Death in the Jungle

"Yes. This is the story of Jim Jones and the community that he brought together that originally started in the United States and eventually moved to Guyana. Most of the news focused on the tragic ending in 1978, which was basically a mass suicide that Jim Jones executed. What’s brilliant about what Candace Fleming does here is, she talks about all the eclectic types of people from different backgrounds that came together because they wanted to be part of a community. She does an exceptional job highlighting and providing perspectives, having interviewed some of the very few survivors or people who had first-hand knowledge of the situation. She builds context through narrative, and we get to know some of the people. No question about it, it seems like a metaphor for some of what’s going on in the United States and around the world, for why people develop and then become grounded in these beliefs and stances as to what is true and what they need, and also how so many people are looking for the antidote to a problem. This book is taking a different lens. I think that’s really important, and she does it in such a captivating way. I’m a huge fan — if Candace Fleming writes it, I will read it. There are some original photographs. It’s YA in terms of the target audience, and you can tell by the tone and the pacing. But from a research point of view, it’s very much like an adult nonfiction book, and that’s one of the things I really appreciate about it. I think it’s for readers age 13 or 14 and up, depending on how comfortable they are with reality. There are some chapters that need a bit of context."