Very interesting! I really enjoyed learning about this subject. I appreciate how the author is serious when necessary, but overall writes in an amusing, wry tone--this made it a lot easier for me to absorb such bleak content, especially because I don't read a lot of nonfiction.

Thank you NetGalley and Quirk Books for the eARC!

Like all of J.W. Ocker’s books, Cult Following tackles the subject of cults very well in brief and easily read chapters. There’s a bit of humor, and while the cults we’ve all heard of are covered, there’s many here I’d known nothing about. The book feels well researched and presented with an ease that I always appreciate.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book I’ve read by J.W. Ocker and it will not be my last. He always picks engaging topics that lie on the fringe of polite society. This time it’s all about Cults baby.

There’s some great dark humor in this book that I felt was both perfect for the topic but also a much needed palette cleanser. Things get dark in this as we explore every depravity human beings put each other through. Ocker doesn’t hold back in exploring the unseemly side of cults. Yet he never crosses the line into exploitation.

He covers about thirty different cults. Several we’ve all heard of but the majority of them never crossed my radar until now. Ocker talks about the beginnings of each cult and then describes most of their down falls which sadly usually end in multiple deaths. I also enjoyed the few cults that just end up fizzling out into a small stream of smoke as leaders die and do not resurrect immediately.

In between some of the different explorations in the cults we get informative essays on different topics of cults and the occult, fandom versus cults and if we should even use the word cult.

If you are at all interested in the subject this is a great primer. There’s a lot of dark history here that will not be for everyone but it’s still important history to know.


This review was originally published on NetGalley.com. I was given an ebook freely by NetGalley and the book’s publisher in return for a voluntary and honest review.

With Cult Following, J.W. Ocker takes us on yet another journey of the bizarre, this time diving into the details of 30 different cults that have operated around the world. Broken down into sections based on the primary element followers were seeking, this book covers the heavy hitters that have fascinated us for decades along with some lesser known yet impactful cults, examining the elements that make these groups so nefarious. Each section also contains a short essay exploring topics important to the discussion of cults including the use of the word itself, ties to the occult, and the idea of brain washing. Ocker explores the history and impact of each cult with respect to the often-horrific outcomes of these organizations while also including commentary that provides a bit of levity to the dark nature of the content. There’s a great mix of information that provides a foundation to understand what beliefs the cult leaders espoused, the actions that made the groups memorable, the reasons followers were initially attracted to join and why they remained dedicated throughout. No matter how much or little you know about cults, this book is a great resource for anyone that has an interest in how cults have been formed and how otherwise normal people can give complete control over their lives to someone who promises them answers in exchange for their devotion.

Thank you Quirk Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not sure what it says about me as a person that I "really liked" a book that gives a rundown of some of the more powerful and well-known cults of the last 150 years.

Something I wish there was more of: cults from the entire world. So many of these cults are USA-based. While I am aware that there is an entire weird world out there, this book almost makes it seem like the USA is a hotbed of cult activity. Wait... nevermind. A cult of personality is trying to take over our government. Okay, I get it now.

Something that J.W. Ocker does, that I haven't seen much of elsewhere is discuss the fact that being indoctrinated by a cult is much easier than we realize. Life is difficult. Nobody gets out of here alive, so we look for as much comfort as we can while we're here. Some of us are fortunate: born into loving families with strong bonds and very few hardships. But for so many people, struggle is just their daily life. Ocker explains the allure of the cult in an extremely personal way - even he felt the pull of the cult at one point in time.

It's so easy to pass it off as people with weak-minds join a cult, but that is a very narrow perception. I would imagine that not many of these people didn't realize what was happening as it happened. But when you have experienced painful loss, the idea of losing a community is too unbearable. Not only that, but once you're inside, the charismatic narcissists that lead these cults do not want you leaving. The stories of escape from cults are more compelling than most spy novels in my opinion.

It is important to remember that the desire for understanding, the community and companionship, and the sincere belief that the cult can offer something to make your life better are much more significant. Since almost all humans feel these needs, almost all humans can fall victim to predation.

It’s CULTS! My fave! Here we are promised some of the world’s most infamous cults and the motions who love them. How many? THIRTY, my loves, so buckle up!

“Cult is a scary word. Like terrorist. Or leprosy. Sharknado.” Oh, book, you and I are going to get along just fine!

“….from cults that believe extraterrestrials control our destiny, to cults that believe feels hold the secrets to our future to cults that believe eating is unnecessary.” Wait. What? Seriously, a cult based on dieting? Oh, yes, yes, yes. Thank you, Lord, for showing that you do love us sinners.

So, then, I feel terrible, because it’s all fun and games and then people die because of these assholes. Because, as this book reminds us, “people join communities, not cults, and really, generally, the big problem is with the horrible cult leader, who plays on people’s weaknesses.

The book covers the usual suspects (Heaven’s Gate, People’s Tenple, NXIVM, though not Scientology…maybe because author didn’t want to get sued,) then also discusses things like Raelism (take “a volcano, aliens, sex with said aliens and claimed the first ever human clone [which] eventually goes on to snare Kanye Wesr.” Oh, yes. Please come in. Because we would LOVE to hear more about your religion,) the Divine Order of the Royal Arms of the Great Eleven (great name) and I Am (started when a guy named Guy met an immortal on Mt. Shasta. Stuff happened. Lots of merch resulted. It’s all about the merch. And it had about 10K to 50K members.)

There’s so much to learn here, but again, I don’t want to lose sight of those who lose much, even their lives to cults (including Scientology.). That said, I was delighted to read about the foot fetish cult (called Ho No Hana Sanpogyo if you are looking for it in the phone book) and its founder who opened a store that sold electric massagers. The store prospered for three years before going bankrupt. Then the founder changed career. To become savior of the human race. THE MAN WENT FROM VIBRATORS TO THE MESSIAH. Take from this what you will.

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.