audio cd, 14 pages
Published Jan. 17, 2013 by Random House Audio, Brand: Random House Audio.
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief is a 2013 non-fiction book about Scientology written by Lawrence Wright. The book contains interviews with current and former Scientologists, the histories of founder L. Ron Hubbard and current leader David Miscavige, and analysis of the relationships of Tom Cruise and John Travolta to the organization. In an interview with The New York Times Wright said that "There are a lot of people out there who were very high up in the church and know a lot about it who have become outspoken... I'm very lucky to come along at a time when a lot of these people are ready to talk". Wright also disclosed that he has received "innumerable" letters threatening legal action from lawyers representing Scientology and celebrities who belong to it. Wright spoke to two hundred current and former Scientologists for the book. It was originally published in …
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief is a 2013 non-fiction book about Scientology written by Lawrence Wright. The book contains interviews with current and former Scientologists, the histories of founder L. Ron Hubbard and current leader David Miscavige, and analysis of the relationships of Tom Cruise and John Travolta to the organization. In an interview with The New York Times Wright said that "There are a lot of people out there who were very high up in the church and know a lot about it who have become outspoken... I'm very lucky to come along at a time when a lot of these people are ready to talk". Wright also disclosed that he has received "innumerable" letters threatening legal action from lawyers representing Scientology and celebrities who belong to it. Wright spoke to two hundred current and former Scientologists for the book. It was originally published in the United Kingdom by Transworld but is now being published by Silvertail, which may be because of legal pressure from the Church.The title of the book, Going Clear, is in reference to a stage of spiritual development in Scientology. In Scientology parlance, "Clear" means a state of having freed oneself from "engrams", which members believe are "subconscious memories of past trauma". Scientologists go through therapy sessions called "auditing" as part of the process of becoming Clear.Wright had previously written a profile of former Scientologist Paul Haggis for The New Yorker.
Compelling, interesting, scary. The personal stories sold it, the history was a little more well known.
It seems that the past couple of years have not been good for Scientology, several books have been released examining and bringing to light it's difficult history, strange sci-fi beliefs, and scandalous, even dangerous, internal behaviors. 'Going Clear' can now be added to that list of exposes.
The first part of the book spends a decent amount of time exploring the history of l. Ron Hubbard's beginnings with Dianetics and the eventual morphing into Scientology. Much of this material has been covered in other books, this one seems to try to summarize it and throw some light on the character of L. Ron Hubbard.
The second half of the book looks at the eventual take-over of Scientology by David Miscavige, and goes to great length to bring his character to the forefront as well. Along the way it also discusses some of the …
It seems that the past couple of years have not been good for Scientology, several books have been released examining and bringing to light it's difficult history, strange sci-fi beliefs, and scandalous, even dangerous, internal behaviors. 'Going Clear' can now be added to that list of exposes.
The first part of the book spends a decent amount of time exploring the history of l. Ron Hubbard's beginnings with Dianetics and the eventual morphing into Scientology. Much of this material has been covered in other books, this one seems to try to summarize it and throw some light on the character of L. Ron Hubbard.
The second half of the book looks at the eventual take-over of Scientology by David Miscavige, and goes to great length to bring his character to the forefront as well. Along the way it also discusses some of the abusive behavior that occurs in the upper ranks of the church and the infamous Sea Org. It also spends some time relating how Scientology targets celebrities and the affects this has on it's public image.
My overall impression of this book is that while much of the material can be found in other volumes, this one is a good read for anyone looking for a general overview of this recent religion. It is well researched, and has a great bibliography/notes section if you want to do more research. Also, I have the enhanced version for the Nook, and it was worth it for the video interview content it contained.
If you think you know about scientology, as I did, this book will still surprise and shock you. It is very well written and sourced. It is absolutely appalling that this abusive organization is allowed to persist without accountability.
A must-read.
