Apparently, ‘charismatic leader’ is sometimes just ‘control freak’ with better branding.
I don't often read nonfiction, but somehow ended up with a change of pace. I picked up Cult Leaders: Their Sinister Techniques and Goals by Al Cimino as an audiobook because I’ve always been fascinated by cults, particularly what draws people into them and makes them stay.
This book doesn’t really answer the first part of that question. Instead, Cimino focuses primarily on the cult leaders themselves: the techniques they use to gain control, maintain it, and manipulate the people who follow them.
And wow. Humans can be truly awful.
The book looks at a number of different cults and their leaders, including several I had never heard of before. Obviously, it would be impossible to cover every cult and every charismatic charlatan who decided that what the world really needed was someone else telling everyone how to live. But Cimino provides a broad enough selection to make the patterns painfully clear.
Again and again, leaders identify the things their followers hold most dear: family, relationships, faith, possessions, independence. They then use those very things to manipulate them. Often, those things are gradually stripped away, leaving followers increasingly dependent on the group and its leader. And disturbingly often, sexual exploitation becomes part of the equation.
It’s sickening, but it’s also fascinating to see how similar the methods can be even when the groups themselves are very different.
I listened to the audiobook and thought the narration was excellent. Considering some of the material, I’m impressed that the narrator managed to simply present the facts without sounding as disgusted as I frequently felt while listening. I’m not sure I could have managed the same restraint.
I’m giving this one four stars. It’s informative, accessible, and covers enough different groups to provide a solid introduction to the subject. Someone already deeply familiar with cults and coercive control may want something more comprehensive or psychological, but for someone beginning to research cult leaders and the methods they use to maintain control, this is a very good place to start.
Four stars, and further proof that charisma should occasionally come with a warning label.
