Category: Memoirs

The best books of the year, in my opinion, are the following.  All are non-fiction, and I think all are very timely.

The Road to Jonestown by Jeff Guinn

This is a biography of the infamous Reverend Jim Jones, aka the leader of the Peoples Temple cult.  It started in Indiana, then moved to California, and finally ended in Guyana.  It’s a complete account of Jones’s life, up to the massacre/mass suicide in Jonestown, Guyana.  The opening prologue is chilling and well-written.

This isn’t the only book I’ve read about the Peoples Temple cult, so I already knew the basics.  But this one gives you so much more, because it covers Jones’s background and life prior to Jonestown, of which was officially called the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project.

The author seemed to be somewhat sympathetic to Jones due to Jones’s political views, and it almost seemed as if he were saying, “oh, if only he hadn’t been a drug-addled megalomaniac…he would have been a great guy otherwise!”  Yes, Jim Jones was anti-racist, and I think part of it was genuine, but in the end it was very, very obvious that he just used that as a hook to gain followers.  Just like he shamelessly used Christianity as a hook to gain followers.  He was never really a Christian and at the end was very anti-Christian.  Jones was also a communist.

The events of the book happened a few years before I was born, which made it doubly fascinating.  People don’t really talk about this anymore.  It was one of the deadliest days in American history before 9/11. I have some theories as to why, but I won’t go into it.  I highly recommend this book, though.  It’s riveting and very timely, considering the whole Scientology issue and all.

Dangerous by Milo Yiannopolous

When I heard that Simon & Schuster was going to publish a book by Milo, I was so excited.  Then the pedophilia hit job happened and it was cancelled.  I was not happy.  But Milo never gives up.  He started his own publishing company and published it himself, and with a better cover image.

This is kind of a memoir/political commentary kind of book.  He does briefly talk about his background but mostly covers some of the political issues of the day, and with his signature humor.  His voice is excellent, and I could easily imagine him reading each line aloud.

I think it is an important book for those of us on the right, and should especially be read by politicians.  This book, like Vox Day’s SJWs Always Lie, gives excellent advice on how to handle the shit the left slings at us on a regular basis, and insights as to why the left is the way it is.

As of this writing, Simon & Schuster has basically leaked the original manuscript of this book, complete with their editor’s notes.  I’ve only started to go through it.  Like, I’m only about seven pages in.  Most of the criticism is baseless and tone-deaf, but some of it is legit.  I might do a review of that whenever I finish reading it.

Milo, after the cancellation of his book, sued Simon & Schuster for breach of contract, so that’s why they leaked the manuscript.  It was entered as evidence, so I guess it’s not really a leak per se, but still.  It’s the entire book and you can read it for free.  Kind of a dick move, but whatever.  As I said, I highly recommend the finished version.

The Last Closet:  The Dark Side of Avalon by Moira Greyland

I’ve already written a separate review for this, so I’ll be brief.  The daughter of fantasy author Marion Zimmer Bradley and Walter Breen has published her memoirs/tell all through Castalia House, exposing the ultra-progressive sci-fi community as the disgusting perverts they are.  Calling them perverts is too mild, I guess.  What they’ve done goes straight into abuser territory.

It’s a very tough read, as she is pretty frank about what her parents did to her, but does not go into lurid detail.  She’s also very honest and open about how the abuse affected her mentally.  It is also a sad read, but a necessary one.  Moira comes to the conclusion that homosexuality is not good for society, and leftists – those who bother to acknowledge the book’s existence, that is – will be apoplectic about it.  However you feel about homosexuality and its place in society, I still think this is an important book to read.  There’s serious issues in that community that really needs to be addressed, and sweeping it under the rug and shrieking HOMOPHOBE isn’t going to do anyone any favors.  Furthermore, as I said in the original review, expect to see much more of this as the children of today grow older.

Gosnell:  The Untold Story of America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer by Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer

I’ve already reviewed this here, so I’ll be brief.  This is a pretty good and compelling account of Kermit Gosnell’s crimes and the grand jury report that initially exposed them.  It also covers his trial, and the authors even interviewed him.  He’s still completely unapologetic, by the way.  It is going to be turned into a movie, but I haven’t heard much about that lately.  The abortion industry is just flat out evil, and it’s a tragedy that many abortion supporters care more about it remaining legal and utterly problem-free than they are about the health and safety of the women that seek such (horrible) procedures.