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"In March 1997, thirty-nine people in Rancho Santa Fe, California, ritually terminated their lives. To outsiders, it was a mass suicide. To insiders, it was a graduation. This act was the culmination of over two decades of spiritual and social development for the members of Heavenâs Gate.
In this fascinating overview, Benjamin Zeller not only explores the question of why the members of Heavenâs Gate committed ritual suicides, but interrogates the origin and evolution of the religion, its appeal, and its practices. By tracking the development of the history, social structure, and worldview of Heavenâs Gate, Zeller draws out the ways in which the movement was both a reflection and a microcosm of larger American...>>