Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2006, Page 89
external factors affect everyone in a given area, not just potential terrorists and everyone
is alienated and humiliated to greater or lesser extents. In spite of this pervasive alienation
and humiliation, only a minority of the affected join terrorist cults. Obviously, this minority
is affected more deeply than the majority who do not join. Why? There are clearly other
factors involved than just the five discussed by Dr. Stern.
Dr. Stern‘s contributions in Part II are both clearer and more significant. Specifically, she
makes the reader aware that the madrassas religious schools are a crucial component for
Islamic terrorist groups. Without the schools, the groups would have a much more difficult
time finding a pre-indoctrinated supply of new recruits. Overall, she rightly points to the
danger of terrorist use of modern technology against the modern world, and to the terrorist
use of the latest type (based on modern communication technology) of corporate
organizational technique, the virtual organization. Modern terrorists are not only deadly,
they are smart and technologically sophisticated.
In my opinion, Dr. Stern‘s greatest contribution is made in chapter 10, ―Recommendations.‖
Dr. Stern is neither a hawk nor a dove she is both. Her realistic, pragmatic,
counterterrorism recommendations reflect her vast experience in this area. She understands
a fundamental truth about counterterrorism: We must rigorously counter terrorists in the
short term, while trying to eliminate the ―breeding conditions‖ for potential terrorists in the
long term.
I found this book most interesting as a profile in courage. Dr. Stern‘s odyssey was
fascinating, and her ability to gather information from initially reluctant interviewees is
remarkable. As a researcher in this area, I would be very interested in seeing the transcripts
of actual interviews and the data from her surveys.
Anthony Stahelski, Ph.D.
Dr. Anthony Stahelski is a Professor of Psychology at Central Washington University. He has a Ph.D. in
social and organizational psychology from UCLA. His research interests encompass various aspects of
group and organizational behavior, focusing particularly on violent cults and organizations. He is
currently co-authoring a book with Dr. Michael Patch entitled Dark Conversions: A Model of Cult-
Induced Violence, to be published by the National Social Science Association Press in September,
2006.
All the Fishes Come Home to Roost: An American Misfit in
India
Rachel Manija Brown, Rodale Inc., 2005. ISBN 1594861390 (hardcover), $23.95.
352 pages
Most accounts of an individual‘s immersion in an esoteric or controversial religion fall into
one of two categories. There are affirmative or devotional discourses in which the ultimate
truth and value of a generally scorned faith is vindicated. There are also bitterly antagonistic
accounts that decry one‘s harrowing bondage to a seductive but ultimately pernicious,
mind-controlling creed and celebrate one‘s subsequent emancipation. What these polarized
narratives have in common is that the writer‘s attitude toward the esoteric creed in question
is deadly serious. The writers now either cling to their redemptive benefactor or flee an
insidious menace.
Neither attitude really characterizes All the Fishes Come Home to Roost, Rachel Manija
Brown‘s humorous memoir of her childhood involvement with the religion of Meher Baba.
The faith had been more or less imposed on young ―Mani‖ by her parents, particularly her
devout mother. The latter, who is depicted as being somewhat insipid, continually exclaims
―Baba, Baba, Baba‖ upon experiencing any significant emotion or challenge. Her father
seems less extreme in his verbal behavior, but he possesses 89 pictures of Meher Baba.
external factors affect everyone in a given area, not just potential terrorists and everyone
is alienated and humiliated to greater or lesser extents. In spite of this pervasive alienation
and humiliation, only a minority of the affected join terrorist cults. Obviously, this minority
is affected more deeply than the majority who do not join. Why? There are clearly other
factors involved than just the five discussed by Dr. Stern.
Dr. Stern‘s contributions in Part II are both clearer and more significant. Specifically, she
makes the reader aware that the madrassas religious schools are a crucial component for
Islamic terrorist groups. Without the schools, the groups would have a much more difficult
time finding a pre-indoctrinated supply of new recruits. Overall, she rightly points to the
danger of terrorist use of modern technology against the modern world, and to the terrorist
use of the latest type (based on modern communication technology) of corporate
organizational technique, the virtual organization. Modern terrorists are not only deadly,
they are smart and technologically sophisticated.
In my opinion, Dr. Stern‘s greatest contribution is made in chapter 10, ―Recommendations.‖
Dr. Stern is neither a hawk nor a dove she is both. Her realistic, pragmatic,
counterterrorism recommendations reflect her vast experience in this area. She understands
a fundamental truth about counterterrorism: We must rigorously counter terrorists in the
short term, while trying to eliminate the ―breeding conditions‖ for potential terrorists in the
long term.
I found this book most interesting as a profile in courage. Dr. Stern‘s odyssey was
fascinating, and her ability to gather information from initially reluctant interviewees is
remarkable. As a researcher in this area, I would be very interested in seeing the transcripts
of actual interviews and the data from her surveys.
Anthony Stahelski, Ph.D.
Dr. Anthony Stahelski is a Professor of Psychology at Central Washington University. He has a Ph.D. in
social and organizational psychology from UCLA. His research interests encompass various aspects of
group and organizational behavior, focusing particularly on violent cults and organizations. He is
currently co-authoring a book with Dr. Michael Patch entitled Dark Conversions: A Model of Cult-
Induced Violence, to be published by the National Social Science Association Press in September,
2006.
All the Fishes Come Home to Roost: An American Misfit in
India
Rachel Manija Brown, Rodale Inc., 2005. ISBN 1594861390 (hardcover), $23.95.
352 pages
Most accounts of an individual‘s immersion in an esoteric or controversial religion fall into
one of two categories. There are affirmative or devotional discourses in which the ultimate
truth and value of a generally scorned faith is vindicated. There are also bitterly antagonistic
accounts that decry one‘s harrowing bondage to a seductive but ultimately pernicious,
mind-controlling creed and celebrate one‘s subsequent emancipation. What these polarized
narratives have in common is that the writer‘s attitude toward the esoteric creed in question
is deadly serious. The writers now either cling to their redemptive benefactor or flee an
insidious menace.
Neither attitude really characterizes All the Fishes Come Home to Roost, Rachel Manija
Brown‘s humorous memoir of her childhood involvement with the religion of Meher Baba.
The faith had been more or less imposed on young ―Mani‖ by her parents, particularly her
devout mother. The latter, who is depicted as being somewhat insipid, continually exclaims
―Baba, Baba, Baba‖ upon experiencing any significant emotion or challenge. Her father
seems less extreme in his verbal behavior, but he possesses 89 pictures of Meher Baba.
