Download or read book Cults written by Max Cutler and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-07-12 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The cult leaders detailed in this book would stand out in any lineup. Each has some trait that sets them apart: ruthlessness, childhood shame, repressed sexuality, a grandiose belief in personal genius, the sense of pleasure derived by inciting terror in their intimates. Almost all share three distinguishing traits-what is known as the dark triad of malevolent narcissism: lack of empathy, a manipulative attitude, and excessive self-love. In each case, it is impossible to say whether they arrived at these characteristics by nature or nurture. But nearly every figure highlights evidence of the forces that shut off their capacity for empathy. Although the arc of their lives is known and the facts of their misdeeds are almost entirely settled, there is still a mystery in every one. The more closely readers look, the harder it is to settle this central question: Did these people, with their extraordinary capacities to charm, lie, manipulate, seduce, and fabricate alternate realities, come to their core malevolence at birth, or did the circumstances of their lives somehow turn them into monsters? Did they have a choice? If they did not feel regret about the worst of their choices, what did they actually feel? Book jacket.