurred. The subject matter may be triggering to some readers but is also necessary to the story.

Just finished reading Sarah Berman’s, Don’t Call it a Cult, ahead of our event with Sarah next week. If you thought a 9 hour HBO docu-series, and a 4 hour Starz docu-series gave you everything you needed to know about NXIVM... you’d be wrong.

Well researched, and well presented. This story will take you down a rabbit hole.

Thank you NetGalley. I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a must-read for anyone interested in cult-reads.

I was honestly impressed with this book and would gladly read others by this author.

This is the in depth story of the women of the NXIVM organization. Over last summer HBO and Starz both released in-depth documentaries on NXIVM, both focused mostly on the same players that brought the cult down. This book has a similar focus, with a much more in-depth look at the sub-group DOS.

When I first started learning about them, they identified as Executive Success Program which businesses would invest in their methods for their employees. I could totally see why people would want to invest more time in them. Then this group quickly moves into what I think is completely deranged, because their leader is now serving a 120 year sentence for sex-trafficking.

What these women were subjected to, is nothing but vile, having to take nude pictures of themselves, engage in sexual acts with multiple partners, call themselves slaves, and brand themselves is just the start of all the issues that occurred.

Sarah Berman is slightly late to the game with this story. For me, this did not add much that I was not already aware of. For people that have not engaged in the documentaries, this book definitely gives justice to what occurred to the women by being members of this cult. This book lays everything out there, and is extremely graphic, but it is an important story to tell.

Thank you NetGalley and Steerforth Press for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Don't Call it a Cult" is a wild ride. It weaves a tale of how a bunch of women managed to join a cult that includes the sex traffiking of, you guessed it, women. I love how the author lays out the ground work for this book. She starts at the begining and shows the reader how these women get talked into believing Keith Raniere's empire. The book explores how he manuliped the women into turning on one another to keep his peace. The book explains how this is accomplished by explaining the psychology behind the actions. The book is written like a story rather than like a collection of facts and that made it an easy, interesting read.

I know what you are thinking... "I've watched the documentaries, read both Oxenberg and Edmondson's books. Do I really need ANOTHER book on NXIVM?" Yes, yes you do. This book written by an investigative journalist gives so many more tales and sides of the story that have been left out of the other books and shows. This is a thorough telling of the start of NXIVM, giving more insight into the real Reniere, and the deception involved to be able to trap a woman trapped in the room for 2 years and start DOS.

If you are a fan of true crime or cult genre books, this one is definitely worth a read.

I highly recommend this book! It was a real page-turner and I had trouble putting it down. I had watched the recent documentary series about NXIVM and thought I knew a lot about the inner workings of this frightening organization, but Berman's book provides a lot more information which helps round out the rest of the story. This book is meticulously researched including first-hand accounts by women and men who were caught up in this organization. Women were victimized the most (and unfortunately were also part of perpetuating the abuse against women). Women who joined the secret society (DOS) were ordered to hand over embarrassing personal collateral and give a life time of servitude in exchange for membership. I wondered who would join such an organization and Berman wonders if it's a sense of "personal exceptionalism" that attracted people -- meaning, want to succeed in their life, their career, their art. It makes you realize anyone could potentially fall prey to this type of organization and that is the scariest thought of all.

Highly recommend!

Don't Call It a Cult is a well written journalistic examination of the often lurid and sordid facts surrounding Keith Raniere and NXIVM. Due out 20th April 2021 from Steerforth Press, it's 336 pages and will be available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats.

I vaguely remember reading about the various trials surrounding NXIVM and Raniere. I have never been much of a true-crime reader, so I came into this read mostly ignorant of the situation, background, and facts of the cases. Sarah Berman is very capable and writes simply and convincingly. Although the book is meticulously annotated and supported with references throughout, it's accessible and understandable. I didn't feel that the author had an agenda and she didn't sensationalize the facts of the case (which are pretty shocking on that scale).

To me, NXIVM was even more remarkable for the vast scope of all the intertwined aspects and arms of the organization and also for the wealth and resources of its adherents. It's sobering to think that no matter how intelligent, well educated, or self-sufficient we are, no matter what economic advantages we have, we can all be manipulated and hoodwinked by charismatic and unscrupulous people/media.

The author presents the material factually and baldly, without flowery language or overemphasis. In my case that made the subject matter even more forceful: "It was uncomfortable imagining the words What was it like being branded? coming out of my mouth, but I knew I had to get there somehow". Many of the interviews which she relates make for uncomfortable reading and were related in such a direct way that it took my breath away.

The book includes a dramatis personae at the front to keep the primary players straight. The author has also done a good job with the annotations and the chapter notes and bibliography will keep readers busy for a long time.

Well done book. Uncomfortable reading in places though. Potential trigger warnings for sensitive readers: discussions on psychosexual torture and manipulation. Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Wow. Just wow. This book is chock full of all the craziness you ever wanted to know about NXIVM & Keith Raniere, the mastermind behind the cult. Wait. You can't call it a cult, though, or you could get sued. Or have your life ruined. Or your finances. Or be deported. Or any number of things that seem too unbelievable to have happened to normal people.
It seems strange how people can even get roped into something like this. It all started as a MLM (multi-level marketing) scheme and went from there. And Keith Raniere doesn't seem like someone who could get thousands of people to believe in him and his malarcky. But he did. They did. There was even a "sorority" that branded his initials onto their bodies. Crazy.
This book was fascinating and I don't even understand how the author/journalist sleeps at night after researching something like this subject.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC.*

I absolutely love true crime, so I was very excited for Don't Call It a Cult. Unfortunately, I found the writing to be very repetitive and the information wasn't told in an interesting way.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Don't Call it a Cult by Sarah Berman.

If you enjoyed The Vow, or Seduced, then get yourself comfy and hunker down with Berman's other deep dive into the history of the NXIVM cult, founded by Keith Raniere.

I honestly can't get enough about this cult. It absolutely blows my mind, and maybe the fascination with cults in general is how we see ourselves, and our own potential to get pulled into a high control group without being able to see the obvious harms that it is perpetuating.

Keith Raniere has years and years of fraud, grifting, predatory behavior, sexual assault, and emotional abuse/manipulation under his belt. It's amazing how one man can get away with so much when he surrounds himself with strong women who believe in him so strongly. It's patriarchal abuse and narcissism as it's very worst, and it makes me sick. Yet somehow, I just can't look away.

A giant "brava" to Berman for her story telling skills, and ability to shine a glaring light on things that were kept in the dark for far too long. I don't care what anyone says, journalism has definitely saved people.