If you're someone like me who feels like they've been devouring all the cult books, podcasts and documentaries out there for the past several years, you might be looking for a slightly different angle on the conversation. Amanda Montell delivers in her book about the language and rhetorical strategies used by actual cults (from Heaven's Gate to Scientology) as well as more "cultish" organizations and leaders (e.g. fitness gurus and Instagram influencers). She's careful to nuance this conversation to explain the similarities without eliding the very real differences: clearly, SoulCycle is not Jonestown and not everything about cultish brands/influencers is necessarily coercive or nefarious.

By bringing in case studies of specific cultish groups/gurus and testimonies from former followers, Montell keeps the reader gripped and grounded in the impact of these movements on actual people's lives. But you'll also take away a better understanding of how and why some people join cults or cultish movements, and where it can be helpful to have an extra layer of scrutiny.