Editing Behind the Exclusive Brethren (section)

==Reception==
In November 2008, the book hit number 8 on a list compiled by [[Nielsen BookScan]] of the top 10 political and social science bestsellers in Australia.<ref name=":0">{{cite news
 | last =Data supplied by [[Nielsen BookScan]]'s book sales monitoring system from 1000 retailers nationwide. | title =TOP 10 – Best-Sellers | work =[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] | publisher =John Fairfax Publications Pty Limited | page =36 | date =29 November 2008 }}</ref> The author was a featured presenter on the topic of his book, at the 2009 [[Sydney Writers' Festival]].<ref>{{cite news | last =Meares | first =Joel | title =Bookmark&nbsp;— Issue #73&nbsp;May 2009 – Fashion issue | work =The Sydney Magazine | publisher =John Fairfax Publications Pty Limited | page =56 | date =30 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last =Falkner | first = Tony
 | title =Writers&nbsp;— Australian writers; International writers; Sydney Writers' Festival www.swf.org.au| work =[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] | publisher =John Fairfax Publications Pty Limited | page =18 | date =28 March 2009 }}</ref>

{{quote box |width=25em | bgcolor=#c6dbf7 |align=right |salign=right|quote="This is a very fair assessment of the modus operandi of an influential Christian sect."|source=&nbsp;—''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''<ref name="elder" />}}
''[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]]'' noted that the book investigates, "One of the world's most mysterious religious sects, little is known of the origins, intentions and beliefs of the Brethren, seen as increasingly powerful in Australian politics."<ref name="power">{{cite news | last =Power | first =Lisa |author2=Ray Chesterton|author3=Cheryl Critchley|author4=Lucy Chesterton | title =Book Reviews | work =[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|The Daily Telegraph]] | publisher =Nationwide News Pty Limited | page =042 | date =4 October 2008 }}</ref> Writing in ''[[The Sunday Age]]'', Lucy Sussex described the book as "one of the most sober and well-argued exposes I have ever read."<ref name="sussex">{{cite news | last =Sussex | first =Lucy | title =Behind the Exclusive Brethren | work =[[The Sunday Age]] | publisher =The Age Company Limited | page =M27 | date =5 October 2008}}</ref> Shelley McInnis reviewed the book for ''[[The Age]]'', and commented, "Michael Bachelard is brave to investigate the Exclusive Brethren sect".<ref name="mcinnis">{{cite news | last =McInnis | first =Shelley | title =Living in a world of their own | work =[[The Age]] | publisher =The Age Company Limited | page =22 | date =25 October 2008 }}</ref> McInnis elaborated, "The Exclusive Brethren is a conservative Christian sect with a scrappy, pit-bull attitude towards the outside world, and Michael Bachelard is courageous for investigating it. The award-winning Sunday Age journalist has received a number of legal threats from the sect since he began reporting on it for ''The Age''".<ref name="mcinnis" /> McInnis described the author's work as that of "a scrupulous reporter".<ref name="mcinnis" />

Bruce Elder reviewed the book for ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'', and described it as an "exhaustive study of the Exclusive Brethren in Australia".<ref name="elder">{{cite news | last =Elder | first =Bruce | title =In Short Non-fiction | work =[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] | publisher =John Fairfax Publications Pty Limited | page =31 | date =8 November 2008}}</ref> Elder concluded, "This is a very fair assessment of the modus operandi of an influential Christian sect."<ref name="elder" /> Craig Young reviewed the book for ''[[GayNZ.com]]'', and called ''Behind the Exclusive Brethren'' a "comprehensive reference work on the sect", and a "most incisive book".<ref name="young">{{cite news | last =Young | first =Craig | title =Book Review: Behind the Exclusive Brethren | work =[[GayNZ.com]] | publisher =www.gaynz.com | date =20 October 2008 | url =http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publish/31/article_6632.php | access-date =25 November 2009 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090415030552/http://www.gaynz.com/articles/publish/31/article_6632.php | archive-date =15 April 2009 | url-status =dead }}</ref> In her review of the book for ''Media/Culture Reviews'', Sandra Hogan wrote, "Bachelard has done his research very thoroughly. He has interviewed both sides of the story: people who left the Exclusive Brethren or were expelled from them and also, as much as possible, the current leaders of the group. He has witnessed Brethren documentation, and has spoken to politicians from major and minor parties as well as to lawyers and judges. The expose is written in a calm, clear style and the chapters relating to the broken families are deeply moving and respectful."<ref name="hogan">{{cite news|last=Hogan |first=Sandra |title=Current Affairs: Behind the Exclusive Brethren |work=Media/Culture Reviews |publisher=reviews.media-culture.org.au |date=31 October 2008 |url=http://reviews.media-culture.org.au/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2935 |access-date=26 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311035202/http://www.reviews.media-culture.org.au/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2935 |archive-date=11 March 2011 |df=dmy }}</ref>