''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 cult leader, preacher and mass murderer who founded and led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrat ...

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 and was affiliated with the C ...

. Written by

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

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 has been published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst and the flagship of the He ...

'', Reiterman also accompanied Representative

Leo Ryan Leo Joseph Ryan Jr. (May 5, 1925 – November 18, 1978) was an American teacher and Democratic Party politician who represented California's 11th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973 until his assassination ho ...

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, an American religious movement under the leadership of Jim Jones. Jonestown became in ...

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

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

, but he survived.

Research

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

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

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 Torture murder, being tortured to death, suffering public humiliation, or Kin p ...

, 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, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

. 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 M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' 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 not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, 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 prac ...

'', 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,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' 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 William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'', 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 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".

Planned adaptation

In 2016, it was announced that

Vince Gilligan George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American screenwriter and filmmaker. He is best known as the creator, primary writer, executive producer, and occasional director of the AMC (TV channel), AMC crime drama series ''Brea ...

of ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC (TV channel), AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White (Bryan Cran ...

'' and ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'' would be developing an

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

limited miniseries based on ''Raven'', about Jones and the 1978 Jonestown tragedy. It would have been co-produced by

Octavia Spencer Octavia Lenora Spencer (born May 25, 1970) is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Primetime Emmy ...

and Gilligan's longtime collaborator

Michelle MacLaren Michelle Maxwell MacLaren is a Canadian television director and producer. She has directed episodes of ''The X-Files'', ''Better Call Saul'', ''Breaking Bad'', ''The Walking Dead (TV series), The Walking Dead'', ''Game of Thrones'', and ''Westwor ...

. However, in 2018, Gilligan said that he had slowed down on developing the project.

References

External links