''Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People'' details the life and ultimate demise of

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide ...

and the

Peoples Temple The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, originally Peoples Temple Full Gospel Church and commonly shortened to Peoples Temple, was an American new religious organization which existed between 1954 and 1978. Founded in Indianapolis, Ind ...

. Written by

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

Tim Reiterman, the book reviews the history of the Peoples Temple. The book includes numerous interviews, audio tapes and documents among its hundreds of sources.

Background

In addition to covering the Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple in articles in the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

'', Reiterman also accompanied Representative

Leo Ryan Leo Joseph Ryan Jr. (May 5, 1925 – November 18, 1978) was an American teacher and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. representative from California's 11th congressional district from 1973 until his assassinati ...

on his November 1978 investigative trip to

Jonestown The Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, better known by its informal name "Jonestown", was a remote settlement in Guyana established by the Peoples Temple, a U.S.–based cult under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became internationall ...

. Reiterman was shot when the Peoples Temple's attacked Ryan's delegation at an airstrip in

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, but he survived.

Research

During the course of his research for the book, Reiterman traveled to

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

and visited locations where Jim Jones grew up and conducted interviews with local residents who knew him.

The book describes the events that occurred in

, where over 900 people lost their lives as the result of mass

forced suicide Forced suicide is a method of execution where the victim is coerced into committing suicide to avoid facing an alternative option they perceive as much worse, such as suffering torture, public humiliation, or having friends or family members ...

, which constituted the largest loss of American civilian life (other than due to natural disasters or during the course of violence with Native Americans) in United States history until the events of

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

. The book further describes the investigation and death of Representative Ryan.

Reception

In 1983, ''Raven'' was recognized with the Thomas Thompson PEN Award for nonfiction. Marshall Kilduff of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...

'' wrote highly of the book and recommended it in a 2007 summer reading list: "This stands as the definitive history of Jim Jones and his bizarre Peoples Temple." Rob Morse of the ''

'' wrote: "The book is so definitive, it's tough going. It has no cheap thrills, just depressing shivers." In a review for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

, Lisa Levitt Ryckman called the book "the most comprehensive of the dozen written since Jones directed his followers in an orgy of suicide and murder", and in a subsequent article about Jonestown reiterated her position, and referred to the book as the "definitive book on Jones and Peoples Temple". The book received a positive review in ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional pract ...

'', and reviewer Barbara Conaty wrote: "This compelling, brutally convincing account is unlikely to be surpassed." Barbara Bright of ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'' described the book as a "powerfully written and well-researched book, documenting a peculiarly American tragedy". A review in '' Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries'' called the book "Good supplementary reading for a number of college courses, and valuable for general adult reading, it is strongly recommended for all libraries," and commented "Reiterman's methods and sources are sufficiently described to certify Raven as a serious work." Herbert A. Michelson of ''

The Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

'' described ''Raven'' as : "a critically acclaimed study of the Peoples Temple". Bob MacDonald of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' characterized the book as an "excellent inquiry" into the deaths at Jonestown. In a review in ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...

'', David Evanier wrote: "Raven does not explain Jones ... But through its accumulation of excellent details, he is understood by the book's end, without apology, exaggeration, superfluous information, or psychoanalysis." Jordan Robertson of the Associated Press called ''Raven'' the "seminal book on the Peoples Temple". Writing for the ''

'', Michael Taylor characterized the work as an "exhaustive study", and Stephen G. Bloom of the ''

Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

'' called it "an exhaustive biography of Jim Jones". ''Raven'' has been used as a reference in other books discussing the events surrounding Jonestown and Peoples Temple. Henry Warner Bowden used the book as a reference in the entry on Jim Jones in ''Dictionary of American Religious Biography''. Harold G. Barrett utilized ''Raven'' as a reference in his book ''Rhetoric and Civility'', and described it as "a thorough, highly detailed and documented account".

Eugene V. Gallagher Eugene V. Gallagher (born June 23, 1950) is an American professor of religious studies at Connecticut College. His department lists his specializations as: History of religion, New religious movements, New Testament and early Christianity, W ...

and W. Michael Ashcraft referenced the book in their work ''Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America'', where they referred to it as "an engaging journalistic account".

References

External links

''Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple''
PBS, 2007 (includes Reiterman interview clips) {{DEFAULTSORT:Raven (Book) 1982 non-fiction books Books about Jonestown Leo Ryan E. P. Dutton books Cultural depictions of Jim Jones

Background

Research

Contents

Reception

References

External links