Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion by Janet Reitman

Dec 27, 2012 Mary rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, religion-or-lack-thereof, 2012

When I was about halfway through this book I received a rather strange bright pink envelope in the mail. The return address was "The Church of Scientology" here in LaLa land. And, much like those sweepstakes things, it was promising enlightenment and answers beyond anything I'd ever imagined. Holy fuckballs, how did they know I was reading this book?! Are they watching me? Are they reading this right now? For shits and giggles I read through the pamphlet and found a 200 question test. And yes, I...more When I was about halfway through this book I received a rather strange bright pink envelope in the mail. The return address was "The Church of Scientology" here in LaLa land. And, much like those sweepstakes things, it was promising enlightenment and answers beyond anything I'd ever imagined. Holy fuckballs, how did they know I was reading this book?! Are they watching me? Are they reading this right now? For shits and giggles I read through the pamphlet and found a 200 question test. And yes, I did the quiz, which was stupid.

I had hit the jackpot. This was just the kooky stuff I had been reading about...in fact a good portion of reading this book took place near my living room window of which the blinds were often open....they're out there. Or right here near my window...

To be honest I was expecting a lot more from this book. I admit it, I wanted more "batshit crazy" and less information. Maybe because so much of it wasn't news to me. We all already know about the aliens right? And it's touched upon ever so briefly here, along with passed life role-play and billion year contracts and auditing and becoming "clear". We all know they think shrinks are quacks. We all know what they thought of Brook Shields and her post-partum depression. This book is bursting with facts upon facts (in the 50's L.Ron Hubbard earned more from the sales of his books and seminars than the President of the United States was paid). Although things like this were really interesting, to a point, I guess I was hanging out for the real meat and potatoes of what goes on inside the mind of these devotees. I got a little bit of that, but mostly it was too journalistic and not enough personal accounts.

Yes, I guess wanted a freak show.

The first third of the book traces L. Ron Hubbard's childhood and early life, his first marriage and kids (whom he abandoned after coming back from WWII). It was the 50's, PTSD wasn't recognized and American society was ripe with damaged soldiers looking for answers as to why they were, frankly, fucked up. Could it be that you're traumatized by war?! Oh no, it's just that you're simply in need of auditing and you can stop having symptoms of depression, anxiety, nightmares, headaches, heck, you can stop any negative thoughts or feeling by forking over thousand of dollars and your first born and turning yourself over to unqualified cult members. Brilliant! Just be sure you don't piss anyone off or you'll be thrown overboard one of the Scientology ships, or locked in a room for weeks, or be fined tens of thousands of dollars.

The second part of the book was my least favorite. It focused on the power play of leaders after Hubbard's death and the cover up and destroying of records whenever the authorities starting poking around. It wasn't as interesting as it sounds. Oh, and a pretty disturbing incident of a woman who was denied psychiatric care despite literally going insane and eventually dying of dehydration under the watch of church members over a period of weeks. I wish there were more cases like this in the book of real life Scientology defectors, instead we get brief sentences here and there of former members, but none went into any sort of depth about their experience.

The third part was the Scientology we know today. The celebrity factor. We are told about how a then unknown John Travolta joined the church in the early 70's. We learn, rather amusingly, that Elvis Presley stormed out of his only visit to the church declaring that he wanted nothing to do with these crazies....and Priscilla remains a member to this day. And then, finally, the Tom Cruise chapter. Lost, insecure, fresh from Top Gun and a couple of decades before he'd be jumping on Oprah's couch, Tom Cruise joined in the mid 80's and remains their most prized possession and poster boy.

This book contains a very detailed chronicle of Scientology's formation, corruption and utter strangeness. It's at times pretty horrifying and at other times tedious and long winded. A good read for anyone interested in the topic specifically, or for anyone who likes learning about cults, brainwashing and/or idiots. 2.75 stars.(less)

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Jul 13, 2012 Mike (the Paladin) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What can I say here??? I recommend you read this one.

There are situations in this book that I suspect many or most readers will look at and say, "why would he/she put up with this?". If you've never been in a cultic situation it will be totally incomprehensible. I was some years ago and I often (while reading the book) still have that reaction. Having "gotten away" I'd look at what people allowed to be done to them and worse their children and balk.

Then I made myself think back. If these are the...more

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Jul 08, 2011 Paul is currently reading it

I started reading this book last night. In the introduction Ms. Reitman writes that "Scientology" means the "study of truth". No, it does not. It means the study of knowledge. Hubbard's coinage was pathetically redundant for "epistemology" had existed in the English Language for centuries. You'd think that an author who spends years researching a "religion" would find the time to look up what the title of her subject actually means. Geez.

Oh, Ms. Reitman thinks the German weekly magazine Der Spi...more

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May 29, 2012 Jeanette rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: america, nonfiction, cultural-and-social-commentary, philosophy-theology, five-star-nonfiction

This is a challenging read owing to the scope and density of information, but it's a worthwhile pursuit if you want to see an in-depth example of how insanity is contagious. If you don't feel up to the task of reading the entire book, I recommend reading the first three chapters, especially if you're ever crazy enough to consider becoming a member of this so-called religion. The entire organization was created on a foundation of lies right from the start. L. Ron Hubbard was a paranoid egomaniac...more

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Dec 19, 2011 Marcus rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: religion, psychology

Once I started reading I couldn't turn away. The story of Scientology has it all--good and evil, drugs and violence and a cast of characters and organizations that put any dystopian fiction to shame. If it wasn't so awful that real people get wrapped up in this, it'd make a great movie or tv series.

Scientology's "auditing" process is flat out scary. It makes such a strong appeal to the libido dominandi, the lust for power, that people seem willing to overlook all other aspects of the doctrines a...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Cristy M rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an excellent book that truly does aspire to be as objective as possible when it comes to Scientology's history, founder, beliefs, and practices. The problem is that facts are facts. It's hard to report on corruption, cohersion, cunning, and lies with a positive tone. As a religious studies student throughout high school and in my undergraduate studies along with a life-long interest in American new religious movements (in particular, with Scientology), I knew a lot of the "facts" of Reit...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Joanna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-secular, californyah, 2010s

OMG Scientology. How I like to tease you. I remember going to that Hollywood center of theirs to take that "personality test" where they find something wrong with you that only Scientology can fix. And then my friends and I ran out of there, screaming, before the test was done because man, it was freaky! Hahaha. And I took an e-meter test once, uh... also in Hollywood. They were out on the street for some reason and were uh... giving "free stress tests" to people. I was like, sweet! Paul took a...more

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May 12, 2013 Leon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Scientology, created in 1954 by a prolific sci-fi writer named L. Ron Hubbard, claims to be the world’s fastest growing religion, with millions of members around the world and huge financial holdings. Its celebrity believers keep its profile high, and its teams of “volunteer ministers” offer aid at disaster sites such as Haiti and the World Trade Center. But Scientology is also a notably closed faith, harassing journalists and others through litigation and intimidation, even infiltrating the hig

...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Mike Vasich rated it 5 of 5 stars

I came to the book knowing a little about Scientology in terms of the precepts of the practice (audits, thetans, Xenu, etc.), but I was largely ignorant of the history of the practice and the personalities involved.

All I knew about L Ron Hubbard (LRH) was that he started Scientology, wrote Dianetics, and was a sci fi writer. I had read a few biographical pages of his in Battlefield Earth (a book I loved, btw) and thought he sounded like an interesting character.

This book provided much detail a...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Mr. Crusader rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the first of three major books regarding Scientology that I have purchased to listen to this year and I believe I got off to a great start with Janet Reitman's excellent book on the subject.

As a longtime crusader for the rights of all, I often found myself publicly defending (vocally and in written blog articles) Scientology and Tom Cruise for their outspoken opinions regarding the drugging of our children with prescription drugs, the drugging of america, psychiatry, and other issues tha...more This is the first of three major books regarding Scientology that I have purchased to listen to this year and I believe I got off to a great start with Janet Reitman's excellent book on the subject.

As a longtime crusader for the rights of all, I often found myself publicly defending (vocally and in written blog articles) Scientology and Tom Cruise for their outspoken opinions regarding the drugging of our children with prescription drugs, the drugging of america, psychiatry, and other issues that I have had strong opinions about for years.

Some of the concepts of Scientology I agree with; however, they go way beyond reasonableness and as a result many people apparently have been injured or lost their families, friends, or even their lives as a result of the extremeness of the church.

Reitman clearly has done her homework and clearly demonstrates that Scientology goes way too far on many social issues and appears to be a very extreme organization that hides behind the label of "religion." By claiming to be a religion and having tax-exempt status from the IRS, they have managed to pull the wool over the eyes of the general public and government officials all too often.

They use their "religion" label to hide behind billions of dollars in profits without paying taxes; they hide their human rights abuses of their members; and there are clearly people who died in the name of Scientology (such as Lisa McPherson) who I am convinced would be alive today if it weren't for the extreme policies and procedures of this so-called religion.

I will try to hold final judgment on Scientology until after reading "Going Clear," by journalist Lawrence Wright, as well as "Beyond Belief," by Jenna Miscavige Hill, but I think perhaps Reitman may have already convinced me about what I currently think about Scientology, and it isn't pretty. Scientology may very well be responsible for some of the most serious cover ups of all time!

The narrator, Stephen Hoye, was phenomenal in helping tell Reitman's story about a book that should have been published more than a decade ago!(less)

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Mar 25, 2013 Mimi Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars

Convincing, brave and chilling examination of the history and present-day practices of the cult of Scientology. I say brave, because the "Church" has hounded other truth-telling journalists to the point of breakdown and bankruptcy. Among the facts disclosed here: this "faith" is about nothing more than money-making; you buy your way to salvation and there is no element of altruism as there is in every other legitimate world religion. The utter self-absorption; the crackpot ideology, which grew o...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Al added it

Scientology, created in 1954 by a prolific sci-fi writer named L. Ron Hubbard, claims to be the world’s fastest growing religion, with millions of members around the world and huge financial holdings. Its celebrity believers keep its profile high, and its teams of “volunteer ministers” offer aid at disaster sites such as Haiti and the World Trade Center. But Scientology is also a notably closed faith, harassing journalists and others through litigation and intimidation, even infiltrating the hi

...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars

What do John Travolta, Chick Corea, Edgar Winter and Tom Cruise all have in common? Yes, they're all male, all entertainers. They are also all members of the Church of Scientology. So what is Scientology? Glad you asked. This book is intended to help you understand.

First let me say Reitman is outstandingly objective. There are many "whistleblowers" she has interviewed, but she also talked directly to current Scientologists and to the Church itself. In fact, she attended a Scientology introductor...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Paul JB added it

A good enough journalistic account. I appreciate the difficulties of trying to gather information on such a secretive organisation as the Church of Scientology without relying entirely on shock journalism, and Reitman's self-set restriction of only interviewing non-litigious ex-members is actually quite effective; there are some surprisingly empathetic sections outlining the sorts of situations that have led people into joining Scientology in the first place. This has a humanising aspect, with t...more A good enough journalistic account. I appreciate the difficulties of trying to gather information on such a secretive organisation as the Church of Scientology without relying entirely on shock journalism, and Reitman's self-set restriction of only interviewing non-litigious ex-members is actually quite effective; there are some surprisingly empathetic sections outlining the sorts of situations that have led people into joining Scientology in the first place. This has a humanising aspect, with the result that the book is quite a lot softer in tone (especially with regards to the rank and file members) than the title may at first suggest (although if I were being cynical I could also say it makes it less viscerally satisfying).

The first third of the book, discussing L. Ron Hubbard and the origins of the Church I thought was well laid out, and does a reasonable job of explaining the incremental developments in its 'philosophy'. Coming off the back of Whitaker's 'Anatomy of an Epidemic' I'd have liked a little more on the conflict with the APA and the psychiatric establishment, which cropped up at a few points in the text but was never really explored in length.

After the chapter on Hubbard's death (and Miscavige's succession), however, the chronological approach is dropped and the focus jumps around a lot. Quite a lot of space is given over to extended personal accounts, which seems like a concession to the original scope of the magazine article on which the book is based. Some of these are justified as exemplifying in specific terms practices that the Church follows in general (e.g. the Lisa McPherson death as an example of the leadership's extreme and exploitative litigiousness), but towards the end these accounts just seemed to be retreading old ground, as well as using up space that could have been used to flesh out some of the more interesting aspects. I'd have really liked to see a dedicated chapter on how Scientology is reacting to the internet, and though Reitman briefly mentions the increasing attention being paid to the African American community as a potential area for growth, this, like many of the book's apparently profitable avenues of inquiry, is never really developed in any detail.

But as I said, it's a difficult topic to research, and I feel better informed than when I started. The extensive list of sources at the end is also reassuring in a book of this type, which you can never been quite sure of. Minor gripe in that she claims Louis Farrakhan founded the Nation of Islam (which, no, he didn't), but for the most part (and ignoring the odd tabloid flourish - "Nothing could have prepared me for what I discovered") it seems assiduously researched.

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Oct 12, 2012 Mal Warwick rated it 5 of 5 stars

Set Up Your Own Religion, and Make a Billion Dollars

When L. Ron Hubbard died in 1986 at the age of 74, one of the world most confounding and controversial public figures passed from the scene — though not from memory.

Borrowing a 19th-century approach to mental therapy from psychiatrists Sigmund Freud, Josef Breuer, and others, as the basis for his own self-help method, Hubbard had become psychiatry’s most prominent critic for its dismissal of the therapeutic techniques he claimed could be admini...more Set Up Your Own Religion, and Make a Billion Dollars

When L. Ron Hubbard died in 1986 at the age of 74, one of the world most confounding and controversial public figures passed from the scene — though not from memory.

Borrowing a 19th-century approach to mental therapy from psychiatrists Sigmund Freud, Josef Breuer, and others, as the basis for his own self-help method, Hubbard had become psychiatry’s most prominent critic for its dismissal of the therapeutic techniques he claimed could be administered by anyone without the benefit of training in medicine or psychology.
Having declared in 1945 when flat broke that he would found his own religion, by the time of his death he had built a worldwide “church” through which he amassed an estate of $400 million—$826 million in 2012 dollars.
Never having graduated from college, he styled himself as an explorer, a nuclear physicist, and a philosopher with advanced degrees to match, all the figments of his fertile imagination.
A second-rate writer of pulp adventure fiction in the 1930s and of science fiction in the 1940s and 50s, he attained a ranking on the New York Times bestseller list only through his self-help book, Dianetics, published when Hubbard was approaching age 40.
Upon his passing, Hubbard had achieved a semblance of immortality, elevated to spiritual sainthood by millions of followers around the world who treated his every written word and every utterance as unchallengeable truth.
Adding to the irony of Hubbard’s existence, this champion of mental health and outspoken opponent of psychiatry spent his last several years, by all accounts, an abusive and paranoiac lunatic whose erratic behavior was moderated only by the very anti-psychotic drugs he had crusaded against for more than three decades.

Thus passed from the scene the founder of Scientology.

Since Hubbard had failed to name a successor, a vicious struggle for power in the “church” ensued upon his death. In hindsight, however, the victor in this struggle had been foreordained. Beginning four years earlier, once Hubbard had gone into seclusion, his whereabouts a secret from all but a handful of his staff, a 19-year-old named David Miscavige had begun forcing out all those in Scientology’s leadership who stood in his way. The process resembled nothing so much as the purges launched by Josef Stalin in the 1920s following the death of Lenin. By 1988, the 25-year-old Miscavige stood at the pinnacle, the undisputed leader.

To judge from Janet Reitman’s exhaustively researched and detailed reporting in Inside Scientology, Miscavige has run the multi-faceted Scientology establishment for nearly a quarter-century now with a style that is at once obsessive, rigid, humorless, unforgiving, and dedicated almost exclusively to the pursuit of profit. He appears to exhibit virtually none of L. Ron Hubbard’s good qualities—irresistible charm, a forgiving nature, managerial ability, and a lively imagination—and all of his bad ones, including extreme litigiousness and a tendency to strike out at those closest to him. In recent years, Reitman reports, Miscavige has even demonstrated a clear pattern of severe paranoia much like what drove Hubbard into seclusion, sometimes attacking aides and senior executives with physical violence, at other times submitting them (or anyone else who so much as utters a hint of criticism) to humiliating punishment.

Just as he had engineered the “first Exodus” from Scientology on his drive to power in the 1980s, Miscavige’s extreme behavior led to a second Exodus in the middle of the last decade, driving away most of the senior executives who had managed the far-flung business, in some cases for decades.

As you’re no doubt aware, the Internal Revenue Service classified the Church of Scientology as a religion, exempting all its innumerable affiliates and subsidiaries from the payment of Federal taxes and allowing them to receive tax-deductible donations. However, what you may not be aware—I certainly wasn’t, before reading Reitman’s book—is that the agreement signed by the “church” and the IRS in 1993 came about because the then-Director of Internal Revenue cried chicken in the face of literally thousands of lawsuits filed by the Scientology establishment under Miscavige’s direction and its constant use of private detectives to harass and apparently even blackmail IRS agents and staff.

Janet Reitman’s book began as an article in Rolling Stone magazine but took years to complete. It’s a stellar example of the reporter’s craft, balanced and objective. Yes, balanced: Reitman quotes Scientology officials and long-time faithful adherents at length — and even in the book’s closing thoughts — demonstrating that for some, perhaps a great many, who give over their lives to Hubbard’s “technology” (as he styled it), life can be rewarding. However, there are far too many former Scientologists who have spoken out, especially in recent years, blasting Miscavige’s administration if not the core ideas of Scientology itself, to think of this now six-decade-old movement as anything other than a diversified, multinational business built by a movement that operates precisely like the cult it is so often accused of being.

Like McDonald’s, which earns more revenue from its real estate than from Big Macs and Chicken Nuggets, the Church of Scientology now derives the lion’s share of its income from its real estate holdings around the world. Other businesses contribute additional funds. And yet the “church” itself seemingly continues to gush money, even as the faith is in decline: one of its centers alone, in Clearwater, Florida, the movement’s spiritual headquarters, reportedly was grossing more than $1 million a week as recently as a decade ago. If that’s the case, and hundreds of other Scientology centers in cities and towns around the world remain in business only because they’re profitable (the yardstick the “church” applies), I can’t begin to imagine how large is the asset base ruled today by David Miscavige. If he began 24 years ago with the equivalent of the $826 million that Hubbard left to the movement, surely the “church” today possesses wealth in the billions.(less)

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Oct 09, 2012 Ficbot rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, non-fiction

This was a fascinating and comprehensive history of Scientology. I enjoyed it tremendously and found some of the stories horrifying---but compelling. In the same way people stop to look at car wrecks on the highway, I couldn't turn away. So, why was this not a five-star read for me?

1) The organization of Scientology is very complex, with many divisions and hierarchies that changed or got reorganized often. Reitman does a good job explaining it, but after awhile, the acronyms and abbreviations st...more

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Sep 08, 2012 Louise rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: cults

Last year I was in NYC and passed by the Scientology building on 44th Street. You can't miss it. Its large white sign is used as a directional for anything on the block... Looking for the Paramount Hotel? "See the Scientology sign two blocks down... right next to it". On a rainy evening handsome young people hustled anyone who passed on the sidewalk (I saw no one stop). Large TV screens, also with beautiful people, tell you that you can fulfill your dreams. An open door shows the way to an invit...more Last year I was in NYC and passed by the Scientology building on 44th Street. You can't miss it. Its large white sign is used as a directional for anything on the block... Looking for the Paramount Hotel? "See the Scientology sign two blocks down... right next to it". On a rainy evening handsome young people hustled anyone who passed on the sidewalk (I saw no one stop). Large TV screens, also with beautiful people, tell you that you can fulfill your dreams. An open door shows the way to an inviting place to sit out the rain. I mentioned my curiosity, and one person in our group said, "Go in there and you'll never get out." I didn't know how true those words could be for many well meaning people until I read this book.

Janet Reitman has spent at least five years researching this group. I'd had a lot of images, and she put them together: L. Ron Hubbard, the relationship of Dianetics to Scientology, Hubbard's science fiction, how Scientology became a religion and the celebrity involvement. There were people and things I never heard of like David Miscavige, E-meters, thetans, Int Base, Sea Org, auditing, OT levels, Narconon, Purification Rundown, "clearing the planet" and a lot more.

The most ominous new things I learned were how the Scientologists infiltrate legitimate churches, agencies and groups to get advocates; They file frivolous law suits, start whisper campaigns and harass/divide families in order to railroad detractors, defectors and regulators; and use sadistic punishment to keep employees (some who because they were raised within Scientology and because they have no high school diploma, drivers' license or credit cards fear the outside world) in line. It's frightening to think how successful they've been. I see, now, why it has this aura that my friend suggested... that of a deep dark hole.

I expect that every bit of this is true. Not only is it heavily documented, given the way Scientology treats its detractors, this must have been combed by a legal staff. Even if its only half true, its quite an indictment. If there was no legal evidence of responsibility for Lisa McPherson's death, there is moral responsibility. A person who permits this kind of treatment of his staff (or anyone) with no contrition would, of course, design and enjoy a game of executive musical chairs and its aftermath as Reitman describes it.

Now with this book, the word is out. It's time for some one in some regulatory position to act. What other church regularly offers hush money and has senior leadership sign confidentiality agreements upon leaving (escaping is a more accurate word)? Can anyone name some other employer where to leave you need a ladder to escape over a razor wire fence and dodge security guards? As for medical licensing, what would happen to the average person who hangs out a shingle and counsels people by putting them in solitary confinement? Business practices, consumer affairs/truth in advertising, child labor/endangerment, fair labor standards violations, it seems that this organization has run afoul for far too long.

Janet Reitman and Houghton Mifflin and Harcourt are to be applauded for their determination. Given how Scientology treats its detractors, they have are brave.

Tom Cruise and John Travolta need to "Read this book!" and post reviews here for all to see.
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Aug 17, 2012 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Although I have been a Christian for many years, I am interested in other faiths. I've read books about mainstream Mormonism, the FLDS (those are the polygamists), the Amish and the Mennonites. This book was my first foray into learning more about Scientology. It's a really strange "religion." It started out as a way to have a better life through Dianetics, which is the title of the L. Ron Hubbard book that started it all. When Dianetics ended up being a failure Hubbard repackaged his theories a...more

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Aug 15, 2012 Linda Minton rated it 3 of 5 stars

I started reading this about two weeks before the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes divorce situation came out. I've always been intrigued and curious about Scientology, and had enjoyed L. Ron Hubbard's science fiction novel, "Battlefield Earth" (NOT the horrible movie that was made from it!)

Oh. My. Gosh. This is one of the most terrifying true-life contemporary exposés I've ever read. I can't even begin to review it, except to say it totally convinced me that Scientology is both a cult and a huge financi...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Alexa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Very enthralling....all the Scientologist who live in sea.org have such miserable lives. The chief is more like a dictator. I gathered from this book that it is more of a cult and not a religion. The members are people who are brainwashed from a very young age with a promise of better lives. I found the book very detailed and informative.
As I read the book, I was very scared for those in this religion. I can't imagine how miserable Lisa McPherson must have been and what she might have gone thro...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Eva rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating, including the quirky history of L. Ron Hubbard and the psychological and structural techniques the organization uses to recruit, keep members in line, and manage their image.

Some kindle notes, minus the ones I took earlier but lost when my kindle broke:

Now the Sea Org would be in control, and she had come to get this organization "back on the rails." From now on, everyone would report to her—and address her as "sir," she informed them. The "hippie atmosphere" would no longer be tole...more

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May 24, 2012 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have always been fascinated, as most folks are, by secret societies but when its a religion, I am more so. This book does an amazing job, against unsurmountable odds. in delivering a very in-depth look inside this elusive religion/science. Ms. Reitman took years doing the research, interviews and the result is a haunting look a the church itself and former and current members.

It goes into L. Ron's life story, excavating the truth from the many fictitious stories he told others about himself. T...more I have always been fascinated, as most folks are, by secret societies but when its a religion, I am more so. This book does an amazing job, against unsurmountable odds. in delivering a very in-depth look inside this elusive religion/science. Ms. Reitman took years doing the research, interviews and the result is a haunting look a the church itself and former and current members.

It goes into L. Ron's life story, excavating the truth from the many fictitious stories he told others about himself. That alone is a great read, troubling and bizarre. Then the rise of Dianetics, the fall and the the birth of Scientology, if anything else is an insane business model built on paranoia and secrets and lots and lots of real estate deals. Then it unfolds after L. Ron's death into the years of DM's reign (David Misgivige) and the changes to the organization that followed. It dabbles a bit in the celebrity (Tom Cruise's story is wildly interesting) and my favorite are the member's who left. Their stories are heartbreaking and it gives a voice to these people that those outside assume many things but never know...because they are so freaking secretive!

If you have any interest or curiosity at all about Scientology, then this is a great book that digs deep to illuminate what goes on in that building on Sunset, that I drove by every day where there are many windows but every one of them has its blind down - every single day. Who are the uniformed people that walk the perimeter, never smiling or saying "hi" to others walking by but coldly averting their eyes, not acknowledging you? Why do they all seem to smoke so much outside their centers? This books starts to answer these question and really more interesting ones, like how did they manage to one-up the FBI on several occasions and maneuver around the Supreme Court countless times?

She also did a service to herself and the book by not reaching out to those on the Internet who rage against them so openly but found ex-members who quietly left and with a conflicted heart and their stories were the most interesting. (less)

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May 15, 2012 Will Hinds rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First things first, I'm OCD, so the fact that a female author was read by a male irked me. Yeah, I'm crazy. That wasn't very relevant in the long run, very little of the book is from the author's perspective. Which is, eh, both good and bad. The book is very clinical, which is interesting, because it fails to paint Scientology as 100% evil. Many of stories told within where certainly 'evil', but the facts are the facts. There is plenty of material just discussing the formation and somewhat noble...more

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Mar 31, 2012 Dave Burns rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: skimmed

This is an interesting history of Scientology. I didn't want to know the entire history of scientology, so I skimmed. Not that the story is dull - I in fact wasted some time letting myself get swept up by the story and the various scandals. I wanted to know more about how they recruit, how they maintain members, how they treat members who become disillusioned, what sort of experiences disillusion their members. Here is what I surmise from what I read.
Before the seventies, Scientology was propaga...more This is an interesting history of Scientology. I didn't want to know the entire history of scientology, so I skimmed. Not that the story is dull - I in fact wasted some time letting myself get swept up by the story and the various scandals. I wanted to know more about how they recruit, how they maintain members, how they treat members who become disillusioned, what sort of experiences disillusion their members. Here is what I surmise from what I read.
Before the seventies, Scientology was propagated as a spiritual journey. During the seventies, it was repackaged as self-help on steroids. They offer relatively easy and concrete solutions to your problems, a path to self-improvement. More recently, celebrities like John Travolta and Tom Cruise are used to polish the image of the church. Some people are put off by the expense, others try it, and some of those are convinced it works or will work. This is how they attract new recruits.
That's the bait, what's the hook? The new recruit is encouraged to spend time with the group, where cognitive biases related to group dynamics encourage the new recruit to adapt their thinking to conform to the group. The auditing process includes some sales techniques to keep the recruit interested in coming back for more and also subtly weaken their links to any persons or groups seen as an obstacle between the recruit and deeper commitment to Scientology and it's ideas. There is always another promise of self-improvement.
In the book, the church is portrayed as centralized, rigid, controlling, secretive, and defensive. Recruits advance through a series of initiations and learn more about church doctrine as they advance, learning things that might have spooked them as new recruits if it was open knowledge. Detailed records of their auditing sessions and other activities are kept and may be used to manipulate them. They are under constant pressure to provide the church with money, labor, recruits, and to spy on one another.
The church regards former members in different ways. Some, such as John Travolta, who backed away from the church during the eighties, are convinced to enter a program specifically designed for reintegrating lapsed members. Some former members claim to have been harassed, especially those who criticized the church. According to the book, some critics have been paid to sign agreements to silence their criticism.
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Mar 28, 2012 Jared rated it 4 of 5 stars

If even 10% of Scientology's litigation record is true, Janet Reitman has guts for writing this book. As a religion, Scientology is far stranger and far scarier than I would have ever imagined. Certainly, the book takes a hardline and negative view on Scientology, and you have to remember that as you're reading the book--i.e., that you're not getting the "other side's" perspective.

After finishing the book I read Scientology's official rebuttal: an 11-page letter suggesting that Reitman's book do...more

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Jan 31, 2012 Shawn rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: nonfiction fans

I was already scared of Scientology, but now when I walk past the Scientology building while I'm showing my visitors around Hollywood, I will be sure that they do have me on tape. There is probably a file in the building containing a list of every person who reviews Inside Scientology on Goodreads, much less this author? Ms. Reitman must be receiving no end of unwanted attention by everyone from John Travolta on down.
Sure, Scientology is a cult, we already knew that, but this book does have very...more

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Dec 24, 2011 Jennifer Arnold rated it 4 of 5 stars

Growing up just a few miles from one of Scientology's major spiritual centers - Clearwater, Florida - I've always had a certain awareness of Scientology and its oddities. As a kid, I remember thinking of them as the strange people walking around downtown Clearwater in their naval-like uniforms. Later, Scientology was the reason we had a few minor celebrity sightings at the Barnes & Noble I worked at (Jenna Elfman, Greta Van Susteren) and one very strange book fair (after which I counted more...more Growing up just a few miles from one of Scientology's major spiritual centers - Clearwater, Florida - I've always had a certain awareness of Scientology and its oddities. As a kid, I remember thinking of them as the strange people walking around downtown Clearwater in their naval-like uniforms. Later, Scientology was the reason we had a few minor celebrity sightings at the Barnes & Noble I worked at (Jenna Elfman, Greta Van Susteren) and one very strange book fair (after which I counted more than $17,000 in cash). Reitman's book didn't change my overall opinion of Scientology (totally not a religion - hello, IRS - but rather an elaborate money making scheme), but it did make me understand a little more why people were attracted to it, at least at first.

Reitman's work is really an even-handed and meticulously researched history of the birth and development of Scientology. She's as fair as possible in presenting L. Ron Hubbard, but there's quite a bit of well, dirt (several abandoned wives and kids,) and general strangeness (it's hard to take the Xenu stuff and the practically supernatural powers that the upper levels of Scientology promises with a straight face). Reitman does a good job with the story of Lisa McPherson, a Clearwater-based Scientologist who died after 17 days of 'treatment' for a mental breakdown in which she was not taken to the hospital for the actual (physical) medical care that she needed until too late (this was a *huge* story back home at the time). There's a good bit of explanation for what was going on at the time of the whole Tom Cruise/Oprah's couch phenomenon. The guy who comes off worst is the 'church's' current leader, David Miscavige, who seems to be a petty, vindictive tyrant - but then, that's what power will do to you. The stories of how the church bullies and harasses its critics and those who dare to leave the church (often with harrowing escapes that aren't helping the charges that Scientology is a cult) may seem outlandish, but Reitman's gone to great lengths to verify each tale that she's included.

Overall, interesting and eye-opening, and extremely well-written.

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Dec 21, 2011 Mari Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-read-of-2011

Amazingly in-depth and intriguing look into the history, practices and management of Scientology. This subject fascinates me because I am a native of Clearwater, now home to the Scientology Sea Org, and watched the "religion" take over my hometown. Clearwater, the SeaOrg and the Lisa McPherson case get several chapters dedicated to it. To be honest, this group is worse than I feared and many of my misgivings were validated. I actually went into the Scientology "ghetto", Hacienda Gardens (mention...more

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Sep 30, 2011 Jorge rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: atheism-religion

Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion

"Inside Scientology" is a fascinating book about the history of Scientology. Janet Reitman has written a page-turner account of one of the least known religions of the planet. This 464-page book is composed of the following seventeen chapters: 1. The Founder, 2. Dianetics, 3. The Franchised Faith, 4. The Bridge to Total Freedom, 5. Travels with the Commodore, 6. Over the Rainbow, 7. DM, 8. Power Is Assumed, 9. Lisa, 10. Flag, 11....more

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Sep 30, 2011 Jeanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was both interesting and disturbing. Maybe that is what made it interesting the disturbing part. I thought the author did a good job on the research, the book was consistent and detailed. She also had notes where more clarification was needed. I thought it was an unbiazed expose of Scientology. The following are what was interesting/disturbing.

1.) How much conflict there was at the top and in spite of that, how Scientology grew.
2.) How they recruited their members. The fee's were crazy...more

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