Book

Lifton, Robert Jay, 1926-

Destroying the world to save it : Aum Shinrikyō, apocalyptic violence, and the new global terrorism / Robert Jay Lifton.

1st Owl Books ed.

New York : Henry Holt and Co., 2000.

376 pages ; 21 cm

"On March 20, 1995, members of the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo released sarin nerve gas into the Tokyo subway system, killing 11 people and injuring 5000. Lifton (The Nazi Doctors) provides a psychological examination of the motives of the group and its founder, Shoiko Asahara. Lengthy interviews with ten former low-level Aum members give fascinating insight into the appeal of Asahara's combination of Buddhism, New Age thinking, and apoplectic visions; daily life within Aum Shinrikyo; and their own attempts to rationalize or reject the group's actions. Lifton also discusses the characteristics of Aum that caused it to move toward violence. He closes by exploring the same themes among the cults of Charles Manson and Jim Jones, the Heaven's Gate cult, and American white supremist groups. " -- From Library Journal.

Asahara, Shōkō

Oumu Shinrikyō (Religious organization)

"An Owl Book."

"First published in hardcover in 1999 by Metropolitan Books"--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 345-360) and index.

The guru and his cult -- Imagining the end -- Forcing the end -- Clones of the guru -- The ecstatic science -- Killing to heal -- Megalomania -- Ultimate weapons, ultimate attraction -- Crossing the threshold -- Surviving Aum -- A Japanese phenomenon? -- Forcing the end, American style -- Inward Aum? -- American apocalypse.

* 99023905

0805065113

9780805065114

45708773

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299.93 Lifton