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Summary: A must read for freshman and seniors
Review: I read Seductive Poison in one night. I found it in the Library under "Psychology" rather than "Young Adult" where it should be. This book was great, way better than any Reality TV Show! Through her eyes I realized how important it is to be more aware of my surroundings. Peer pressure is tough in high school but I know its worse during fraternity hazings. Having read this I feel better equipped to just GET THE HELL OUT if things don't feel right once I'm in college and far from home.
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Summary: The Definative Jonestown Expose'
Review: Deborah Layton is lucky to be alive, after spending years in the grips of madman/late 'Reverend' Jim W. Jones and his People's temple. Her memoir of how life really was behind closed doors will leave you breathless and thankful that the madness that was the Temple is gone. Unfortunatley, 913 other followeres of Jones were lured to their own demise in Guyana, and the poignant style that Layton uses to describe her comrades really makes you feel that they were real people, not the lifeless corpses the news barraged the public with. Overall, a great read-- I suggest also Raven by Tim Reiterman, which gives a through history of the temple, Jones, and it's final years in the jungle.
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Summary: Chilling
Review: For a book of this type, it is surprisingly well-written. If you want to understand the human capacity for manipulation and masochism, it's all here in this book. Jim Jones turned psychological abuse into an art, but only with the help of others, including those he abused. This book is the best argument for increased funding to public education that could be made, and to the crucial importance of somehow endowing the masses with critical thinking skills, in addition to democratic rights; if this book has a message, it's that the two must go hand-in-hand.
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Summary: Memorable, exquisite, transformative & hair raising
Review: GRIPS YOU BY THE NAPE OF THE NECK AND YANKS YOU IN. I WAS CONSUMED FROM ITS INNOCENT START TO THE BITTER-SWEET END. OH YEAH, AND IT'S EXTREMELY WELL WRITTEN.
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Summary: I can't say enough about this book
Review: It is spellbinding.It is a first hand glimpse into the madness of Jim Jones and how his followers were caught in his web.During the parts about Debbie's escape from the cult, my stomach was churning.It is also good because it provides a more personal look at some of the people who died there.
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Summary: Journey to Hell and Back
Review: Deborah Layton's book is a painfully honest story written by a woman whose youthful search for meaning brought her under the spell of a seductive preacher. It is not just a book about Jonestown; it is a book about a soul in search of something beyond herself, her journey into hell, and her eventual escape and redemption. Ms. Layton bares all to the reader in a way that makes one almost blush at what you are shown. That style makes it difficult to put this book down. You can sense, and often smile at, her youthful feistiness and willfulness; she was among the kids who counted the money and had a lot of fun doing it at Jones' rallies. Yet, you suffer with her inability to speak up, to be other than subservient when 'Father' Jones subjected her to indignities in the back of a bus: you wonder about the disconnect between her fine mind and the awful reality she had bought into. Almost palpable is the troubled relationship between the adolescent girl and her parents, early on; and later the intense love and finally the regret that came with knowing that her own mother, who also fell under the sway of Jones, was left behind in danger. In the end, you fret and worry when, at last, she decides to escape and you turn each page, captivated by the suspenseful retelling, hoping against hope that she makes it! Of course, it's no secret that she makes it; but the book suspends reality and leaves you praying for what you know already happened! That's good writing. Seductive Poison is an important book for at least two reasons. First, it teaches us that truly decent people seeking to find an outlet for their altruism and meaning for their lives are susceptible to the self-aggrandizing - a lesson that all should learn, early on. Secondly, it teaches us not to set aside our reason and common sense, even in the search for and in the name of faith. This abdication of reason, and the ease with which we set it aside, is potentially our most fatal flaw.
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Summary: Gives our kids a fighting chance in this scary new world
Review: Leaving home for college has become a very worrisome event for families since the advent of date rape drugs poured into unsuspecting teen's glasses, cults on campuses posing as self help groups, peer pressure at frat parties to participate in binge drinking and the list goes on. THANK GOD, Deborah Layton's book has given our seventeen-year-old daughter a fighting chance. Seductive Poison has impressed upon her how desperately important it is to LISTEN to her inner voice, OBSERVE, ASK QUESTIONS and BELIEVE IN HERSELF. She has learned that you can have the best of intentions and find yourself entrapped in a deadly situation. This book has given our daughter a blueprint to work from of how not to follow in the author's innocent footsteps.
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Summary: Courage, honesty & the power to heal-thyself awaits readers
Review: I concur. This book is one of the most powerful testaments to man's ability to rise above evil and prevail. An odyssey of the mind awaits. Timid readers beware.
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Summary: DEBORAH UNO DONNA CORAGGIOSA
Review: DEBORAH UNA DONNA CORAGGIOSA un grande libro su una storia sconvolgente. un libro che ti fa riflettere,e apprezzare la propria liberta'. ammiro DEBORAH LAYTON,come scrittrice e come persona per il suo grande coraggio
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Summary: Good even for teenagers
Review: Iam thirteen and didn't think I would liek this book, but my dad has been bugging me to read it. What I foudn out is that true stories can be fun to read and even teach you a lesson. I didn't know that so many people had died and if I hadn't ead this book I wouls have believed they were all really stupid. But Sedctive Poison has taught me that you cannt always know what happened until the person who was there tells you. I really liked this book alott even thoug it was totally sad in parts. I think more kids should read it!
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