This was a very interesting blend of information, snarky asides, and thought-provoking commentary. I found Borden's writing style to be engaging and easy to connect with and her bleak/dark humor and sarcasm were delightful touches sprinkled throughout the detailed text.

Thank you NetGalley & Arria Books for this arc.

I LOVED this. It’s exactly what I want from a nonfiction: educational, thought provoking, engaging, and funny (it’s so so funny!). We walk through various cults & the commonalities between not only them but our (American) society as well.

I talked about this book with anyone who would listen & have recommended it to all. This was such a joy & the nonfiction book to beat of 2025z

I tried to get into this one, and while I am thankful to the publisher, Jane Borden, and Netgalley, and this one wasn't really for me. I'm still really thankful for the opportunity to read it however.

This book was extremely entertaining and engaging! I would recommend this to any of my friends who wanted a nice overview on the evolution of American/western theology. It is evident that Jane Borden knows her stuff. The key takeaway is a valid warning for the direction of our society. Certain premises or jokes seemed inconsistent. However, the substance and motivation of this book merits a good review. - I enjoyed the casual conversational tone of the book. Very refreshing! Like talking with a friend.

This book has given me such a better understanding of how people end up stuck in cults, but also! of how people can end up believing politicians' obvious lies, and how quickly people can be radicalized online, and much more. Really interesting, and all the concepts are explained so that reading this book doesn't require any prior knowledge of psychology or sociology or anything.

I personally didn't really like the more humoristic tone the author took (I prefer when non-fiction books are serious), but that is just a personal preference, I can see why others would find it more approachable!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this ARC. This book comes out on April 8th, 2025.

A riveting look at the history of America, doomsday thinking, and what drives cults.

This book could not have hit closer to home with our current political landscape. I had to dole it out in small doses because of it, although it was so intriguing. On one hand, it gave me insight to why things are happening like they are, and on the other hand, it terrified me for the future of our country.

I loved the lighthearted quips throughout. They were definitely needed to prevent this from being too heavy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC. All views and opinions are my own.

I read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I really enjoyed Cults Like Us, it was well researched (I'm a hoe for footnotes) and injected with my brand of humor throughout.

I especially liked how modern cults were woven I'm with historical groups and context for each section. *the Oneida was my favorite section, because weirdly I had no idea*.

My goal this year was to read more books in my degree field, and this one is definitely that. I pre-ordered it almost immediately after starting the ARC.

My thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advance copy of this look at American history from a different point of view, those people, not small in number who waited with baited breathe for the end of the world, and the effect these beliefs have had on American thinking since the earliest days , up to right now.

My first introduction to cults was probably in the movie that taught me much about life, how to laugh one of the most important lessons, Airplane! There is a scene where Captain Rex Kramer, played by Robert Stack is approached by a variety of men pushing flowers and flowery ideas in a Airport lobby, leading to a fight scene. I laughed, my father nearly died laughing. I asked him later about selling flowers in airports, and this lead to a long discussion about cults, belief, and how some people fall under other people's control. As a child who was going to Catholic classes, for a religion I didn't belief in, and being part of a capitalist system that seemed to promise great things if you just follow their rules, this came as a bit of revelation. And might explain a lot of my thinking. I'm not much of a joiner. Love Star Trek, won't learn Klingon. Love Comics, won't dress as The Thing. Not that I am judging, if this makes you feel good, gets you friends, and as long as no one is getting hurt, have at it. Especially in these end times. I say end times not as part of a church or a cult, but just by looking at the news, and wondering why New Orleans has had more snow than Connecticut. I can see what cults do, especially in America. Especially the ones that promise much, but you have to die first to see it. Trust me, paradise is cool. Cults Like Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America by journalist and writer Jane Borden is a new look at American thinking, how they end of the world made so many people feel fine, so much so that many wanted to push it along, and how this thinking has effected us all.

The book begins with the Pilgrims, those people who American students learn had odd hats, big buckles, and loved their fellow man and started Thanksgiving. Of course American history misses or omits, by laziness or to promote an idea, quite a bit. The Pilgrims left Europe because no one really wanted them. Their thinking was at odds with much of Europe, and upon landing and nearly dying because of this thinking, only made them become worse. Control was the meaning of much they did. The end was coming, and it couldn't come soon enough. Anything that deviated from this idea of getting ready for the end, was something that should be punished. Many people whose names will be familiar from history, were basically infidels to the Puritan faith, and from there other colonies grew. Borden moves forward in time, looking at other cults, whose ideas gradually went from the fringes, to being excepted as fact. Mixing and merging with conspiratorial thoughts and feelings, creating something new. And ominous.

I was familiar with a lot of this, but never thought of it in the big picture. When people ask how we got here, the answer is it was always here. Just under different guises. People have always felt lost, unsuccessful, lonely, and need someone of something to blame. The other has always been popular, and cults build on that, always needing enemies to feed the hate machine. Imagined slights, and attacks. This explains the attacks on beer, sports, and females. One can blame them, easily. Add the fact the world is ending, well again, not your fault, do what we tell you, and watch the unbelievers pass into hell. Borden does a very good job, telling the tales of history, of religious thought, and the emptiness in so many lives that can be filled with this belief, or the kids who grow up not knowing anything different. Borden is a very good writer, able to tie in different historical references, cowboys, the one man with a plan ideal that is so popular, and paint a broader picture. Some might find it a little jokey, but this is a sad subject, levity is appreciated.

This is something people should read. Especially those who wonder how we got here, and how one can change peoples minds. I don't know if it is possible. Humans want to believe, and hate to be wrong. That is hard to change. A book that will enlighten, and maybe depress, but one that should be read and shared, maybe to keep the seal on the 5th Horseman of the Apocalypse that people don't like to talk about, Ignorance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for the eARC!

This book was SO good! I loved the way Borden set this book up and how she explained things. Honestly, so many of the dots she connected made so much sense. I loved how she connected things back to Puritans and their way of thinking. I also enjoyed learning about the different cults - there were one or two chapters that felt long and like maybe there was too much information in them. But overall a super enjoyable book!
If you read this, get ready to have your mindset about America blown away!

This was a curation of super informative, cohesive, and thought provoking details about cults in the US. I found this so intriguing!

this was an interest book. I love reading about cults both in fiction and nonfiction. The book was well written and kept me engaged throughout it . It is such an interesting topic so I enjoyed reading this book

Cults Like Us is a USA centered take on the things that make a cult a cult. I enjoyed that this book drew on historical details from the Puritans to the present day in order to explore this topic. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC, I liked this book, found it to be unique from others that I have read, and would recommend it to anyone interested in the topic.

Wait, am I in a cult?!

I love reading about cults, whether it is specific to an individual's experience, deep dives into a particular cult, or how cults function in general. Cults Like Us takes an even higher approach on how we are so easily manipulated into joining cults. From the first pilgrims to the most recent presidential election, everything has ties to a cult-like mentality.

If you are interested in big-name cults and how this mentality drives America, as well as some history about cults in general, this book is for you.

I rated this book 4.25 because the book sometimes veered away from cults for a little too long for my taste, but Jane Borden always brought it back eventually..

Thank you for the ARC version!

Note: there was one typo where Ivanka Trump was called Ivana.

Finally, a proper five star read. This was one of the best and smartest books I've read in a while. If I had to describe it in just two words, I'd say, "America. Explained." But GR generously affords their readers and reviewers many words, so here we go ...

The US is unique, even amid the other first-world countries. It has been explained in flattering terms like exceptionalism, determination, drive, etc. and less flattering terms like ... greed, egotism, etc.
But Jane Borden hits the nail just right by describing it as a cult. It makes so much sense. An alarming amount of sense. And once you'll read this book, you'll have a difficult time thinking of it in any other way. Which is perfectly appropriate for a cult, of course.

So, welcome to cult Borden, ruled by intelligence, humor, erudition, and compassion. Learn all about how a country settled by Puritans held onto its repressive values and later adapted them for a future where rampant inequality, obsession with money, and gung-ho individualism devolved into an unhappy doomsday cult, desperately seeking to hang all its hopes and dreams on impossible promises.
Abandon all logic, ye who enter here.

This book was a result of five years of work for the author and it shows in the meticulous research and complete mastery of the subject. She makes her arguments strongly and compellingly, and they are presented well through excellent and wonderfully humorous writing.
Yes, she turns into a stoner hippie Pollyanna at the end, which seemed a bit incongruous with the tone and findings of the book, but aside from that, it's a really great read. Moreover, an important one. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

Wow, this was a great read! I have never heard the term Monomyth before. Learning that it's been around for quite some time and is a common trope in pretty much all of our media was eye opening. I frequently find myself wondering why some (many?) people are so devoted to the orange man and follow him like he's the savior. Now I get it. I've read several books and seen docs on cults, and it's shocking how these cults keep happening. This book answers that question and shows that America has always had cults since day one.

This may sound like its a dry read but the author mixes in some humor, wit and social references that make it enjoyable. The writing style is casual and made me want to keep reading. Would definitely recommend.

If you've ever found yourself asking how we've gotten where we are in America, "Cults Like Us" author Jane Borden may very well be suggesting that we've really always been here.

Oy.

"Cults Like Us: Why Doomsday Thinking Drives America" is a ballsy, somewhat controversial, surprisingly engaging, and incredibly well-researched capturing of the doomsday thinking upon which America is founded and where it's gone since the earliest days of the Puritans.

What Borden refers to as cult ideology may surprise some and will certainly anger others, however, Borden backs her assertions up remarkably well (even when I'm in some disagreement with her) and appears to conclude that the United States is the largest cult of all.

Fans of Fantasyland, The Road to Jonestown, and Howard Zinn will appreciate Borden's journey from Plymouth Rock to Mormons, Oneidans, LulaRoe, NXIVM, Scientology, and much, much more.

I still remember the day when I was serving as an interim pastor and a congregant walked up to me dismayed at the flexibility with which I held my theology. "It's your job to tell us what to believe," he said.

I just shook my head and said "Um, no. It's not."

According to Borden, the United States was and is a prime breeding ground for cult-like thinking. The history presented here isn't a history you're ever going to be taught in school and, if you're doing your homework, you won't just take it at face value. Part of the wonder of "Cults Like Us" is it encourages more thought and research than blind obedience and surrender. Borden isn't out to become that which she's writing against here.

I will admit that I struggled, at times, to get into Borden's rhythm. This is especially true in the earliest portions of the book as Borden deep dives into the early history if cult ideology. However, as she entered more contemporary cults, I realized I'd become immersed in her ability to both reveal history and connect the dots. Having been raised in what many consider to be a cult (Jehovah's Witnesses), Borden does a stellar job of connecting history, cult ideologies, and even the common ground that connects seemingly disparate cults. My days in a New Thought church make more sense now and even Borden goes after MLM (multi-level marketing) unmercifully.

"Cults Like Us" is exhaustively researched, engagingly written, and even on occasion quite funny. The end result, however, is that we gain a better insight into why doomsday thinking drives America and how we got where we are and why, sadly, it may not even be possible to turn away from it.

While many books on cults often try to serve as not much more than entertainment, Borden's work here is enlightening and cautionary and more than a little frightening. There's no doubt "Cults Like Us" is a book I'll be referring back to again and again.