The Rise and Fall of Synanon: A California Utopia
by Rod Janzen
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Description
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 show more 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. show lessTags
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Author Information
7 Works 53 Members
Rod Janzen is Distinguished Scholar and Professor of History at Fresno Pacific University. He is the author of The Prairie People: Forgotten Anabaptists (1999) and The Rise and Fall of Synanon: A California Utopia (2001).
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, Religion & Spirituality
- DDC/MDS
- 362.29 — Society, government, & culture Social problems and social services Social Welfare Mental illness Substance abuse
- LCC
- HV5800 .J36 — Social sciences Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Drug habits. Drug abuse
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 13
- Popularity
- 1,770,603
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 1
