It illustrates how authoritarianism is embedded in the way people think, hiding in culture, values, daily life, and in the very morality people try to live by. The book unmasks authoritarianism in such areas as relationships, cults, 12-step groups, religion, and contemporary morality. Chapters on addiction and love show the insidious nature of authoritarian values and ideologies in the most intimate corners of life, offering new frameworks for understanding why people get addicted and why intimacy is laden with conflict. By exposing the inner authoritarian that people use to control themselves and others, the authors show why people give up their power, and how others get and maintain it.

    Includes favorite tactics used by the Witnesses and effective biblical responses.

    The glossing over of deceit in Warnke's 20-year reign as the "king of Christian comedy" in the evangelical recording and publishing industry is brought to light, as are the struggles of those who sought to be a corrective measure in his life.-- It is more than the story of one individual; it also deals with his effect on others. (selling sattan) should be read by all those concerned with Satanic-cult hysteria", -- Peter Huston, Skeptical Inquirer

    A three-year publication ban on evidence was lifted only after Theriault pleaded guilty in January 1993 to a charge of second-degree murder. But even then much horrific material was never released. This book makes it clear that when Canadians read of a Charles Manson or a David Koresh, they cannot look complacently southwards and say "it can never happen here."How did Theriault, who called himself Moses, maintain control over his eight wives and twenty-six children? How could someone once described as a "renaissance man" be so sadistic? How is it conceivable that the women he "married" stuck with him through torture, drunken orgies and the removal of their children by an appalled Children's Aid Society?What sort of prophetic charisma led Rock Theriault's followers to work tirelessly for him in remote bush country and become unquestioning witnesses to -and victims of- his atrocities? How was Theriault able to charm his way past so many psychiatrists and social workers? Finally, what, if anything, can relatives or the police do to intervene in such a cult unless or until crimes are brought to light?No one who absorbs this shocking story can take lightly the date on which Rock Theriault can apply for parole. No one who reads this remarkable piece of investigative reporting can fail to be compelled by the amazing narrative it unfolds.

    Michael Langone and his colleagues provide practical guidelines for helping former cult members manage the problems they encounter when leaving cults.