Contributed articles.

Rajneeshpuram, a controversial religious community, transplanted from India to Oregon in 1981, attracted international attention when several of its leaders were arrested in 1985. The spiritual leader, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, was deported from the United States and others subsequently served prison terms for arson, poisonings, attempted murder, and other crimes. Rajneesh's followers, called 'sannyasin', are distinguished from other religious groups by their denial of the legitimacy of any moral code for regulating conduct, their rejection of personal constraint by existing human institutions, and the absence of any stable shared system of beliefs. This book is a narrative account of the progressive regimentation of the commune and the escalating hostilities between it and the surrounding communities that led to eventual dismantlement. This is a comprehensive treatment of the Oregon Rajneesh incident from a sociological perspective, this study offers insights into the importance of shared values for regulating group processes and for negotiating relationships with other groups.

The Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his followers were involved in nefarious activities including prostitution, drug smuggling, sexual abuse of children, and murder conspiracy. The Rajneesh Chronicles explains this behavior--and why the cult that committed the first act of bioterrorism in the U.S. was trying to cultivate a live AIDS virus. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, widely known as the "sex guru," fled India in 1981 and came to settle on a ranch in central Oregon, where he and his followers established the illegal city of Rajneeshpuram. In their effort to preserve the city, the Rajneeshees attempted during the 1984 election to take control of the Wasco County government by poisoning two county commissioners and over 700 potential voters in The Dalles, the county seat, with salmonella—the first act of bio-terrorism in U.S. history. Armed to the teeth with semiautomatic weapons, they threatened to defend the city to the death against any governmental intrusion, and hatched a plot to assassinate a U.S attorney. When the commune finally imploded and authorities arrived on the scene, they discovered that the Rajneesh nurse who had cultivated salmonella bacteria in the commune’s biological warfare laboratory was also trying to cultivate a live AIDS virus—which deranged group leaders clearly hoped to unleash on the rest on the world. The Rajneesh Chronicles is a collection of in-depth investigative and analytical articles published in Oregon Magazine covering the entire period from the time of the cult’s arrival in Oregon in mid-1981 to its dramatic disintegration at the end of 1985 (with an introductory chronology that extends the story up to the present). While most press treated the cult’s antics as a humorous sideshow typified by the Bhagwan’s dozens of Rolls-Royces, editor in chief Win McCormack and other of the magazine’s writers systematically exposed the full range of the Rajneeshees’ depraved behavior, including their involvement in prostitution and international drug smuggling, sexual exploitation of children, abuse of homeless people they imported into Rajneeshpuram to register as voters, and the use of brainwashing techniques bordering on torture. The tale of the Rajneesh has become an amorphous legend few inside or outside of Oregon actually understand. The Rajneesh Chronicles fully illuminates the shocking reality behind that legend.

A study of women's roles and alternative patterns of sexuality in seven contemporary communal and millenarian movements. Based almost exclusively on interviews and first-hand data, this book will be of interest to scholars and students in communal and utopian studies, American religious history, and new religious movements. 10 illustrations. Index.

In-depth case studies of twelve terrorist groups and individuals who, from 1946 to 1998, allegedly acquired or employed CBW agents. Policymakers, scholars, and the news media have been alarmed by the potential for chemical and biological weapons (CBW) terrorism, and the U.S. Congress has allocated billions of dollars for counterterrorism and "consequence management" programs. Driving these concerns are the global spread of scientific knowledge and technology relevant to CBW terrorism and the vulnerability of civilian populations to chemical and biological attacks. Notably lacking from the analysis, however, has been a careful assessment of the terrorists themselves. What types of terrorist groups or individuals are both capable of acquiring chemical and biological weapons and motivated to use them, and for what purposes? Further, what types of toxic agents would probably be produced, and how would they be delivered? Answers to these questions would enable policymakers to prepare for the most likely contingencies. To this end, Toxic Terror provides in-depth case studies of twelve terrorist groups and individuals who, from 1946 to 1998, allegedly acquired or employed CBW agents. The cases were researched from primary sources, including court documents, interviews, and declassified government files. By comparing the twelve cases, the book identifies characteristic motivations and patterns of behavior associated with CBW terrorism and provides an empirical basis for prudent, cost-effective strategies of prevention and response.

This is a comprehensive account of the religious dimensions of the UFO/flying saucer experience.