Cults

I couldn't put it better than Steven Hassan:

A destructive cult is a pyramid-shaped authoritarian regime with a person or group of people that have dictatorial control. It uses deception in recruiting new members (e.g. people are NOT told up front what the group is, what the group actually believes and what will be expected of them if they become members). It also uses mind control techniques to keep people dependent and obedient.

See some useful information about cults here.

books about Cults.

• All That Glitters Is Not God : Breaking Free from the Sweet Deceit of Multi-Level Marketing by Athena Dean
• Amway Motivational Organizations : Behind the Smoke and Mirrors by Ruth Carter
• Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan
• Consumed By Success : Reaching The Top and Finding That God Wasn't There by Athena Dean
• Cults in Our Midst by Margaret Thaler Singer and Janja Lalich
• The Faith Healers by James Randi
• False Profits : Seeking Financial and Spiritual Deliverance in Multi-Level Marketing and Pyramid Schemes by Robert L. FitzPatrick and Joyce K. Reynolds
• Free Expression Is No Offence by Lisa Appignanesi (Editor)
• L. Ron Hubbard : Messiah or Madman? by Bent Corydon
• The Little Black Book Of Scams by Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
• A Piece of Blue Sky : Scientology, Dianetics and L. Ron Hubbard Exposed by Jon Atack and Russell Miller
• Recovery from Cults : Help for Victims of Psychological and Spiritual Abuse by Michael D. Langone
• Releasing The Bonds : Empowering People to Think for Themselves by Steven Hassan
• Spellbound : My Journey Through A Tangled Web of Success by Robert M. Styler
• Things I Think About - Volume 2 by Peter Bowditch
• Tom Cruise : An Unauthorized Biography by Andrew Morton

Books with reviews:

• Merchants of Deception by Eric Scheibeler

Books relating to other categories can be found here.

There are sites listed in this category.

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About L. Ron Hubbard
Alticor
Amway
Amway Australia
Bridge Publications (Scientology)
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health by L. Ron Hubbard
InterNET Services Corporation
Paul Zane Pilzer
Quixtar
Scientology