Jonestown and Peoples Temple served as the basis for
literally hundreds of books, articles, and movies. To identify some
of these items, go to the Resources
section of the site.
The articles below offer the perspectives of historians, journalists
and scholars of new religious movements and provide critical thinking
on what has been learned since the tragedy of 18 November 1978.
Thoughts by Roger Arjoon
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“The Peoples Temple’s Ideology in
a Comparative Perspective” by Peter Åkerbäck (2007) 
“Everybody is a homosexual”
by Michael Bellefountaine (2006)
“Research
on Harvey Milk Renews Calls for Reappraisal of Peoples Temple” by Michael Bellefountaine
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"In search of truth" by Michael
Bellefountaine
“Transcending Time: Kiddush
Hashem and Jonestown” by Michael Bellefountaine (2005)
"Excerpt from 'The Final Dance with Death'"
by Jeff Brailey
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“Understanding the People of Peoples
Temple” by Seriina Covarrubias (2006)
“A Terrible Solitude on Every Side”
by Rev. Barbara Crafton (2006)
“Three Years Later” by Josef Dieckman (2006)
“Debunking
a Disturbing Myth: An Analysis of the Jonestown Video” by
Matthew Thomas Farrell
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“Jonestown as a Total Institution”
by Phyllis Gardner, M.S., Mahmoud Sadri, Ph.D , & James L. Williams,
Ph.D (2006)
“Peoples Temple: From Social Movement To
Total Institution” by Phyllis Abel Gardner, Ph.D., Jim Williams, Ph.D., and Mahmoud Sadri, Ph.D. (2007)
“Recovery from Jonestown” by Phyllis
Abel Gardner, Ph.D. (2007)
“Survivors” by Michael Haag, Ph.D. (2007)
“The Other 9/11” by Michael
Haag, Ph.D. (2006)
“Jonestown in the 21st
Century,” by John R. Hall
“Transformed!” by Kim Harvey
(2006)
“My Involvement with the Jonestown Entry
on Wikipedia” by Robert P. Helms (2006)
“3000? 20,000? A potential for so much
more” by Susan White-Hicks (2007)
“Looking Past the Jonestown “Story””
by Susan M. White Hicks (2006)
“Jim
Jones and the Conspiracists” by Jim Hougan
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“Response
to Jim Hougan” by Rebecca Moore
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“Jim Jones: A Parapolitical Fugue,”
by Jim Hougan
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“Jonestown – Adkins and the NOIWON
report” (Blog
Entry) by Jim Hougan (2006)
“Mass Suicide & the Jonestown Tragedy:
Literature Summary” by James Knoll, Ph.D. (2007)
“Leading to the Final Question” by Phil
LaMonica (2007)
“Three Groups in One” by Mary
McCormick Maaga
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“The Irony of Alienation in a Utopian
Society” by Phyllis A. Marley, M.S. (2005)
“Attempting to Document the Peoples
Temple Story: The Existence and Disappearance of Government Records”
by Fielding M. McGehee III
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“Guyanese Perspectives on Jonestown”
by Dr. Khaleel Mohammed
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“Our Daughter is in a Cult! What Can We
Do?” by John V Moore
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“American as Cherry Pie”
by Rebecca Moore
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“Drinking the Kool-Aid: The Cultural Transformation
of a Tragedy” by Rebecca Moore
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“Last Rights” by Rebecca Moore
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“McGehee v. CIA” by Rebecca
Moore
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“Reconstructing Reality: Conspiracy
Theories About Jonestown,” by Rebecca Moore
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“Jonestown Twenty-Five Years Later:
Why All the Secrecy?” by James T. Richardson
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“‘My Lord, What a Mourning:’
Twenty Years Since Jonestown,” by Mary R. Sawyer
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“We Need to Press Forward: Black Religion
and Jonestown, Twenty Years Later” by Archie Smith, Jr.
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“Could It Happen Again?” by Karen Stroup (2007)
“Nearing the Center: Successive Waves
of Jonestown Scholarship” by Karen Stroup, Ph.D. (2005)
“(Un)Covering Jonestown, 25 Years Later” by Paul VanDeCarr (2005)
“Doing Justice to Jonestown” by Paul VanDeCarr (2005)
“Peoples Temple” by Dr. John
Walliss
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“I’m not drinking it!”
by James Welborn (2006)
“1978 - Jonestown” by Catherine
Wessinger
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“How the Millennium Comes Violently”
by Catherine Wessinger
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“Thoughts on the 25th Anniversary
of Jonestown,” by Catherine Wessinger
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“Revisiting
the Jonestown Tragedy,” by Thomas G. Whittle and Jan Thorpe
(originally published in Freedom magazine, August 1997, by
The Church of Scientology International, reprinted by permission.)
“The Stigma of Suicide” by Bonnie Yates (2007)
“On the transformation of Jim Jones” by Dr. Philip G. Zimbardo (2007)
“State Terror and State-Sanctioned
Terrorism” by Philip G. Zimbardo, Ph.D. (2006)
Student Papers
