Jesus Freaks – A True Story of Murder and Madness on the Evangelical Edge
Don Lattin
Touching on its early history, leaders of the movement and testimony of ex- and current members, Lattin presents a creepy portrait of the Children of God cult, otherwise known as The Family. The book loosely follows the life of David Berg, the charismatic and manipulative leader, and his chosen disciple, Ricky Rodriguez. Lattin tells the story of the rise of the cult, the death of Berg and Rodriguez’s murder of Sue Kauten in an attempt to find and kill his own abusive mother and save his sister. I’m surprised Hollywood hasn’t made a movie yet – or have they?
The Celebration Chronicles – Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Property Values in Disney’s New Town
The Celebration Chronicles – Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Property Values in Disney’s New Town – Andrew Ross
We Americans like describing ourselves as pragmatic realists – capitalists who make cold, shrewd decisions based on the market and the value of a dollar stretched as thin as possible. However, conjure up visions of white picket fences, front porches, little Susie on her bike and mom making apple pie and all but the most hard-core of us will turn squishy at the knees. And there is no company on the earth to inject dreams and desires into the average Joe than the magical company of Disney. And boy do they know it. The Disney-backed planned town of...