Week 12 Prompt

Reader’s Advisory Matrix: 
The Road to Jonestown by Jeff Guinn

Where is the book on the narrative continuum?

A mix (computes highly narrative moments with periods of fact-based prose)

What is the subject of the book

The subject of this book is Jim Jones - it’s a biography of his life with a focus on his time at Peoples Temple.

What type of book is it?

True crime / Biography

 Articulate Appeal

What is the pacing of the book? 

The book is long, but the pacing is relatively steady throughout, though it speeds up marginally when Jonestown becomes involved.

Describe the characters of the book

The big character in this book is Jim Jones himself: we follow him through his entire life, and there are brief moments of focus on people who were around him, like his mother, wife, children, and others in Peoples Temple that he interacted with frequently.

How does the story feel?

Creepy but informative - the first chapter begins with reports of something happening in Jonestown, but then we go back to Jone’s childhood and work our way back to Jonestown.

What is the intent of the author?

To convey, objectively, the life of Jim Jones.

What is the focus of the story?

Jim Jones - though most people would be reading it for the focus of the Jonestown Massacre, and it is the second big focus of the book.

The does language matter?

Yes. 

Is the setting important and well described?

Yes - each time a move is made to a different city, be it Richmond to Indianapolis, or California to Guyana, time is spent with the geography and population makeup of each place, as well as the buildings and land that Jones inhabits.

Are there details, and if so, of what?

All of the things. There’s so much detail, which makes it a long book, but it’s not overly dry or unnecessary information.

Are there sufficient charts and other graphic materials? Are they useful and clear?

No, and they’re not needed.

Does the book stress moments of learning, understanding or experience?

Yes - there are moments, for example, where the author stresses how Jones slowly escalated, and many of his followers didn’t even realize things were getting worse, per se.

 Why would a reader enjoy this book? (Rank appeal)

1 Comprehensive, 2 Disturbing, 3 Intensifying