Stephen Singular

What’s scarier than a murderer? Someone with the charisma to compel others to kill for them . . . or to kill themselves. Meet these cult leaders—and get an inside look at their beliefs and how they controlled others. Some cults, led by leaders like Charlie Manson, Jim Jones, and David Koresh, are notorious. But others are less well known, such as Shoko Asahara and his doomsday cult, Aum Shinrikyo, who orchestrated the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. Or Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret, who founded the Order of the Solar Temple, a doomsday cult that led to the death of 51 members by murder or suicide. Then there is Marshall Applewhite, leader of Heaven’s Gate, who, along with 38 followers, killed themselves in the belief that the Hale-Bopp comet signaled the arrival of a spaceship that would transport them to a higher plane of existence. What makes cult leaders so compelling is their often-unfathomable power over their adherents. Why do people kill others or themselves for a questionable set of beliefs? Killer Cults tells the stories behind both famous and unfamiliar cults, and the people behind them. Across a series of profiles, we learn the jaw-dropping truth behind some of the most mystifying and deadly cults, and their leaders, all of whom led their followers down a dark, murderous path.

In a sport full of players who are larger than life, Terrell Owens towers above the crowd.It isn't just that he holds the NFL record for catches in a single game (twenty) or that he's the most feared wide receiver in the game. It's also his penchant for unique self-expression -- spiking the ball on the midfield Texas lone star in front of a hostile Dallas Cowboy crowd, pulling a Sharpie from his sock to sign a game ball after a touchdown, and dancing with a cheerleader's pom-poms after another TD. Never politically correct and always controversial and colorful on and off the field, Terrell Owens has transformed himself into "TO," the outrageous gridiron personality who has rocked the entire NFL and the sports landscape. But Owens is more than touchdowns, dancing, and celebrations. In this wickedly insightful book, he's full of sharp-eyed observations on the contentious, demanding, insane phenomenon that is pro football.In Catch This! Owens takes readers back to his hardscrabble childhood in rural Alabama, where he was raised by a stern grandmother and loving mother. By the time he won an athletic scholarship for football at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, the once small, bullied boy had transformed himself into a very large man with a super body and an iron will to succeed. He takes us behind his apprenticeship to -- and eventual eclipsing of -- the legendary 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice. He pulls no punches when it comes to his extremely public fight with San Francisco coach Steve Mariucci -- a relationship so sour that they didn't speak at all during the crucial final weeks of the 2001 season. And, finally, he lets loose on the free agent scandal that shook the NFL in 2004 -- and reveals the truth behind the NFL's attempt to deny him free agency, his fraudulent trade to the Baltimore Ravens, and his ultimate happy landing with the Philadelphia Eagles.For those who think they know both Terrell Owens and TO, catch this story.

Behind a facade of Midwestern normalcy, Dennis Rader hid a life of bloodlust, sadism, and murder beyond imagining. The upstanding family man, Scout leader, and church board president was well liked and trusted by his Wichita community. Kansans -- and all of America -- would never recover from the truth: He was BTK, the madman who bound, tortured, and killed ten victims over the course of three decades. Drawing on extensive interviews, including exclusive access to Rader's pastor and congregation, bestselling author Stephen Singular chronicles the horrific crimes, the investigation, the capture, and confession of BTK -- and, more deeply than any other account, reveals how his 2005 arrest shattered and challenged those in a circle of faith who thought they knew him best.

Legendary FBI profiler and "New York Times" bestselling author John Douglas explore the shocking case of John Robinson a harmless, unassuming family man whose criminal history began with embezzlement and fraud -- and ended with his arrest for the savage murders of six women and his suspected involvement in at least five disappearances. Most disturbing was the hunting ground in which Robinson seduced his prey: the world of cyberspace. Haunting chat rooms, targeting vulnerable women, and exploiting the anonimity of the Internet, his bloody spree was finally halted by a relentless parole officer who spent ten years trying to nail Robinson as a cold-blooded killer. A cautionary tale set in a virtual world where relationships are established without the benefit of physical contact, "Anyone You Want Me to Be" is a contemporary real-life drama of high-tech crime and punishment.