STRANGE CULTS is a library book published in 1977, for an audience of high-school students. This book is an excellent overview of cult activity, covering a wide variety of cultures and time periods, and gives some basic themes as to why people join cults and cult doctrines. Cults gains followers for three main reasons: they give the member an sense of identity, knowledge that the uninitiated don't have and a sense of power in some form, either spiritual, or over their own bodies. Cults make their members feel superior to those not in the cult.

There have been cults which have practiced violence for religious purposes. The most notable one in recent media coverage are the murders perpetrated by the Manson Family. The pseudo-Muslim Assassins used drug influenced suicide attackers to tear down their political opponents, led by the "Old Man in the Mountain"--Hasan ibn al-Sabah. The Thuggee cult (Thugs) in India would garrote their victims and then drain their blood to Kali, Hindu goddess of destruction. The Ku Klux Klan was an American religious group dedicated to ritual violence against its opponents.

One common cult theme focuses on the ideals of sex and marraige, or rather their total rejection of whatever mainstream society's attitudes are about them. Some cults, such as hippy communes in various ages have practiced free love, encouraging promiscuity among members, and especially with the leader. Other cults go off the other end, with beliefs regarding sex and lustful desires as the sources of all human suffering. These cults, such as the Shakers and Hare Krishnas either practice total celibacy or highly regulated married life.

Probably the most bizarre chapter in this strange book about strange cults is the one on psuedo-science. During the 1920s and 30s the Apostolic Church in Zion taught that the earth was flat. A 19th century American scientist who called himself "Koresh" (no relation to David Koresh of Waco fame) believed that we are actually living on the inside of the earth and that the solar bodies are actually reflections of light. "Koresh" recieved this revelation from a beautiful woman who appeared to him in his laboratory, and he wrote a book entitled, THE ILLUMINATION OF KORESH: MARVELOUS EXPERIENCE OF THE GREAT ALCHEMIST AT UTICA, NY.

What made STRANGE CULTS so wierd was that it was somewhat of a picture book, with all kinds of paintings, illustrations and photograhs of some unusual activities.

It's hard to imagine two months after the collapse of the twin towers (and the nostalgia they have since brought) that this entire complex, though having gained public approval over the years, was not always applauded during its short life span.
Angus Gillespie does a good job at recounting the history of the towers from well before their inception and he manages to do much of this through the eyes of the Port Authority, the World Trade Center's overseer. Indeed, that so much of the book is ABOUT the Port Authority I wondered how long it would take to actually know what went on in the World Trade Center of only a few months ago.

Still, Mr. Gillespie presents a fascinating background as he includes political, historical and economical reasons for the building of the twin towers. And he introduces a cast of colorful characters who often feud with state politicians and, of course, amongst themselves. He takes the reader through many years of planning and strategizing and gives one a bird's-eye view of the vast conglomeration of people, businesses and egos that drove the project. Mr. Gillespie serves as a cheeleader for these towers, most notably standing up to a host of architects who simply disdained them. He relates delays in construction and why they happened, the unique relationship between New York and New Jersey and loads of other facets of life as the towers were slowly erected.

There are a few downsides. No photos and few drawings exist. Facts are often repeated. (In the first 25 pages the author tells us no less than five times when the Port Authority was established) And there is not nearly enough information about the daily workings of the Trade Center. It is only in the very last chapter that Mr. Gillespie gets down to the brass tacks of telling us the ins and outs of running such a large complex. It is only then that color begins to seep into this book. I realize that this book was written two years ago, but except for the Austin Tobins, the Guy Tozzolis and a few other principals, the book is informative but dry.

Still, I would recommend it. Having read John Tauranac's much better book about the construction of the Empire State Building, I came away with a far better understanding in both books about what goes into building a skyscraper. The answer is plenty.

This is a serious history of the conception and creation of not only the building, but the idea behind the building, the politics behind it, and the actual intellectual processes involved.
A very enganging read. Probably does not bode well for a rebuilding of the towers however, as many thought the buildings should not have been built in the first place.
The chapter on the actual working of the building was far too short for me, perhaps the author will go back to his notes, which he states are extensive, and give us a posthumous account of all the great stories people told about the building (of which only two or three are included).
Don't buy the book if you're looking for pictures, just a few diagrams and such are included.

Twin Towers is one of the few successful endeavors to capture the spirit of the World Trade Center. It is not a photo album, and it only contains a few black and white figures. Nevertheless, it gives a comprehensive description of all aspects of the Trade Center project, from the political motivation that lead to its construction to the way architectural trends evolved in the seventies and caused the Twin Towers to be despised by most architects. It also depicts the Port Authority as an ambitious success-driven and proud agency and the Twin Towers as an American icon. Given his biases, the author does not linger too much on the grievances of the tenants that were dislodged from the WTC site to allow its construction nor does he question the legitimity of such a project. He merely states the facts: progress is mercyless.

The colorful style of the book makes it easy to read and anecdotes and quotes of some of the people who actually participated to the construction of the center abound.
What can be regretted is the book's absence of cohesion at times: it seems like each chapter has been written separately, resulting in numerous repetitions from chapter to chapter. Twin Towers also looses some marks for its endless description of the author's attendance to an introductory course to world trade, which could have been better incorporated within the text.

Overall, the merit of Twin Towers is that through the pages of the book, the reader discovers the World Trade Center through the eyes of those who were directly involved with its construction; the grievance is that this is mosly a Port Authoriry's view of the World Trade Center project.