A Thousand Lives

The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown

By: Julia Scheeres

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

They left America for the jungles of Guyana to start a better life. Yet what started as a Utopian dream soon devolved into a terrifying work camp run by a madman, ending in the mass murder-suicide of 914 members in November 1978.

In A Thousand Lives, the New York Times best-selling memoirist Julia Scheeres traces the fates of five individuals who followed Jim Jones to South America as they struggled to first build their paradise, and then survive it. Each went for different reasons - some were drawn to Jones for his progressive attitudes towards racial equality, others were dazzled by his claims to be a faith healer. But once in Guyana, Jones' drug addiction, mental decay, and sexual depredations quickly eroded the idealistic community.

For this groundbreaking book, Scheeres examined more than 50,000 pages of newly released documents that the FBI collected from the camp after the massacre - including diaries, crop reports, and letters that were never sent home - as well as hundreds of audiotapes of Jones addressing his group.

Scheeres's own experience at a religious boot camp in the Dominican Republic, detailed in her unforgettable debut memoir Jesus Land, gives her unique insight into this chilling tale.

Haunting and vividly written, A Thousand Lives is a story of blind loyalty and daring escapes, of corrupted ideals and senseless, searing loss.

©2011 Julia Scheeres (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Chilling and heart-wrenching, this is a brilliant testament to Jones's victims, so many of whom were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time." ( Publisher's Weekly)

"Scheeres shows great compassion and journalistic skill in reconstructing Jonestown’s last months and the lives of many Temple members (including a few survivors).... [A] well-written, disturbing tale of faith and evil." ( Kirkus)

"Julia Scheeres' A Thousand Lives... tells the tragic tale of Jonestown - in its way, a peculiarly American apocalypse." ( Los Angeles Times)

Compelling

Would you listen to A Thousand Lives again? Why?

No. The subject is distressing.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tommy Bogue. The independent spirit that just can't be repressed, terrified or tortured away. Went on to become a positive leader.

Which scene was your favorite?

The airstrip

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The murder of the children. I wanted to put my fist through the car window.

Any additional comments?

I had only seen a 1/2 hr documentary and heard the pop-culture derivations. I had long had an apetite for a deeper look at this descent into madness. This book is a meditation on the gradual corruption of trust to the furthest extreme. I am grateful for the narrator's approach, not trying to 'act' the voices and statements of Jones, but keeping a double narrative distance (female, and unemotive) from a terrible person and subject.

EXCELLENT BOOK - DISTURBING STORY

Julia has done an excellent job in telling the Jim Jones nightmare in a clear and complete manner.

It is riveting listening, I was glad when I got to the end because it was emotionally draining.

There are many lessons to be learnt from this nighmare - but i am still not sure excactly what they are.

I am a committed Christian and found it highly disturbing that Jim Jones used the Gospel as a front to deceive so many. What Jim Jones did, is beyond psycological manipulation - it is in the realm of demonic posession.

Interesting listen

I very much enjoyed this book. I dont normally listen to stories other than thriller/suspense (the more vampires the better) books, but I decided to broaden my horizons since I was feeling a bit bored.
This book was a very interesting listen, I knew the story of 'drink the kool-aid' but never understood or knew the story before the mass suicide.

If you are looking for a riveting story that keeps you interested by changing the perspective narrator (you hear stories from the perspective of many different survivors and journal entries of different members), this is a good one.

Terrifying, but fascinating

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Well documented, well written. Brings together, in a comprehensive way, all the details of this well-known story and gives an insight into how one person's mental illness can lead hundreds of others to their death.

Really sad story - senseless lost of life

Would you consider the audio edition of A Thousand Lives to be better than the print version?

The narrator was excellent so yes, I think the audible version is better.

What did you like best about this story?

It was a sad story. I always listen to every book more than twice. I listened to this book once and I think I can never go back to it. History must be remembered so as to not repeat it so its a good book to get to know the signs of what it means to be in a religious cult.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wish I could but it is too strong and sad to listen in one sitting.

Wow. I knew the story but I didn't KNOW it

This was a riveting, amazing account of Jonestown. I was a teen when it happened. I thought I knew the story. I didn't. Everyone needs to read this and understand how easily we can be taken in.

Incredible

This is a story that so needed to be told, a real memorial to most of the Johnstown people, those who were innocent and did not want to die. It is a hard tale to listen to but so important as a cautionary tale.

An explanation of a crazy tragedy

This book explains who Rev Jim Jones was, who are the people who loyally followed him and why, as well as what led up to that horrible day when nearly a thousand people committed mass suicide. Learning the backgrounds of Jones and his followers living in such a tumultuous time in American history allows for some understanding of what happened and why. It's sobering and sad, but paints a fuller picture of this tragedy.

Riveting !!

It's so sad to imagine people being so brainwashed and deceived...enough to become powerless human beimgs, unable to say no to their own deaths. This is another negative strike against socialism. It's a dangerous breeding ground for corruption of power. I'm especially sad for the innocents, the children and the elderly who were too weak physically to fight back.

More like a Lecture

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, it was very informative. But very dry and slow.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I haven't decided probably something by Harlen Coben.

Would you be willing to try another one of Robin Miles’s performances?

Probably not.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Definitely not.

Any additional comments?

I was really curious about the subject, but this was more like listening to a lecture. It wasn't very entertaining but it was very informative.