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William2's Reviews > Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief
Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief
by
by
William2's review
bookshelves: 21-ce, nonfiction, spirituality, religion, cultural-studies
Feb 05, 2013
bookshelves: 21-ce, nonfiction, spirituality, religion, cultural-studies
What a hoot! A religion started by a bad science-fiction writer. OMG, the greed, the debauchery, the paranoia, the totalitarian re-education camps, the power trips, the murders, the mayhem, the countless lives ruined, the advent of the petty sociopath David Miscavige. And I thought the history of the Roman Catholic church was scandalous. It is, but the Church of Scientology is giving that hoary institution a run for its money —and it's all about the money of course. The Roman Catholic Church has had two millennia in which to refine its all too pleasant modus operandi. The Church of Scientology has achieved its notoriety in about 1/40th of the time. I think most will agree that that's quite a start. Revelatory stuff. You'll be astonished and appalled. Highly recommended.
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Reading Progress
February 5, 2013
–
Started Reading
February 5, 2013
– Shelved
February 5, 2013
– Shelved as:
religion
February 5, 2013
– Shelved as:
nonfiction
February 5, 2013
– Shelved as:
21-ce
February 5, 2013
– Shelved as:
spirituality
February 5, 2013
– Shelved as:
cultural-studies
February 5, 2013
–
11.86%
"L. Ron Hubbard, narcissist, pathological liar, braggart, incompetent..."
page
51
February 6, 2013
–
17.44%
"... Bigamist, deadbeat dad, wife beater, back-alley abortionist, etc. You'll enjoy the scene when Hubbard takes his second wife west to meet first wife, from whom he is not divorced, and her parents."
page
75
February 6, 2013
–
27.67%
"The insanity of Scientology's formative years reads like a treatment for a Hichcock movie. the whole world is mad. Mad, I tell you! The credulity of those caught in the church's net is beyond comprehension. I am aghast, shattered..."
page
119
July 2, 2013
– Shelved as:
to-read
July 25, 2014
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-18 of 18 (18 new)
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message 1:
by
Rowena
(new)
Feb 06, 2013 02:15AM
Wow, sounds like there's a lot going on in this book!
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It's filled with astonishing tales. Almost Every page makes one gasp!
Eager to read this one. I loved The Looming Tower.
Elizabeth wrote: "Eager to read this one. I loved The Looming Tower."Hi E.
You can't make this stuff up! I'll read LT next... :-)
I'm looking forward to reading this very much. Please, do tell what you think - The Looming Tower was very impressive.
I'm curious about this one. Scientology is a fascinating subject. Reading Bare-Faced Messiah (a biography of Hubbard) gave me my fill of it for the time being, but at some point I want to read about what the church has been doing since Hubbard's death.
William, Did you ever read this? Scientology always has fascinated me. It's like a secret society...I wonder if I should risk buying it? I've made some bad buys recently and I'm becoming nervous...
William, Well I've just ordered the hardback as I couldn't resist it William.
This sounds like something I would enjoy... :)
Thank you William. I love to read about "popular delusions and the maddening of crowds." I hope to fit this book into my reading schedule, but it may be one of those slow reads that only pick up now and then.
I read the long New Yorker article/expose Paul Haggis wrote about Scientology, don't know if I could take a whole book of the stuff!
Nothing is so stupid that it wouldn't find followers.
I skimmed and index-read this. Particularly shocking were the work camps and IRS infiltration!
I must put this on my to read book list.
It's now on my to-read list thanks to your review William1 :)
Thanks guys. Yes, the paranoid IRS operations are sheer pulp espionage.
