Scientology: Christmas Comes Early with TWO New Books on Hubbard's Wacky Cabal

I agree Gary, every cultural reference to the cult is mockery at this point. Each article, even their PR puff pieces is now deluged with critics and entheta. The three generations of critics that made this possible need to be acknowledged.

Awesome.  Keep reporting on it, Tony!!

Things are getting SO DELICIOUS.

And the best part? Because of all the publicity and negative PR Scientology has gotten over the past 3+ years, it will be MUCH HARDER  for them to sue the authors and publishers of these books. It will only add more to their problems.

But this is Scientology we're talking about. Their strategy is to attack, so of course they probably will. Not that it will have much effect.

The last academic book about the cult, a collection of essays about Scientology by Oxford U. Press, was a bloody bore. I hope Urban's is better. I just read an interview with him where he takes the view of Scientology being a religion, rather than a simulacrum (fake) religion as most sane people (even academics), believe. I know he's not like Melton, but he's no Kent.

I don't think  Urban's observations/revelations are as deep as a about a half dozen people on ESMB, who lived this charade, and then woke up.

The Scientology experience isn't something anyone can bind up in a book neatly. People reveal their pain, come to new understanding, bit by bit, in the course of discussing it with others openly, like on ESMB. It takes some of them years.

I don't really care how much I like so-and-so's book. What I want now is for a writer with the skill, popularity, and determination to make a book that will be of major interest to the general public by bringing out the abuses and weirdness of Scientology. I hope Janet has done it.

If I could choose someone to do it? Margaret Atwood, to write Astra Woodcraft's story, or the story of her family. The best story in this cult, is what it does to people, and not in "it's a blast, bada bing" Tom Cruise kind of way.

What the remaining members don't seem to realize is that they have created their own opponents.  Until they discover and come to terms with the fact that scientology has a dark side and that the founder and particularly the current management have secrets, the organization will remain a shriveled corpse with lipstick.

Great article, Tony.  Another expose on the cult will be gobbled up by the public.

I wonder where Lou-anne is ........she's usually first in line to comment(or rather troll ).....and claim the virtues of her dying cult. Well, looks like she's MIA.......isn't that an RPF-able offense???

I can't wait.  I know Janet will be speaking in the L.A. area later this year about her book.

Pretty soon there will be more scientology investigation books than there are actual scientologists!! 

At that point, it would be nice if all the empty buildings the "church" is buying (by fleecing their remaining members) would pay property and corporate taxes!

Love it! Looks like I'll more material to read out loud to the Scilons at the local Org.  

Another expose? Wonderful! When it rains, it pours! how many members do you suppose they have left? Only the ones that can't read, i suspect!Amazon, here i come!

Tony, thanks for the heads up. Will order today. Should be fun.

From the blurb on the Urban book: "Few religious movements have been subject to public scrutiny like Scientology, yet much of what is written about the church is sensationalist and inaccurate."

Oh BS! Hubbard can be heard on tapes (on YOUTUBE) talking about smoking more being a cancer preventative, telling his loony Xenu story, and expounding on the last 4 quadrillion years. Hubbard was a sensationalist and inaccurate loon. And there are many of his talks where he sounds like he is flying on amphetamines.

I hate when academics take this "balanced" view, especially if they take too much of what Church officials say at face value. That's why I liked Wright's article. He carefully eviscerated their bull.

However, I'm looking forward to both books, especially Reitman's. Someone needed to take off from where Russell Miller left off; when Miscavige took over, and the impact of the information age on this farce.

Reitman should have used a volcano with Xenu peeking out for the cover. With the present cover, I would put a brown paper cover over it if reading it on the subway, because I wouldn't want anyone to mistake my reading a book with that title, for someone interested in joining Scientology to find answers.

Tony;  yes, your toil, and that of many others over the years is paying off, little by little.

In Friday's National Post Newspaper (one of Canada's two national papers) an article on a new Hyundai Hybrid vehicle was described as:"At the very least, getting behind the wheel of Hyundai's Sonata Hybrid doesn't feel like the automotive equivalent of converting to Scientology."

Large segments of the world have begun to understand the situation with the cult and are at least able to regard it as a diabolical joke. All signs now point to world citizens coming to understand that it's much worse than a joke, even a diabolical joke. It's what we get if we permit a large whack of "crazy" mixed in with pure "evil."

Thank you for the tip on the new book by Hugh B. Urban. Summer reading, here we come!