Seductive Poison
Encyclopedia
Seductive Poison: A Jonestown Survivor's Story of Life and Death in the Peoples Temple is a first-hand account of the incidents surrounding Peoples Temple
, written by survivor Deborah Layton. The first edition of the book was published by Doubleday in hardcover on November 3, 1998, and the second edition was published in paperback on November 9, 1999.
Deborah Layton was a high-level member of the Peoples Temple for seven years. While in Jonestown, she was married to George Phillip Blakey . When she returned to the United States, Layton submitted an affidavit
about the compound in Guyana
, which helped convince United States Congressman Leo Ryan
to make his journey there. Layton is also the sister of Lawrence John (Larry) Layton, who was the only one ever prosecuted for the murders of the congressional team by Temple members. Larry Layton was released on parole in 2002, largely due to the testimony of Vernon Gosney, one of the few survivors of the massacre. She is the daughter of the late Laurence Laird Layton.
stated of the book: "Her privileged status as a trusted inner circle member - responsible for depositing millions of dollars in foreign banks - gives her story an untold perspective on this charismatic leader and the transformations of human nature that took place among so many followers under his domination. Layton's is a remarkable narrative that reads like a novel, but sadly is all too true."
The book is also a part of the curriculum at Gonzaga University
's Doctorate Program for Leadership.
featured the book in a cover story which stated: "Layton's account is clearly the most important personal testimony to emerge from the Jonestown tragedy."
The San Francisco Chronicle
featured the book in a front page article which stated: "[The book] paints a convincing picture of what it was like to spend seven years in the notorious cult, only to escape a few months before the tragedy that gave Jonestown its infamous place in history as the site of the largest mass suicide in modern times." The book was later a part of the tenth annual San Francisco Bay Area
Book Festival.
Fox Television's Documentary Series won an Emmy Award
for a program in which Layton was featured discussing the book. The book was also featured on Dateline NBC
, The Leeza Show, CNN
, and the Arts and Entertainment Network.
Peoples Temple
Peoples Temple was a religious organization founded in 1955 by Jim Jones that, by the mid-1970s, included over a dozen locations in California including its headquarters in San Francisco...
, written by survivor Deborah Layton. The first edition of the book was published by Doubleday in hardcover on November 3, 1998, and the second edition was published in paperback on November 9, 1999.
Deborah Layton was a high-level member of the Peoples Temple for seven years. While in Jonestown, she was married to George Phillip Blakey . When she returned to the United States, Layton submitted an affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
about the compound in Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, which helped convince United States Congressman Leo Ryan
Leo Ryan
Leo Joseph Ryan, Jr. was an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served as a U.S. Representative from California's 11th congressional district from 1973 until he was murdered in Guyana by members of the Peoples Temple shortly before the Jonestown Massacre in 1978.After the Watts Riots...
to make his journey there. Layton is also the sister of Lawrence John (Larry) Layton, who was the only one ever prosecuted for the murders of the congressional team by Temple members. Larry Layton was released on parole in 2002, largely due to the testimony of Vernon Gosney, one of the few survivors of the massacre. She is the daughter of the late Laurence Laird Layton.
University text
Dr. Philip ZimbardoPhilip Zimbardo
Philip George Zimbardo is an American psychologist and a professor emeritus at Stanford University. He is president of the Heroic Imagination Project...
stated of the book: "Her privileged status as a trusted inner circle member - responsible for depositing millions of dollars in foreign banks - gives her story an untold perspective on this charismatic leader and the transformations of human nature that took place among so many followers under his domination. Layton's is a remarkable narrative that reads like a novel, but sadly is all too true."
The book is also a part of the curriculum at Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University is a private Roman Catholic university located in Spokane, Washington, United States. Founded in 1887 by the Society of Jesus, it is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and is named after the young Jesuit saint, Aloysius Gonzaga...
's Doctorate Program for Leadership.
Media coverage
The Chicago TribuneChicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
featured the book in a cover story which stated: "Layton's account is clearly the most important personal testimony to emerge from the Jonestown tragedy."
The San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
featured the book in a front page article which stated: "[The book] paints a convincing picture of what it was like to spend seven years in the notorious cult, only to escape a few months before the tragedy that gave Jonestown its infamous place in history as the site of the largest mass suicide in modern times." The book was later a part of the tenth annual San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
Book Festival.
Fox Television's Documentary Series won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for a program in which Layton was featured discussing the book. The book was also featured on Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC. It previously was NBC's flagship news magazine, but now focuses on true crime stories. It airs Friday at 9 p.m. EST and after football season on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.-History:Dateline is historically notable for...
, The Leeza Show, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, and the Arts and Entertainment Network.
See also
- Jim JonesJim JonesJames Warren "Jim" Jones was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, which is best known for the November 18, 1978 mass suicide of 909 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana along with the killings of five other people at a nearby airstrip.Jones was born in Indiana and started the Temple in...
- JonestownJonestownJonestown was the informal name for the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, an intentional community in northwestern Guyana formed by the Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones. It became internationally notorious when, on November 18, 1978, 918 people died in the settlement as well as in a nearby...
- Peoples TemplePeoples TemplePeoples Temple was a religious organization founded in 1955 by Jim Jones that, by the mid-1970s, included over a dozen locations in California including its headquarters in San Francisco...
- Peoples Temple in San FranciscoPeoples Temple in San FranciscoThe Peoples Temple, the organization at the center of the Jonestown incident, was headquartered in San Francisco, California, from the early to mid-1970s until the Temple's move to Guyana....
- Timothy StoenTimothy StoenTimothy Oliver Stoen , is best known for his central role as a member of the Peoples Temple and later opposition to the group in a multi-year custody battle over John Stoen that led to an investigation of the Peoples Temple's settlement at Jonestown, Guyana...
- Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples TempleJonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples TempleJonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, is a 2006 documentary film made by Firelight Media. The documentary reveals new footage of the incidents surrounding the Peoples Temple and its leader Jim Jones who led over 900 members of his Cult to a settlement in Guyana called Jonestown, where he...
- Mass SuicideMass suicide- Examples :Mass suicide sometimes occurs in religious or cultic settings. Defeated groups may resort to mass suicide rather than being captured. Suicide pacts are a form of mass suicide unconnected to cults or war that are sometimes planned or carried out by small groups of frustrated people...
- Cult suicideCult suicideA cult suicide is a term used to describe the mass suicide by the members of groups that have been considered cults. In some cases, all or nearly all members have committed suicide at the same time and place. Groups that have committed such mass suicides and that have been called cults include...
- CultCultThe word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
- Destructive cultDestructive cultA destructive cult is a religion or other group which has caused or has a high probability of causing harm to its own members or to others. Some researchers define "harm" in this case with a narrow focus, specifically groups which have deliberately physically injured or killed other individuals,...
External links
- 20 Years Later, Jonestown Survivor Confronts Horrors, San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, November 2, 1998 - NPR All Things Considered, November 17, 1998 · Noah Adams interviews Deborah Layton