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Inside Scientology

The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
"The most complete picture of Scientology so far." —Garry Wills, New York Times Book Review
Based on five years of research, access to confidential documents, and extensive interviews with current and former Scientologists, Janet Reitman sheds some long-awaited light on the ever-elusive religion of the Church of Scientology.
Scientology, created in 1954 by pulp science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, claims to be the world's fastest growing religion, with millions of members and huge financial holdings. Celebrity believers keep its profile high.
But Scientology is also a very closed faith, harassing journalists and others through litigation and intimidation. Its attacks on psychiatry and its requirement that believers pay as much as tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars for salvation have drawn scrutiny. Ex-members use the internet to share stories of harassment and abuse.
Reitman offers the first full journalistic history of the Church of Scientology in an account that establishes the truth about the controversial religion. She traces Scientology's development from the birth of Dianetics to today, following its metamorphosis from a pseudoscientific self-help group to a global spiritual corporation with profound control over its followers and ex-followers. This is a defining book about a little-known world.
"[A] searing expose." —People Magazine
"A masterful piece of reporting." —Washington Post
"This book is fearless." —Wall Street Journal
"[A] frightening portrait of a religion that many find not just controversial, but dangerous." —Boston Globe
"[Reitman's] revelations — including abuse allegations against church leader David Miscavige and details about the organization's aggressive courtship of Tom Cruise — come with impressive backup." —Entertainment Weekly
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 9, 2011
      Anyone who missed the recent investigative accounts of the Church of Scientology will benefit from this exhaustive history of the controversial sect. A contributing editor at Rolling Stone, Reitman has expanded on her 13,000-word story on Scientology, which ran in 2006, to produce a detailed and readable examination of the life of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the church, and his successor, David Miscavige. The book is rife with astonishing accounts of the abuses of power, the purges, and the climate of fear and intimidation commonplace in the top ranks of the organization. What's lacking is a thoughtful analysis of what Scientology represents within the broader 21st-century culture, and why people fall prey to its ideas. Reitman plows through her abundant material without an organizing narrative arc; consequently, many of the chapters pile on without providing satisfying conclusions. The only hopeful conclusion Reitman offersâand most readers will agreeâis that Scientology is shrinking, with less than 250,000 members worldwide.

    • Library Journal

      February 15, 2011

      A contributing editor to Rolling Stone, Reitman spent five years writing what she intends as a fair and balanced picture of Scientology. A single excerpt suggests that her tone is indeed evenhanded. There should be demand.

      Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      August 29, 2011
      Interviewing both present and past members, Reitman takes a compelling look at the Church of Scientology, examining the religion’s origins, claims, beliefs, scandals, and celebrity acolytes. Stephen Hoye proves a perfect pick as narrator. His tone and inflection communicate the book’s nuanced ideas, and he refrains from overdramatizing his delivery when Reitman raises questions about Scientology. Hoye also provides discrete voices for the many people—e.g., a teenage girl, an official church representative—that Reitman interviews. Hoye’s narration only falters during the book’s first-person introduction, and even then the fault is not with his delivery; the introduction clearly identifies the author as female and the gender disparity is jarring. If this proves off-putting to some listeners, it’s unfortunate, as this fascinating audiobook is definitely worth a listen. A Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover.

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