Paperback / softback | |
October 3, 2023 | |
9781421448107 | |
English | |
320 | |
39 | |
1 | |
9.00 Inches (US) | |
6.00 Inches (US) | |
0.83 Inches (US) | |
$24.95 USD, £20.50 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
The Rise and Fall of Synanon
A California Utopia
The definitive account of Synanon.
On a fall day in 1978, Los Angeles attorney Paul Morantz reached into his mailbox to collect his mail and was nearly killed. He was bitten by the four-foot-long rattlesnake that had been put there by members of a cultlike group called Synanon.
Chuck Dederich—a former Alcoholics Anonymous member who coined the phrase "Today is the first day of the rest of your life"—established Synanon as an innovative drug rehabilitation center near the Santa Monica beach in 1958. Synanon quickly evolved into an experimental commune and religion that attracted thousands of members and was strongly committed to social justice and progressive education. Twenty years later, when Dederich was arrested for the Morantz attack, Synanon had devolved into a paranoid community that followed its egomaniacal leader in whatever direction he chose to take.
Based on extensive primary sources and interviews with former members, The Rise and Fall of Synanon explores how the group arose in the context of American social, political, and economic trends. Historian Rod Janzen argues that Synanon's downfall resulted from members giving too much power to Synanon's charismatic founder. The subject of a new documentary and podcast, this community serves as a mesmerizing case study of how alternative societies can change over time and how the general public's reactions to such societies can shift from tolerance to fear and opposition.
About the Author
Rod Janzen is a Distinguished Scholar and professor of history at Fresno Pacific University. He is the author of The Hutterites in North America and The Prairie People: Forgotten Anabaptists.
Reviews
"Authoritative and highly readable."
"A most offbeat and interesting work by an historian well versed in the history of American utopianism."
"A remarkable and uniquely American story... The research is exhaustive, and this by itself makes the book an invaluable resource for anyone interested in learning about the day-to-day workings of Synanon."
"Rod Janzen has pieced together the first retrospective narrative history of the group, tracing both the trajectory of the organization and the contradictory life of Chuck Dederich, its founding guru... Janzen is a sympathetic observer who faithfully chronicles Dederich's decline into clinically defined bipolar illness and egomania."
"Why should we read Janzen's book instead [of other accounts of Synanon]? Because Janzen clearly shows us the mundane ordinariness of Synanon, a utopia without utopian theory or religious or political basis."
Endorsements
"Synanon, for all its size and cultural significance, has not previously been the subject of this kind of overview study. Janzen's scholarship is impressive, making use of a vast amount of primary material. The combination of written and oral sources is particularly appropriate."
Johns Hopkins University Press | |
2001 | |
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From 17 | |
Paperback / softback | |
October 3, 2023 | |
9781421448107 | |
English | |
320 | |
39 | |
1 | |
9.00 Inches (US) | |
6.00 Inches (US) | |
0.83 Inches (US) | |
$24.95 USD, £20.50 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Other Titles by Rod Janzen
The Hutterites in North America
Other Titles in RELIGION / Cults
Raising the Devil
The Orphic Hymns
Promoting the Saints
Other Titles in Religion: general
American Kairos
Sacred Engagements
Situating Poetry