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Summary: I am a teenager and thought it was really good!!
Review: I am a 16 year old from Columbus,Georgia. My mom told me to read this book because she wanted me to know about cults and other things At the time I was seeing a guy who was kind of Manipulative and abusive to me. So she told me that this book might show me that I am strong enough to get rid of him and just do the right thing so I read this book and I was so touched and amazed at this true story of a womans fight to survive and escape a totally bad nightmare!!!
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Summary: What a frightening tale-- Pray others will learn from it
Review: Felt as though I had been hijacked into another world. Glad I could close the book each night to escape. The author is one hell of a good writer and I'm one reader who's glad she survived with the courage intact to tell about it. Photo's of her family and Jones when he was seducing his followers were great additions to the picture th author paints of life back there. God Bless You Darling
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Summary: Great for Book Group Discussions
Review: Our men's book group concluded that this book was profound and exceptionally powerful. It's a disturbing story, however Layton explains a great deal and breaths life into an event few of us understood and unfortunately readily dismissed. All eight readers recommended this book to their wives and /or significant others.
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Summary: It gives a good cronological account of what transpired.
Review: Ms. Layton gives a good account of how the cult of personality of Jim Jones controlled and bilked over 1000 citizens of their families, their money and then their lives. Ms. Layton's style puts the reader in the hellish abyss we now know as Jonestown. She brings to life the failure of another socialist utopia, even as she tries to excuse it by comparing it to other cults. There are two major shortcomings of this book. One is that Ms. Layton constantly attempts to convince the reader that the members of the Peoples Temple had no free will. She should have been more explicit in admitting that those drawn to cults are essentially mentally weak individuals who have a need to be wanted. Second, she did not investigate the aspect of how Jim Jones was able to get about 1000 US Citizens out of the country;and in many cases liberate them from government pensions such as Social Security. Anyone who has tried to get a phone call returned from the Social Security Admninistration let alone give their future benefits away knows that this was not a minor feat. It becomes obvious that Jim Jones had the complicity of the Democractic machine in not only San Francisco but probably the State of California. How much of that green tucked away in Panama went to fund the ambitions of some of the politicians mentioned in her book? This topic alone would have been at least one chapter. One other troubling aspect of Ms. Laytons work was her attempt to compare the self inflicted death at Jonestown to the senseless fiasco at Waco, Texas. She attempts to correlate them. There is actually a contrast and juxtaposition. The tragedy of Jonestown had the complicity of the the left wing political machine in the nations largest state. Jim Jones was a Marxist hiding undr the guise of faith healer. The stamp of approval was there all the way to the White House, whether Ms. Layton wants to admit it or not. At Waco a seperatist group, or cult if one prefers, was extinguished by the same left wing Democratic Party in the form of the Clinton Justice Department. Seductive Poison adds more material to the slim body of knowledge written on the tragedy of Jonestown. It is worth the read, though it would be nice to have the preface reviewed for change. Sorry Debbie, your exasperation was unnecessary. Those at Jonestown did themselves in. Those at Waco were murdered.
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Summary: redundant but ultimately very interesting
Review: This is the first time I have really understood why someone would join a cult and what made it so difficult to leave the Peoples Temple in particular. In this respect I think the book benefited a very personal perspective, and that is what sets this book apart from other accounts of the Peoples Temple trajedy. However, I must say that there are many better sources of information on this subject if you are looking for purely a historical or a detailed factual account of the Temple's existence in Guyana. In addition I felt that this book started off slowly and Layton's attempt to thoroughly describe all of her family relationships became repetetive and sentimental. The book as a whole was a little deffensive, I thought, which one could understand considering the current public distain for "cult" members. But this again led to redundancy as Layton begs for the reader's acceptence. Overall this book is well worth the read: The second half gets much more interesting and fast paced. Layton's escape from Guyana is as suspenseful as anything i've read.
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Summary: Heard author speak at Stanford Univ and was blown away
Review: I odered Seductive Poison from Amazon,.com after listening to Deborah Layton speak to over 300 students at Stanford Univ. I went to the lecture expecting to see a freak. The author was eloquent, honest, and the farthest thing from freaky you can be. Her talk moved many of the student body to tears. Her book was worth the purchase price. It explains it all, the era, the sixties, the need for belonging and is a great and terrifying read all- in-one. I think all colleges should make this book part of the cirrculum.
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Summary: This story blew me away.
Review: Growing up in the Bay Area, I obviously vividly remember Jim Jones and the Guyana tragedy, but I had no idea how horrifying it really was. It took a lot of courage to write this book as Deborah Layton has. Before reading it, I couldn't for the life of me understand why anyone would join a cult of any kind, much less this one. This book really opened my eyes to how someone like Jim Jones could persuade vulnerable (and educated!!) people into his terrifying world. Great book! I couldn't put it down, and I was literally in tears throughout most of it. It's a story that will stay with me forever. I've already recommended it to people. Thanks.
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Summary: I couldn't put this book down until finishing the last page.
Review: Back when this tragedy happened, I wondered how Jim Jones could have had such power over so many.This book explaines it in a way only someone who had been there could.It is a very good book about a very sad event.
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Summary: A facinating and deeply moving story.
Review: This book was recommended to me by a friend. I wasn't intially motivated to read it because I didn't think the subject (Jonestown and cult life) would be of interest or applicable to my life. I was so wrong! This book is captivating! Once I started, I couldn't put it down. Layton's writing pulls the reader into the story; I could feel everything (physical and emotional) that Layton wrote about. Moreover, the subject is much deeper that just the People's Temple cult. Layton addresses universal issues such as self esteem, a need to belong, and not trusting one's own inner voice. I now understand how someone can be drawn into a cult and even into other destructive relationships where power is unequal. I was very moved by Layton's story and highly recommend this book!
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Summary: The most fascinating book in years, a page turner!!!!
Review: I have not read a book in years that has affected me so much. Ms. Layton knows how to pull her readers in with her writing. I felt every emotion she discribed and found myself not able to put it down. When I would finally go to sleep I had a hard time sleeping because it left me with such an eerie feeling. Ms. Layton should be so proud of herself and her courage.
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