In the late 1990s, the community of Bassa Modenese, Italy, faced a Satanic Panic. Children began making disturbing accusations against their family members and other members of the community, including a priest. The accusations ranged from various forms of sexual abuse, to being locked inside tombs in cemeteries. The reports seem wholly unfounded, though it is certainly possible, maybe even probable, that some of the children were victims of sexual abuse or physical abuse at the hands of their parents. Certainly, at least in one case, there was some neglect and lack of care. It is interesting to note that all of the children were seen by a young, inexperienced psychologist. This book outlines each allegation and the results of the investigations into these families.

The book was very well done. I had never heard of this, so I learned a great deal from this book. I have formed the opinion that the psychologist was not behaving properly in these instances. I think the way the children's services people reacted, in concert with law enforcement, was disgraceful. I think what happened to these children and their families was beyond disgraceful. The Satanic Panic is irritating to me, simply because of the rabid ridiculousness of it. It's like a new flavor of witch hunts, which was also ridiculous and detrimental to individuals and society as a whole. This book was something like six hours to listen to but is around 300 pages if you prefer a physical copy. It was a pretty quick read, especially if you read fast. 

 

I listened to this book today at work and learned a lot of really interesting stuff. I had no idea that you had to attend school to be a funeral director. I assumed if one wasn't doing the embalming, school would not be needed. I also learned that coroners take classes at the police academy about crime scenes and other things. Never knew it. I also never knew people threw kids of the Golden Gate Bridge before leaping to their deaths as well. This was a solid read, and really got me through the day happily.

 

Bobby Joe Long was born in West Virginia in 1953. Long was a serial rapist and serial killer, active during the 1980s. One of his victims, Lisa McVey, was snatched as a teenager. She was taken to his home, where he assaulted her repeatedly. She left plenty of fingerprints at the scene. She was set free by Long, and reported all she could remember to the police. Her actions allowed police to apprehend Long. McVey later became a police officer. Long eventually confessed to nine murders and the assault against Lisa McVey. Long died in 2019 via lethal injection. 

It is interesting to note that Long suffered from several head injuries as a child, and that must not be discounted when looking at motivations for crimes. Traumatic brain injuries affect people's impulse control, conscience, and aggression. While this may not have been the root cause of Long's crimes, it probably did not help. The same can be said for the bullying he faced while growing up. Long was born with Klinefelter Syndrome, which caused him to grow breasts. This syndrome can also result in small and poorly functioning testicles. Long also had a weird relationship with his mother. None of these factors could have possibly been good for his murderous predilections.  

This case was featured on Forensic Files, and this book is on the Forensic Files reading list. The book outlines the life and crimes of Long sufficiently. It was a fairly quick read, though some of the court parts were a bit tedious. Overall, a solid crime book for those interested in serial killers.

Jeffery Gorton entered the hotel room of Nancy Ludwig in February 1991. Nancy was a flight attendant who was scheduled to work a flight the next day, so she rented a room in a hotel near the airport. She was found the next morning by housekeeping, bound and stabbed in the bed. Nancy had also been sexually assaulted. DNA and Fingerprint evidence linked Gorton to Nancy's murder, as well as another murder with striking similarities. Gorton was convicted, and is serving three life sentences in a Michigan prison. 

This case was featured on Forensic Files and is on the Forensic Files reading list. The book outlines the details of the case sufficiently and discusses the use of DNA technology and the advancements made in the years following the Nancy's murder. Technology continues to advance yearly and brings hope that many more cold cases will be resolved. 

William Allen Jordan met and "married" a series of women. He met many of them through online dating sites, from countries around the world. He conned them into supporting him financially, impregnated them, and convinced them he was a CIA operative. He wound up having 13 known children. He was jailed for bigamy theft, and impersonating law enforcement. He served only three years, and his whereabout and current shenanigans are unknown since his release.

This case has been featured on Dateline and is part of the Dateline reading list. The book covered the details of the case appropriately. It was a fairly short read, and I finished it in one day. 

 

Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, also known as Sri Chinmoy, was born in India in 1931. He joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram at the age of eleven and spent the next twenty years learning the practices of meditation and spiritualism. He moved to New York City in 1964 after receiving a "divine message" to help people in spiritual matters. He toured the world, giving concerts and talks on spiritual matters, and opened his own spiritual centers. He met many celebrities, including Princess Diana, the Pope, various political figures, and professional athletes. He was lauded as a wonderful person full of peace and hope, and many were devastated when he died from a heart attack in 2007. Of course, people like to remember only the good things about people they like and dismiss all accusations against them. This man ran a cult. He made sexual advances toward the women in his cult, despite them being married to other people. He orchestrated marriages. He named people's children. He did not approve of secular education or mingling with "outsiders" and required obedience and devotion to himself and his teachings. He banned dancing, eating meat, pets, and dating.

The author of this book was a former member of this cult. She outlines her experiences as a child who was named by this "guru" and the devotion of her parents to him. She makes a strong case for this religious group being a cult, and I am inclined to believe that it was certainly a cult. The author does mention that many of the members have a different experience of this group than she did, as she was close to the "guru" and inside the inner circle. The group had several institutions around the world and the further you get from the center of influence, the less likely you are to see the cultish characteristics. I appreciated that she made that disclaimer, because people do have different experiences and perceptions of things. I thought this book was interesting, and I did like learning about the author's experiences. I had never heard of this person before, despite his famous friends and all of these tours he did. He was very active during the time when I was in middle and high school, dying the year after I graduated, but I never recall seeing anything about him in the media. I learned a lot about this guy from this book. I have the Audible version, and I listened to it yesterday at work. It was about 6 hours of listening time. The physical copy is less than 300 pages, if you are interested in that version.

 

 Jim Jones was born in 1931 in Indiana. He became an ordained minister in the Christian faith and displayed a penchant for religious fanaticism even as a child. He formed the People's Temple, which he led from 1955 to 1978. He scammed his followers in a variety of ways. He had followers turn over their money, possessions, and property. He had them believing in fake miracles that he orchestrated. Eventually, he conned them into moving to a commune in South America, where Jones subjected them to various tortures and manipulations. Ultimately, 909 people died in the mass murder-suicides that Jones instructed that they carry out. Most members drank cyanide laced Flavor Aid after poisoning the children. A few died in various other ways, with Jones himself dying from a gunshot wound to the head. 276 of the dead were minors under the age of 18. Only 85 survived, due to being away from the commune or hiding through the events.

I have listened to podcasts, read and watched several things about Jim Jones and the People's Temple. I was surprised to learn new things from this book. I was unaware that Jones was cremated and scattered in the Atlantic Ocean, which is probably for the best. Some weirdos would definitely make his gravesite a bizarre shrine. I also never knew, forgot, or it never occurred to me that the people living in the commune were infested with intestinal parasites. People warn you about the transmission of parasites and other diseases from water in jungles and other countries...yet this never entered my mind. It also discussed the spread of ringworm and athlete's foot among followers and I just thing that adds an entire other level to the misery they must have been facing. This book was around 9 hours long. I started it yesterday at work and finished it today. If you are interested in cults, this is a solid book. 

 Pat Tillman was born in 1976 in California. He became a professional football player in the National Football League, playing for the Arizona Cardinals. After the terrorist attacks, Tillman enlisted in the United States Army Rangers. He served several tours of duty overseas, before being killed by accidental friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004. This book discusses Tilman's life and military service.

This was a pretty moving book to me. I think books like this affect me a lot having lost someone because of this war. Not IN the war, but after because of things they experienced. I enjoyed this book. 

 This book was really interesting. Each chapter discussed a different part of the history of science and other weird doings. I started this Audible book at work yesterday and finished it last night when I got home. It was about eight hours to listen to. It had a lot of really cool facts and stories in it. I would definitely recommend this book if you are interested in random topics. 

 This memoir of opioid addiction is a great reminder that people from all walks of life and socioeconomic status can become addicted. It is also a great reminder that people can easily become addicted to prescription medications that they were provided for legitimate reasons. I got this book on the recent 2 for 1 credit sale on Audible, and I am pleased with the purchase. It took about five hours to listen to. If you are interested in the physical copy, it was less than 300 pages.