Scan barcode
p_t_b's review against another edition
4.0
lawrence wright is about as good at journalism as you can be, in terms of verity. there is a moment where he gets down into the nickel plating under the paint job(s) on the motorcycles owned by david miscavige/tom cruise. that's just an exceptional example of the thoroughness. his appetite for detail isn't suffocating and at times is entertainment unto itself. i am now officially terrified of scientologists. this book gave me actual legit nightmares about being the victim of a blow drill. this book documents scientology in all its bizarre and profoundly human extent. it's a boom-age religion, stuffed full of baroque absurdity by L Ron Hubbard, who was obviously like the JS Bach of sci-fi flavored bullshitting. the entire scientology undertaking is flavored with tinges of Hubbard's worldview -- vaguely sensical naval stylings, smoking a lot of cigarettes, monumental weirdness, folksy 1950s diction. but then they are also a murderous and vicious pack of loons. wright gets pretty much everything you would ever want or need to know about scientology down here. The prose isn't spectacular and I think it could have been a bit shorter -- there's some reporting just for reporting's sake in here, but also i think wright was compelled to take an exhaustive tack on some of the more contested things (e.g. david miscavige's abiding love of beating people up). anyway i am now scared forever of scientologists and may not ever be able to read anything else about them, but also now i can make jokes about going external and sec-checks and e-meters and whatnot.
br1sr3alm's review against another edition
4.0
i now know more than i probably ever wanted to know about this religion. while i see the good science for some people, i also see the sci-fi, and i feel for those who are trapped by their own secrets.
mcbibliotecaria's review against another edition
4.0
Great read. It is a follow up to the extensive article Lawrence Wright wrote on Paul Haggis's break up with Scientology for the New Yorker. It integrates three histories, L. Ron Hubbard, who's strange back story I can never get enough of, David Miscaviage, a terrifying violent sociopath who instigated a coup for the organization's leadership, and Paul Haggis. Although its pretty unforgiving, especially in the final chapters about how Paul Haggis has been a scientologist all these years and only now is deciding now how horrible the leadership and the abuses that are allowed, how psychologically manipulative the practice is. I keep avoiding calling it a religion, because its not. Its a cult. But still this was a nice quick read for people who are fascinated by the otherwise practical nature of its followers. Its explores in depth the celebrity portion of scientology, how it is a practice from the beginning that Hubbard wanted, to recruit up and coming celebrities to be a figure head for the church.
A new thing I did learn is the climate of psychotherapy when the religion was just starting, back in the 50s. How the environment was prime and ready for an alternative to psychiatric treatment, which in that day was defined by electroshock therapy and lobotomies. So it had an easier time of getting into the mainstream, but now that psychotherapy had advanced, its a matter of time before these nuts stop drinking the kool aid.
A new thing I did learn is the climate of psychotherapy when the religion was just starting, back in the 50s. How the environment was prime and ready for an alternative to psychiatric treatment, which in that day was defined by electroshock therapy and lobotomies. So it had an easier time of getting into the mainstream, but now that psychotherapy had advanced, its a matter of time before these nuts stop drinking the kool aid.
mallard_duck's review against another edition
exceptional research skills, but sadly I wasn't a fan of the writing style. as much as I love non-fiction, I prefer it to be written in a more engaging way - the style of this was very dry, and the information, while plentiful, was often just... dumped onto the pages, sort of. I'd known some things about scientology before reaching for this book too, which is possibly another reason why it wasn't as much of a page turner for me. overall I think it'd make a solid textbook, which is both its strength and weakness in my eyes.
mborer23's review against another edition
4.0
I've been wanting to read this book since I read the Paul Haggis profile in the New Yorker two years ago, and "Going Clear" did not disappoint. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to know more about the history of Scientology, and why it remains such a controversial belief system.
sarah_nera's review against another edition
5.0
I know it's non-fiction, but it has all the guilty-pleasure reading feel of Us Weekly. A fascinating look at Scientology, and LRH. If you enjoyed the author's piece on Paul Haggis in the New Yorker, you should definitely read this.
victoriag03's review against another edition
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.0
You can tell the author is extremely dedicated to the deep dive scientology, learned a lot about scientology, that was very interesting, and I really appreciated his thoroughness