Synopses & Reviews
A clear-sighted revelation, a deep penetration into the world of Scientology by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of
The Looming Tower, the now-classic study of al-Qaeda’s 9/11 attack. Based on more than two hundred personal interviews with current and former Scientologists — both famous and less well known — and years of archival research, Lawrence Wright uses his extraordinary investigative ability to uncover for us the inner workings of the Church of Scientology.
At the book’s center, two men whom Wright brings vividly to life, showing how they have made Scientology what it is today: The darkly brilliant science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, whose restless, expansive mind invented a new religion. And his successor, David Miscavige — tough and driven, with the unenviable task of preserving the church after the death of Hubbard.
We learn about Scientology’s complicated cosmology and special language. We see the ways in which the church pursues celebrities, such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, and how such stars are used to advance the church’s goals. And we meet the young idealists who have joined the Sea Org, the church’s clergy, signing up with a billion-year contract.
In Going Clear, Wright examines what fundamentally makes a religion a religion, and whether Scientology is, in fact, deserving of this constitutional protection. Employing all his exceptional journalistic skills of observation, understanding, and shaping a story into a compelling narrative, Lawrence Wright has given us an evenhanded yet keenly incisive book that reveals the very essence of what makes Scientology the institution it is.
Review
“Powerful...essential reading.” Michael Kinsley, the front page of The New York Times Book Review
Review
“Who’d have thought a history of a religion would offer so many guilty pleasures? Lawrence Wright’s enthralling account of Scientology’s rise brims with celebrity scandal. To anyone who gets a sugar rush from Hollywood gossip, the chapters on Tom Cruise and John Travolta will feel like eating a case of Ding Dongs.” Evan Wright, The Los Angeles Times
Review
“An utterly necessary story....A feat of reporting. The story of Scientology is the great white whale of investigative journalism about religion.” The Wall Street Journal
Review
“Wright’s account of the church’s history and struggles is helpful, admirably fair-minded and, at times, absorbing....The book’s most intriguing aspect, though is not its treatment of Scientology, in particular, but its raising general questions about the nature of faith and reason and the role of religion in American life.” Chicago Tribune
Review
“Insightful, gripping, and ultimately tragic....The initial biographical section [about L. Ron Hubbard] could stand as an engrossing book in itself....The second section, ‘Hollywood,’ provides the answer to one of the great mysteries of the modern world: What’s the deal with Tom Cruise and Scientology?” The Boston Globe
Review
“A hotly compelling read. It’s a minutiae-packed book full of wild stories.” Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Review
“Devastating....A patient, wholly compelling investigation into a paranoid 'religion' and the faithful held in its sweaty grip.” Kirkus Reviews
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“A fascinating look behind the curtain of an organization whose ambition and influence are often at odds with its secretive ways....For those aware of Scientology through its celebrity adherents (Tom Cruise and John Travolta are the best known) rather than its works, the sheer scope of the church’s influence and activities will be jaw-dropping.” Booklist
Review
“Lawrence Wright brings a clear-eyed investigative fearlessness to Scientology — its history, theology, its hierarchy — and the result is...evidence that truth can be stranger even than science fiction.” The Washington Post
Review
“An eye-opening short biography of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and a long-form journalism presentation of the creature Hubbard birthed: a self-help system complete with bizarre cosmology, celebrity sex appeal, lawyers, consistent allegation of physical abuse, and expensive answers for spiritual consumers.” Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
The Basis For The New HBO Documentary. A National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist.
Scientology presents itself as a scientific approach to spiritual enlightenment, but its practices have long been shrouded in mystery. Now Lawrence Wright--armed with his investigative talents, years of archival research, and more than two hundred personal interviews with current and former Scientologists--uncovers the inner workings of the church. We meet founder L. Ron Hubbard, the highly imaginative but mentally troubled science-fiction writer, and his tough, driven successor, David Miscavige. We go inside their specialized cosmology and language. We learn about the church's legal attacks on the IRS, its vindictive treatment of critics, and its phenomenal wealth. We see the church court celebrities such as Tom Cruise while consigning its clergy to hard labor under billion-year contracts. Through it all, Wright asks what fundamentally comprises a religion, and if Scientology in fact merits this Constitutionally-protected label. Brilliantly researched, compellingly written, Going Clear pulls back the curtain on one of the most secretive organizations at work today.
A New York Times Notable Book
A Best Book of the Year: The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, New York magazine, Slate, Chicago Tribune, Huffington Post, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly, People, The Week, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews
A GoodReads Reader's Choice
Synopsis
NATIONAL BESTSELLER - NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST - From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower comes "an utterly necessary story" (The Wall Street Journal) that pulls back the curtain on the church of Scientology: one of the most secretive organizations at work today. - The Basis for the HBO Documentary.
Scientology presents itself as a scientific approach to spiritual enlightenment, but its practices have long been shrouded in mystery. Now Lawrence Wright--armed with his investigative talents, years of archival research, and more than two hundred personal interviews with current and former Scientologists--uncovers the inner workings of the church. We meet founder L. Ron Hubbard, the highly imaginative but mentally troubled science-fiction writer, and his tough, driven successor, David Miscavige. We go inside their specialized cosmology and language. We learn about the church's legal attacks on the IRS, its vindictive treatment of critics, and its phenomenal wealth. We see the church court celebrities such as Tom Cruise while consigning its clergy to hard labor under billion-year contracts. Through it all, Wright asks what fundamentally comprises a religion, and if Scientology in fact merits this Constitutionally-protected label.
Synopsis
National Book Award Finalist
A New York Times Notable Book
A Best Book of the Year: The Washington Post, New York magazine, Chicago Tribune, Huffington Post, Newsday, Entertainment Weekly, People, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews
A GoodReads Reader's Choice
Scientology presents itself as a scientific approach to spiritual enlightenment, but its practices have long been shrouded in mystery. Now Lawrence Wright — armed with his investigative talents, years of archival research, and more than two hundred personal interviews with current and former Scientologists — uncovers the inner workings of the church. We meet founder L. Ron Hubbard, the highly imaginative but mentally troubled science-fiction writer, and his tough, driven successor, David Miscavige. We go inside their specialized cosmology and language. We learn about the church’s legal attacks on the IRS, its vindictive treatment of critics, and its phenomenal wealth. We see the church court celebrities such as Tom Cruise while consigning its clergy to hard labor under billion-year contracts. Through it all, Wright asks what fundamentally comprises a religion, and if Scientology in fact merits this Constitutionally-protected label. Brilliantly researched, compellingly written, Going Clear pulls back the curtain on one of the most secretive organizations at work today.
About the Author
Lawrence Wright is a staff writer for
The New Yorker. He is the author of a novel,
God’s Favorite, and has also authored six previous books of nonfiction—
City Children, Country Summer;
In the New World;
Saints and Sinners; Remembering Satan; Twins; and
The Looming Tower.
The Looming Tower received many awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, the
Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the New York Public Library’s Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism. He is also a screenwriter and a playwright. He and his wife are longtime residents of Austin, Texas.
Lawrence Wright official website: http://www.lawrencewright.com/