I recall having watched, and forgotten about, the movie of the same title. The book is far more interesting. The characters are as entertaining as you’d expect when profiling New Age inspired warriors, and Jon’s conversations help make them come alive.

But the heart of the book is about the ways this line of thinking has influenced a number of military and law enforcement disasters, from Waco to Heaven’s Gate to Abu Ghraib. The long tail of how an idea can be officially jettisoned, but still influential, rings true to this day.