The History of Cults: From Satanic Sects to the Manson Family

Description

In The History of Cults, Robert Schroeder examines movements of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in a historical and cultural context, tracing their existence back to the earliest days of mankind. Investigating the essence of their continued appeal with reference to the experiences of ex-members, along with profiles of their often enigmatic creators and leaders, he provides a compelling and sometimes disturbing insight into these mysterious organizations, be they modern or ancient. More than 50 cults, movements, cult leaders, sects and religions of the modern and ancient world are explained and explored.

Robert Schroeder has travelled extensively, working in various part of the world as a journalist. While in North America around the time of the Waco massacre, he gained an interest in exploring the rationale that can lure apparently ordinary people into extreme and radical religious movements, and began a writing career exploring the world of cults and fringe sects.