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Dear People: Remembering Jonestown |  | Creator: Denice Stephenson
Publisher: Heyday Books
Category: Book
Buy New: $16.95
as of 11/21/2009 14:10 CST details
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Seller: Amazon.com
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 316175
Media: Paperback
Pages: 171
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 0.7
ISBN: 1597140023
Dewey Decimal Number: 289.9
EAN: 9781597140027
ASIN: 1597140023
Publication Date: April 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
More than a quarter of a century after the fall of Peoples Temple, in which the world witnessed the devastating loss of over nine hundred livesincluding those of Congressman Leo J. Ryan and several journaliststhe tragedy of Jonestown continues to mystify. In a sensitive account that traces the rise and fall of the idealistic community movement that preceded the deaths at Jonestown, Denice Stephenson uses letters, oral histories, journal entries, and other original documentsmany published here for the first timeto bring this inexplicable event into a very personal and human perspective. -Coincides with the premiere of the new play "The Peoples Temple" by writer/director Leigh Fondakowski (The Laramie Project)
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
From the Voices of Jonestown! November 16, 2008
Sylviastel
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
On November 18, 1978, tragedy occurred at an airstrip in Port Kaituma in Guyana when Congressman Leo Ryan from Northern California, Patty Parks (a People's Temple defector), Greg Robinson (photographer for the San Francisco Examiner), Don Harris (NBC reporter), and Robert Brown, another newsman, were shot to death by the People's Temple armed gunmen. The tragedy would only get worse and not better. There were survivors at the airstrip. But back in Jonestown, Rev. Jim Jones would finally have his white night in which this was no suicide drill. It was the real thing! Not everybody went willingly. The children event infants who were born in Jonestown were the first victims. There was one dissenter in the crowd and her name was Christine Miller. Jones had already made his mind up to complete the white night after years of practice. there was no going back. His members believed that they would be tortured and killed after the Congressman's death. That they were all responsible and not just those who committed the actual crimes. Even the children of Jonestown would not be spared, for two hours, there was death with armed gunmen surrounding the pavilion where only a day before there was a celebration regarding Ryan's visit. There was music, food, and a good time. Now it was going to be the end and it wasn't going quietly. Jones achieved infamy in death that would be associated with mass murder or suicide. Jones himself was dying anyway.
For Stephenson, she has researched and has used this opportunity to show the humanity of Jonestown and the People's Temple. He had taken in the disenfranchised, the forgotten, neglected, and unwanted. Jones made them feel not only welcome but to be part of a larger collective community. His members were so dedicated that they moved their lives across country from Indianapolis to Northern California and finally Jonestown. Jones may have falsified his healings to gain attention and membership but he also helped establish nursing home and foster homes all under the church. We all think that we are incapable of being lured into a cult. Actually, Jones gave his people what they needed and he expected the same sacrifice in return. Slowly, Jones stripped his members of their finances, their homes, jobs, and obligations for the People's Temple. He provided jobs, food, and shelter as well as a great community of good people. Jones left Indianapolis because people weren't committed enough to the cause or maybe he was afraid of the exposure of his dark side. The other side of Jim Jones was equally dark but it was veiled heavily by his presence and lively performance on stage. Most of the members didn't join the People's Temple because of Jim Jones but because of how his other members were so selfless, generous, and kind to them for all their needs. Of course, now thirty years later, the search for answers to those questions of what happened on November 18, 1978 are still in debate. But the author has made a conscious effort to humanize the people of Jonestown as more than a number and faceless bodies which were splashed all over the news. For years, I have researched true crime and criminal psychology to understand the concept of Jonestown. This book has helped me understand the people who have been taken from us that day. We were robbed of them as well as their families and friends. 900 isn't just a number, they were people.
The Real Peoples Temple April 14, 2008
Studentin (Portland, OR)
This book provides a rare glimpse into the thoughts of real Peoples Temple members and the words of Jim Jones himself. People tend to forget that these were real people who saw Peoples Temple as an organization that was trying to fix the way racism was controlling America. The documents in this collection are well chosen and well presented and the photos add even more interest to this invaluable source. If you are interested in learning more about Peoples Temple, this is a must buy.
Miss you dad.. March 28, 2008
IndianaMan (New Whiteland, IN)
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
What a great collection letters, photos and memories from the life and times of the Peoples Temple.
I found it to be an easy read, the chapters have a nice flow, and it does something different than other PT books I've read. It does not show the PT members as crazied followers of a madman, but as a family. A family that was genuinely trying to create a better world. That is, until things got bad and people from the states wouldn't leave them alone.
I blame the 'concerned relatives' for more than 900 deaths on November 18th, 1978.
Reminded me of The Killing Fields February 11, 2008
cccp (Amsterdam Netherlands)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
After having read Deborah Layton's book about Jim Jones, I thought I wanted a somewhat more objective book so I ordered this one. And it didn't disappoint me. Dear People is a compelling presentation of personal stories, official documents and fascinating photos which really gave me the information I was looking for. No drama or ethos, just the plain facts. I've read many books about the Pol Pot era in Cambodia, and frankly this book fits right in - only in another setting with another crazed leader (both utopian communists, by the way). It baffles me still every day how intelligent and otherwise sane people can fall for crazed lunatics like Jim Jones.
By the way, I think that that very impressive farewell note (the Last Words), which starts off the book, supposedly from an unknown PT member who wrote it during the mass suicide, was prepared way in advance. I simply can't believe anyone can have the clear state of mind to write a letter like that while hundreds of people are dying around you, including more than 200 small children. But if it is true, it just goes to show how utterly brainwashed and inhuman these cult-members had become.
Dear People Remembering Jonestown October 21, 2007
Aidy M. Ochoa (CA USA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have read so many books regarding Jonestown/Jim Jones and I will never understand why this tragedy happened. Dear People, Remembering Jonestown brings you so much closer to the people that were in Jonestown on that tragic day. I loved the personaL letters and interviews. I specially like the personal letters from Carolyn Layton and Maria Katsaris, two of Jims closes and very personal assistants. I loved this book! If you are thinking about reading this book I recommend you read first, Seductive Poison and Six Years with God. These two books are two of the most personal stories I have read about those that were the closes to Jim Jones. I highly recommend Dear People, well put together.
A.M.O
Van Nuys, CA
Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
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