Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People

A superbly well written and documented historical piece of literature that describes in unflinching detail the horrors and madness of the life of Jim Jones, Sr. While at the same time giving a sympathetic and understanding voice to those who lost their lives at his hands. In closing, I would like to offer...Two paws way up for the brilliant Mr. Reiterman!!!

On November 18, 1978, over 900 souls were robbed from their lives in the jungle of Jonestown, Guyana. Thirty years later, we are still fascinated by the event. This book is the most comprehensive, complex, and complete in allowing us to understand Jim Jones' sick mind and how he began his journey into notorious infamy as a cult leader. Jim Jones was tyrannical and wouldn't stop at nothing to get his way. The author is a survivor of the shooting at the airstrip in Port Kaituma near Jonestown along with the victims of Congressman Leo Ryan who died, Patty Parks (a defector and long-time member), NBC reporters Don Harris, Robert Brown, and the photographer for the San Francisco Examiner, Greg Robinson. All senseless deaths, there were the injured including the author. As he writes in his preface, he didn't want to write a book about Jonestown unless he understood it. It would take him years as it does many of us to understand the tragedy, the horrors, and the holocaust that occurred on November 18, 1978. I assure you if you are interested in studying about Jonestown, Jim Jones, and the People's Temple. This is the book for you. You have to realize that it's about 600 pages of solid information so you will need to time to digest the information slowly and recommend taking breaks. It's too much information to take at once. I have covered my book with paper because I can't stand looking at Jim Jones neither but I think the book is quite fascinating especially 30 years later after the events. There is just so much information to disclose about the life and the losses. The tragic losses of over 900 people still appears to go unnoticed with a few documentaries lately. For some reason, the misconception is that 900 crazy fanatics went to their deaths willingly. That couldn't be further from the truth. They were intimidated and paranoid. They had armed gunmen to watch over them. They were under constant surveillance by Jones and his accomplices. Oh what if it never happened! I only wished that it never did but we must remember and learn from it. A third of the victims were children and third were elderly seniors and the other third were the parents of those children and relatives. People like Fred Lewis lost 27 of this relatives on November 18, 1978 and so many others did too. Maybe the American and Guyanese governments didn't do enough to stop Jones from killing 900 people including his wife, his own children, his mistresses, and the 900 of his followers who believed they had come to the promised land only to be killed. Let's not forget Jonestown! Let's not forget the people who perished there!

I don't have the words to express all that I'd like to about this work, but can hopefully convey what a superb job Reiterman did in his research and writing. It goes in depth on who Jim Jones was and how he was able to target, manipulate and swindle so many people. I was caught up in the story immediately and it just kept getting better, even though I knew the outcome. How sad that he was able to isolate and imprison his followers out of the reach of the law and rational people who might have eventually saved those poor souls who wanted to leave his "church". This tragic story is extremely well told. I highly, highly recommend this book.

This is a brilliant book that was only seemingly issued once in hardcover in 1982. I hope that next year - being the 30th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre - it will be reissued. More people need to read this book. I agree with all of the other reviewers - once you pick it up, it's exceedingly difficult to put down. It's a well balanced portrait and as of now, there is no other as complete, factual work on the subject. Some one must reissue this work.

"Raven" is, without a doubt, the seminal work on Jim Jones and Jonestown. Written by Tim Reiterman, who was injured during the massacre that killed Sen Ryan, this book is researched, factual, and fair. Anyone wanting to understand the workings of Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple need only to pick up a copy of this book. One warning. It is approximately 600 pages, and impossible to put down once you pick it up. So make sure to clear your calendar for a few days before starting it. Once read, this book will remain with you for a lifetime. Bravo, Mr Rieterman.