Cult Following gives a brief overview of many cults. More importantly, JW Ocker discusses why might people join these organizations.

I think this is a great introduction to a lot of cult organizations and the author does a great job of humanizing the people that join cults.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for a review copy of this book.

I am fascinated by cults, so I requested this book as soon as I saw it. Ocker brings up that fact that we are all followers of something and becoming part of a cult is something that anyone could end up doing. He delves in to several different cults and some of their actions. There were some well-known ones and several I had never heard of. Some of them were so bizarre. Foot reading anyone? This would be a great book to read to get some information about each cult before reading further on them. I learned things I didn't know even about the cults I was familiar with. This isn't a deep dive into each cult, but it definitely give enough information about each cult and leader that I feel it's enough unless one really wants to read further on these, and Ocker kindly references other books that are great places to start.

This is a good book for someone just getting into cults as well as the seasoned cult reader.

Like his other books, Ocker writes compendiums that are fascinating with the right balance of humor for all the dark. I loved learning about the many different cults (some new, some not). While not an expert, Ocker has more than done the research to provide the necessary context, background, and insight into each entry. I appreciated that Ocker didn't glorify in the darkness nor assign blame to members, but instead gives a structure and insight that notably contributed to the overall appeal of the book.
I think this is a fascinating book for anyone interested in cults, but isn't looking for an in-depth technical book.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Penguin Random House, and Quirk Books for allowing me to preview J.W. Ocker’s latest book exploring subcultures and the people who dedicate their lives to these strange and sometimes terrifying groups. Ocker’s Cult Following: The Extreme Sects That Capture Our Imaginations -and Take Over Our Lives is a brief, but wide overview of some of the most infamous cults (Branch Davidians, The People’s Temple, Aum Shinrikyo), as well as others that may not be as well known (Ho No Hana Sanpogyo, The Seekers, Breatharianism). Having recently read Ocker’s The United States of Cryptids, a book that humorously explores cryptids and other strange tales in each state, I was excited to read Ocker’s exploration of cults, a topic that is fascinating to me. Ocker not only provides a history of the cults, exploring how they formed and often providing some biographical information about the cult leaders to try to gain more insight into their motivations and desires for leading and sometimes exploiting others, but also shares historical and contextual information that allows us to better understand the social conditions that may also influence people’s susceptibility to joining cults. Ocker’s background and contextualizing are often done in a humorous way, like his book on Cryptids, although with some of the cults involving abuse, exploitation, and murder, he seems to know when levity is needed, and when to provide a more serious tone. Nevertheless, Ocker’s book is not academic or technical, but he does provide information from psychological concepts and researchers to further inform readers. I was glad to see that Ocker cited Robert Jay Lifton, one of the most prominent researchers in cults and group think, to give some key criteria for cults and cult leaders, helping to differentiate them from religions as well as popular movements, something that Amanda Montell also explored in her excellent book Cultish. I really appreciated the humor and research that Ocker provided with these cults, especially those that were not as well known. Furthermore, Ocker was able to provide more insight and information for me about more well-known cults and the consequences of their often devasting consequences. While it may seem like there are a lot of books, documentaries, podcasts, and series on cults, Ocker’s book also provides a great case for the need to constantly investigate and interrogate these kinds of movements and groups that arise, frequently when social or economic conditions deteriorate, and people are left searching for answers and ideas. As Ocker explores the differences between cults before and after the internet (and those like Heaven’s Gate that were early adopters), I was left wondering whether technology makes us more or less likely to gravitate towards more group think and embracing the kinds of beliefs and ideals that are like cults. While most of the cults had unfortunate endings, it was interesting to read about the Planetary Activation Organization, a UFO cult that mostly functioned online, yet had no real negative outcomes for its members. This cult was the exception though, and reading about the financial and sexual exploitation, as well as the murder and suicides in many of these cults can be somewhat dark and depressing. Ultimately, the book can serve as a kind of warning, since Ocker continuously stresses how it’s not necessarily personality types that are more susceptible to cults, but rather our emotional states and the kinds of experiences we are having. It seemed like cult leaders frequently sought out those who were experiencing problems, whether they were emotional, personal, or financial, and preyed on those weaknesses. They also seemed to exploit our desire for understanding and knowledge, or attempted to frighten followers into the idea of a nearing apocalypse. However, the most common criteria that these cults shared was the general human desire for fellowship or connection, and I can see how recent events like the pandemic and social distancing might increase our desire for connection. Just like The United States of Cryptids, I really enjoyed Ocker’s overview of cults and learned a lot from his research and insights. As I mentioned, I find this topic fascinating, and this was an easy, yet insightful book that examined different elements of cults, cult leaders, and the kind of historical and psychological contexts that help to usher in cults into society. The one thing I would have liked to see more of with this book is a better organizational strategy for the cults. It was hard to see how the presentations of the cults were organized. At first, I thought the book would focus on UFO cults, but then it moved into some other cults, like doomsday cults or self-improvement cults. I think that finding some kind of organizational strategy to present the cults and then comment on some common underlying connections would have strengthened the book. Nevertheless, this was a great read, and something I recommend for others who are interested in the study of human behavior and cults.

Cult Following is a good look at cults and how they are created and affect the world but this book compared to Road to Jonestown or Manson pales in comparison.

Loved the writing style in this! It was accessible and interesting in a way that is less common these days. Definitely worth picking up if the topic interests you!

As seemingly most modern women, I am truly fascinated by cults. This book was just the thing to satiate that interest. It went into enough detail about it's subjects to answer questions, but without too many to make it more than just a short information pitch about them. It's weird to say that I enjoyed this books, that's a little darker than I'd like to seem, but I really did find it very interesting. A lot of these I had never heard the details of, and there were a enough that were familiar that I felt I could rely on the knowledge.