This cult has always fascinated me and I loved the Netflix documentary on them. This book goes more in depth though! So if you enjoyed that, this is even better.

This was quite an eye-opening read. If you haven’t watched Wild Wild Country on Netflix, I suggest you read this first before watching as it helps fill in the gaps in the documentary.

In the 1980s, an Indian guru, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh became a sensation for his spiritual teachings. He gained thousands of followers in India and decided to set up his community in the U.S, namely Oregon. But that is where the nightmare truly begins. What started off as a spiritual teaching turns into a vicious exploitation as they bend the laws to gain what they want. Bhagwan doesn’t work alone. He has Sheela, his most loyal disciple, to do all his dirty work. King also explores how Bhagwan and his followers were able to root themselves into a community in Oregon which includes gaining influence in the government party and gaining popularity amongst the homeless population.

King wrote a very comprehensive and engaging story on how Rajneeshpuram came to be. It is clear that he has done alot of research on this and I love how his writing is executed. There were alot of small key points that were not mentioned in the documentary which really added more depth to the whole bizarre story.

As much as the story is jam packed with information, the whole story is readable and I found myself shaking my head at the absurdity of it all. It is appalling to know how much Sheela and her corroborators got away with many things that are illegal. It is also fascinating to know how ordinary people could fall victim into believing and following orders blindly.

I really enjoyed reading this overall and would recommend this if you are looking for a shocking read. Thank you Netgalley and Chicago Review Press for the arc.

This book is so incredibly well-researched and comprehensive - it is an alarming and fascinating look at how cults gain power and how ordinary people get seduced into believing and following orders by unsavory individuals. What is particularly outstanding about this story is how this cult was able to embed themselves in a community in Oregon including in influencing (and/or threatening) government officials and bussing in "voters" from homeless populations in other cities. The massive scale and scope of this fraud is incredible and serves as a cautionary tale not only to individuals but also to communities. This book was a highly entertaining read and I found it difficult to put down.

In the 1980s, a man who calls himself God and his disciples attempt to set up a utopia in the countryside of Oregon, and they are not afraid to bend laws and hurt people to get what they want.

As a Hindu myself, I have a quite skeptical view of all the Western-catering groups that sprung up out of India in the 70s and 80s, the gurus promising to teach people to lead fulfilling lives based on a lot of Orientalist stereotypes and mysticism. And the cult of Bhagwan, also known as Osho, is a prime example of how it can go maniacally wrong.

I’ve seen the Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country, which was what got me interested in picking up this book in the first place. Rajneeshpuram does an excellent job of filling in those gaps present in the documentary, talking more about the origins of the cult and the people associated with it. We get more of a sense of how the commune came to be, and what life was like on it.

It’s also just an entertaining book, because of how odd the characters are. Megalomaniac Sheela, the fanatically loyal Puja, the wishy-washy KD and the cadre of foot soldiers they commanded – each person is sketched out with vivid precision, and I followed along with their exploits as avidly as though it had been a soap opera, albeit a morally corrupt one (but then again one could argue that soap operas have pretty morally corrupt plots anyway? I digress). The lengths that they go to and how their plans work out have a rather black comedy-esque nature to them.

Unfortunately, this book does not have the charm of Wild Wild Country. It is quite readable, but the narrative felt flat at times which is astonishing considering the vivacity of the story. All the plots hatched by Sheela and company are presented to us as a great bundle without much organization or connection, I felt, which made the overall impression somewhat unsatisfying. This may be an issue only for me, though – other readers may not feel this at all.

In conclusion, read this for the nutty story.

I learned about this cult in college because of their bioterror attack but this book took me into much further detail which I quite enjoyed. I appreciated the extensive time and effort that was obvious from the content within the book. I wish this book had been around when I was studying them in school.

There is some interesting material in here, but I was left unsure of what exactly were the beliefs of the cult, aside from their worship of Bhagwan. What exactly did he preach that his followers found so compelling? Bhagwan remains something of a cipher, with the readers only getting the vaguest of outlines of his background.

I received an ARC of, Rajneeshpuram, Russell King. This is a well written book, I just did not like the subject. He was creepy and weird, he got away with too much.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me the Advanced Review Copy of this book. Being an Indian myself, I had some knowledge about the self-proclaimed godman. Still, there were a lot of times while reading this book, I had goosebumps.

This book explores how a common Indian man born in a middle class family fooled millions of people through his enigmatic personality and secured a luxurious lifestyle and fame for himself.

While reading this book, I was dumbfounded by the level to which people became delusioned to the extent of leaving their children behind and becoming a'sanyasi'by the means adopted by this person including many highly educated people whose logical thinking capabilities went out of the door.

The title of this book is the name of a city that this so-called godman established in America with even religious institutions dedicated to him.

This book also explores the role played by the infamous Ma Anand Sheela,the righthand of this monster in the face of a human and also describes the extent to which she was ready to go to maintain her superior status in the so called 'Ashram' without any guilt.

This book should be read by everyone as it would open your eyes and make you cautious of such criminals whose numbers has been increasing and who claim to be enlightened individuals and separate from all human desires while indulging and having their followers indulge in every sinister activity possible.