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Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion Hardcover – July 5, 2011

by Janet Reitman (Author)

4.4 856 ratings

Editors' pick Best Nonfiction

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Scientology, created in 1954 by a prolific sci-fi writer named L. Ron Hubbard, claims to be the worlds 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 highest levels of the government to further its goals. Its attacks on psychiatry and its requirement that believers pay as much as tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars for salvation have drawn scrutiny and skepticism. And ex-members use the Internet to share stories of harassment and abuse. Now Janet Reitman offers the first full journalistic history of the Church of Scientology, in an evenhanded account that at last establishes the astonishing truth about the

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, July 2011: Whatever your opinion of Scientology, the truth is more extreme. Inside Scientology is journalist Janet Reitman's incredible book-length follow-up to the Rolling Stone cover story of the same name, a 2007 finalist for the National Magazine Award. Founded by wayward science-fiction writer and historical revisionist par excellence L. Ron Hubbard, "America's Most Secretive Religion" is perhaps best known for high-profile adherents like Tom Cruise and John Travolta, but its tenets, processes, and internal organization form a story as surprising and captivating as that of any investigative work released this year. Reitman's extensive research--including hundreds of interviews with devotees and defectors alike--culminates in an expansive, page-turning survey of the origins, development, crises, beliefs, and scandals of this fascinating incorporated religion, all with a fair-minded approach that favors diligent curiosity over judgment at every turn. "It has been my goal to write the first objective modern history of the Church of Scientology," Reitman writes in the book's introduction, and to this end, Inside Scientology succeeds in spades. This book will remain the definitive study of the subject for a long time to come. --Jason Kirk

Review

A New York Times Notable Book"[A] meticulously compiled exposé, culled from hundreds of interviews with active Scientologists and defectors alike. [Reitman's] revelations — including abuse allegations against church leader David Miscavige and details about the organization's aggressive courtship of Tom Cruise — come with impressive backup." - Entertainment Weekly"A serious, painstaking investigation of the organization's unique structure and bare-knucled business acumen." - GQ"In a new book, Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secret Religion, author Janet Reitman tell the fascinating history of the mysterious organization and its members." - Time.com

"The most complete picture of Scientology so far." –Garry Wills, New York Times Book Review

"Reitman's book delivers all it promises, and it promises a lot… [Reitman] has put together the most masterfully written, narratively rewarding, and thorough yarn about L. Ron Hubbard, David Miscavige, and Scientology and its strange past, present, and possible future….In Inside Scientology, we have a thorough, brave journalist backed by a major publisher, and soon what no doubt will be a major publicity push: Reitman's book should soon become Scientology's biggest headache in years." - Village Voice"This book is fearless" - Wall Street Journal"[A] meaty, engaging new book" -Slate.com"[A] meticulously researched history and revealing exposé, a frightening portrait of a religion that many find not just controversial, but dangerous…Throughout the book, the author displays consummate journalistic skills. Her accumulation of evidence is particularly impressive and gives rise to one of the more memorable works of investigative nonfiction in recent years."- Boston Globe

"A well-researched and compelling read" - Los Angeles Times

"[A] richly narrative history of the organization… The book is convincing and compelling. It will be interesting to see how the Scientology leadership responds." - St Louis Post Dispatch"So most journalistic accounts of Scientology fall into two categories: ax-grinding expose or fawning apologism. Fortunately Janet Reitman finds a third way in her authoritative, absorbing "Inside Scientology": nuanced reporting that lets the facts speak for themselves..."Inside Scientology" will remain a thoughtful, fair-minded record of its tumultuous first generation." - San Francisco Chronicle"Inside Scientology is a masterful piece of reporting....a compelling introduction to "America’s most secretive religion," as the subtitle has it. Even for those who have no interest in parsing when cults become religions or why faith upends fact, Reitman tells a spellbinding story of a larger-than-life personality whose quirks, ticks and charisma shaped America’s newest homegrown religious movement." - Washington Post"INSIDE SCIENTOLOGY is notable for its depth and sweep. Reitman's research pays off not only in rich portrayals of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and current leader David Miscavige, but in intimate portraits of people who have been swept up along the way….Reitman's analysis of Scientology's ability to survive scandal and mockery is compelling and persuasive." - Seattle Times"The inside scoop on Scientology, the steeped-in-secrecy religion of L. Ron Hubbard." - Minneapolis Star Tribune"Inside Scientology leaves no scandal unturned in the life of L. Ron Hubbard, underlings, celebrities and cult "slaves" in this story of America's most secretive religion....It is a riveting read not only for its thorough research, and winning style, but because [Reitman] has left no greed undescribed in the 396 page-turner." - Seattle Post Intelligencer"Inside Scientology" by Janet Reitman is an amazing book...a masterful telling of the church’s history and the division among its members" - Asbury Park Press"Inside Scientology is an engrossing, groundbreaking work that brings a welcome sense of fair-mindedness to a subject that is, for many journalists and scholars, too hot to touch. Reitman has accomplished the miracle of adding light without heat."- Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11"Inside Scientology goes beyond the celebrities and the scandals -- though they're here in all their absurdity and horror, too -- to find in Scientology a more profound story about "technology" as an article of faith and faith as a vessel for science, or, at least, science fiction. With courage, empathy, and clarity -- if that word can be reclaimed from L. Ron Hubbard -- Janet Reitman has with this definitive investigation laid bare the genesis and possibly the endgame of America's strangest religion".--Jeff Sharlet, bestselling author of The Family and C Street

"Thoroughly engrossing page-turner on the shape-shifting Church of Scientology...A bizarre and complicated history told with masterful control." -Kirkus Reviews starred

"A detailed and readable examination of the life of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the church, and his successor, David Miscavige. The book is rife with astonishing accounts of the abuses of power, the purges, and the climate of fear and intimidation commonplace in the top ranks of the organization." - Publishers Weekly "Janet Reitman spent five years researching and writing Inside Scientology: it was worth the wait… Inside Scientology is now the definitive account of key episodes in the movement’s history. For veterans of the campaign against Scientology’s excesses, Reitman’s book will become an essential resource. For the general public it will be a revelation." --Infinite Complacency

From the Inside Flap

Scientology is known for its celebrity believers and its team of volunteer ministers at disaster sites such as the World Trade Center; its notably aggressive response to criticism or its attacks on psychiatry; its requirement that believers pay as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars to reach the highest levels of salvation. But for all its notoriety, Scientology has remained Americas least understood new religion, even as it has been one of its most successful.
Now Janet Reitman tells its riveting full story in the first objective modern history of Scientology, at last revealing the astonishing truth about life within the controversial religion for its members and ex-members. We watch the singular L. Ron Hubbard transform a self-help group into a worldwide spiritual corporation, at one point running the church from his personal fleet on the high seas before establishing its base in sleepy Clearwater, Florida. As he became increasingly paranoid and reclusive a young acolyte named David Miscavige assumed control; after Hubbards death in 1986 he quickly purged the ranks and began to transform the church once again. Miscavige has overseen some of the churchs greatest triumphsamong them a controversial billion-dollar IRS tax exemption and Tom Cruises emergence as a vocal advocatebut he also has created a climate of fear and intimidation, according to ex-members whose stories of abuse Reitman shares. Reitman is the first to examine his twenty-five year reign and what it might mean for the future of the church.
Based on five years of research, confidential documents, and extensive interviews with current and former Scientologists, this is an utterly compelling work of nonfiction and the defining work on an elusive faith.

From the Back Cover

A revelatory, page-turning investigation that pulls back the curtain on life inside Scientology

Inside Scientology is an engrossing, groundbreaking work that brings a welcome sense of fair-mindedness to a subject that is, for many journalists and scholars, too hot to touch. Reitman has accomplished the miracle of adding light without heat.Lawrence Wright, author of The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

Inside Scientology goes beyond the celebrities and the scandalsthough theyre here in all their absurdity and horrorto find in Scientology a more profound story about technology as an article of faith and faith as a vessel for science, or, at least, science fiction. With precision and empathy, Janet Reitman has in this definitive investigation laid bare the genesis and possibly the endgame of Americas strangest religion.Jeff Sharlet, author of The Family and C Street

About the Author

JANET REITMAN is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone. Her work has appeared in GQ, Men's Journal, the Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine, and the Washington Post, among other publications. She holds a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, and was a finalist for a National Magazine Award in 2007 for the story "Inside Scientology."

Print length

464 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date

July 5, 2011
Dimensions

6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-10

0618883029
ISBN-13

978-0618883028
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; First Edition (July 5, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0618883029
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0618883028
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.5 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,796,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #111 in Scientology
- #877 in Religious Cults (Books)
- #9,017 in Religious Leader Biographies

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4.4 856 ratings

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Stacy L

Detailed and Mesmerizing, You Will Be Amazed

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2014

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About two years ago I became fascinated with the stories of defectors from North Korea. One day, while perusing Amazon's "Things You May Enjoy" section, a book popped up about Scientology. Intrigued that a search for the harrowing tales of North Korean defectors would be associated with a "religion", I decided to give it a go. What followed is an ongoing fascination with the world of Scientology and its machinations; "Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion" by Janet Reitman soon appeared on my radar, and here is my review.

Writing Style & Purpose

"Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion" (henceforth abbreviated as "IS") is a book written from the perspective of an outsider looking in. Janet Reitman, the author, is a journalist for Rolling Stone magazine. Her skill in writing is very evident in the text of "IS"; she makes it clear that she is approaching her research as a neutral party in an attempt to dissect the methodology, history, and stories from defectors in a balanced way. I can say that she has kept to this creed; while she does occasionally add a bit of personal analysis, for the most part she maintains her impartiality and recites her research faithful to her claim of neutrality.

Thus the purpose of "IS" is an investigation into the history, dogma, and actions of the Church of Scientology. Ms. Reitman reviews a lot of documentation, interviews, and church literature to paint a portrait of the creation, evolution, and current practices of Scientology, written in an engaging style with ample citations to validate every fact presented. From the moment that I picked it up, I had a hard time putting it down until I finished it.

Okay, But What Is It About?

"IS" has the tone of being a research paper that ultimately became a book. Ms. Reitman has compiled a huge amount of information and distilled it into a logical timetable of the creation of the Church of Scientology. She first focuses on the rise of the church, explaining how it came to be. From there the book flows smoothly into the early years of the church, dotted with anecdotes from followers who were there at the naissance of the Dianetics movement and the evolution into what ultimately became "Scientology".

In each chapter, the writer focuses on a specific period of time in the life of Scientology and documents the history of the church very effectively. It should be noted, however, that each topic is approached from multiple angles; unlike "Bare-faced Messiah", while L Ron Hubbard is analyzed but only insofar as his actions shaped his religion. Yes, she does document and compare aspects of his "official" biography with the facts as obtained through public records and defectors, but the life and times of Mr. Hubbard are more tangential to the story and acts as a supplement to the research.

By the end of the book you will be able to arrive at your own conclusion about what Scientology is, how it came to be, and whether they are more of a cult than a true religion. This book is one of my favorite sources of information about the church, second only to "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief" by Lawrence Wright. Janet Reitman has written an engaging, witty, and informative book that will leave even those who have read other writings shaking their heads in amazement at the facts and stories she relates.

So, Do I Buy It?

If you are fascinated by Scientology and want to learn more about how it operates, the history, and the stories from both current and former members, "Inside Scientology" is a must-have for your bookshelf. I consider myself fairly well-read in regard to Scientology, and I found myself learning new facts and reading about anecdotes that I never heard before. The church cooperated with Ms. Reitman and gave her unprecedented access to many of their materials, and the result is a book that both fascinates and disgusts the reader.

In the end, if you are interested in the machinations of Scientology, this book is worth the cost. You will not be disappointed; in fact, you will be in shock from all of the new information that this book has. Consequently, I give "Inside Scientology" five stars, and I think that you will, too.

10 people found this helpful

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kk_grayfox

A great way to learn about this fascinating perspective (from an unofficial source)

Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2014

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As someone who knew close to nothing about Scientology (besides what has been shown on South Park), I found this to be a very informative book about the history of this 'religion'.

It's difficult to say with certainty how biased it is. Clearly the Church denies that it was well-researched, but if you read the book, you're not really surprised by their reaction. Janet is not an ex-Scientologist, so the only kind of bias I can conceive of would be to have a book that highlights the controversial aspects of the Church's history for dramatic effect. But, to be fair, she mentioned her fair share of neutral factoids. I'm having trouble remembering if she ever said anything explicitly positive about the Church, except perhaps to say that a lot of people felt that they benefitted from auditing.

This latter point was something that was significant for me in my views of Scientology. I used to say, "If someone asks me whether or not I believe in Scientology, I'd say that I don't believe that Scientologists believe in Scientology" (mostly keeping the whole Xenu story in mind while saying this). Now I can say confidently that people do believe in Scientology, or at least aspects of it, and they have reaped benefits from these parts that they adhere to.

Overall, it was fascinating to read about Scientology, albeit overall alarming. You will not come away from reading this book without thinking that they are a dangerous cult (certainly not as dangerous as IS, say, but dangerous nonetheless).

I gave it four stars instead of five partially because: 1) it got somewhat dull in perhaps the first third of the book and I put it down for awhile. I think maybe I got tired of reading about L. Ron Hubbard, but it picked up for me at the Lisa McPherson case and stayed interesting throughout the rest of the book. Not that it's not interesting at ALL early on (e.g., you become more convinced that L Ron's Science Fiction writing had a hand in crafting some of the doctrines of Scientology); 2) much of Scientology involves terms and acronyms that are unique to the religion, and there were many times throughout the book where I forgot what an acronym stood for, as it seemed like they were defined 1 or more chapters earlier. It would have been more helpful if Janet redefined them more often or provided a glossary at the back of the book. An example is the fact that the headquarters for Scientology is called both Gold and Int, which I had forgotten and was wondering what the difference between the two was; 3) the same problem occurred with people in the book. I'll never forget L. Ron, David Miscavige, Lisa McPherson (or celebrities like Tom Cruise), but many of the other individuals that were mentioned throughout the book were not important enough or mentioned often enough to store in long term memory. A glossary would have helped here too.

Besides these relatively minor gripes, if you're interested in learning about Scientology from an outside perspective, I'm sure you can't do much better than this book!

2 people found this helpful

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Guido

Very serious and profound journalistic work

Reviewed in Italy on September 2, 2022

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I was looking for something serious, scrupulous about Scientology, so when I came across this book, I thought that if the writer was a journalist for the Washington post, it could be a warranty. And I wasn't wrong. Very interesting, clear, and without prejudices.

TerriW

Fascinating read

Reviewed in Canada on November 21, 2019

Verified Purchase

Such a phenomenal story with unbiased insights into the lives of people who got caught up in Scientology. It never ceases to floor me to see what human beings are capable of when they are under the influence of religious dogma.

One person found this helpful

Bizzy

Look before you leap into Scientology.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 29, 2017

Verified Purchase

I have to admit to groaning when I saw the description of Hubbard as 'brilliant' several times. I was too hasty in assuming that the author had come to praise 'Caesar' when I would have preferred to bury him. Janet Reitman turned over every stone and, without fawning or condemnation, politely steamrollered her way through the secret world of Scientology. I could not put the book down.
Anyone contemplating joining this religion would be strongly advised to get the book and read Chapters 10 and 11 at least and ask yourself if you think it is worth taking the risk of the type of mental breakdown Janet Reitman reports.
Listen to your instincts. If more Scientologists had done this instead of forcing themselves to comply with the order to act for the greater good of others, there would have been happier marriages, children and worthwhile careers. Young lives have been wasted cleaning and scouring to bring about spiritual enlightenment but the end reward did not seem to be very apparent.

One person found this helpful

Stegi

Super Buch!

Reviewed in Germany on March 20, 2013

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Hab das Buch für ne Facharbeit gebraucht, ist sehr gut verständlich und lesbar (besser als so manch deutsches Buch) :)

One person found this helpful

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