In Jon Atack’s “A Piece of Blue Sky”, Atack addresses the issues within Scientology such as the pseudoscience of Dianetics, the corruption of the Church of Scientology, and the cynical L. Ron Hubbard. The author, a member of the church turned skeptic, holds an objective view on these matters and provides details from many sources, making him a reliable resource of information on an otherwise mysterious subject. The book starts off with a credulous tone as the author relays his experience with the church when he was a young adult but slowly transitions into a skeptical tone as the cracks begin to show in the reasoning of Dianetics and Scientology. This book reveals the ugly truth about what seemed like ideas that were meant help people but were actually just scams supported by pseudoscience that L. Ron Hubbard created. Believers and skeptics alike should read this book as it provides a lot of insight into one of the most successful scams of all time.
Atack does an impressive job of conveying his experiences with the church in a logical, chronological manner without compromising the objectivity of his writing. In the beginning, the author finds himself feeling dejected and is able relieve his pain through the comforting atmosphere of Scientology. Scientology, or more so Dianetics, offered him a cure to all of his pain so naturally he accepted these ideas with open arms. Throughout the book, Atack begins catching some startling subtleties that begin to alert him to some disconcerting aspects of the ideas of the man he practically worshiped, L. Ron Hubbard. As he progresses further and further through the church’s levels of initiation, he notices more flaws such as his experiences of mental abuse, the outrageous price fluctuations of different Scientology amenities and Dianetic auditing, and the scientific shortcomings in the background and evolution of Dianetics. Atack even explains the numerous fabrications Hubbard provides in his background from the specifics of his service in World War II to the data he provided in his “scientific research” on Dianetics. Atack effectively exposes the errors in Hubbard’s background and his concepts of Dianetics and Scientology; Atack uses personal experiences to prove his points and remains unbiased so as not make it seem like he is attacking the views of Scientologists. Atack successfully connects his personal experiences to the facts pertaining to Hubbard and Scientology. This connection makes the book easy to read and the points supporting the main idea easy to put together. Atack goes into great detail about each subject-Scientology, Hubbard, and Dianetics-which allows the reader to make a confident, informed decision about each. Atack could definitely be considered an authority figure on the matter but he chooses to keep his opinions out of it, letting the reader feel like they are in control.
At a glance, this book may not seem like it is debunking pseudoscience but more like the author is uncovering a scam. The author is mainly uncovering a scam but this scam would be nothing without the support of Hubbard’s made up pseudoscientific jargon that made these ideas so convincing. Atack gradually dissects the components of Dianetics and Scientology, revealing absolute nonsense when Hubbard’s actual scientific terms are put into context. If it were not for the original ideas of Dianetics-a classic example of pseudoscience-Scientology would have never succeeded because Dianetics contained all of the so-called “reasoning” for the religion. The book contains dialogue of actual statements that Hubbard made about the church and Dianetics that are absolutely outrageous. Even the book’s title is a quote straight from Hubbard’s mouth that excellently represents his intentions in creating Scientology and Dianetics. This book is great point of reference for a psychological study because it shows people’s willingness to believe in something so far fetched if it just has some big complicated words to back it up. Atack includes astonishing statistics about the prices of Scientology and Dianetic services and how much the Church of Scientology collected due to the gullibility of the followers of a retired science fiction writer. The author reveals how the church would deceive people by producing false statitistics on how many people joined the church, how many people had been cured through Dianetics, and how much people would have to pay to progress through church. The book includes details about smaller, yet important aspects of Dianetics and Scientology such as engrams, auditing, Operating Thetan Levels, and the use of the E-Meter. Nearly everything Atack includes in this book contributes to the main idea of the book, which is the exposure of Hubbard and his creation of Scientology and Dianetics.
This book is a must read for anyone interested in Dianetics, Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, or anyone who is a member of the Church of Scientology. This book gives you the cold, hard facts with information directly from the church and Hubbard himself. Atack’s interactive approach to this book is very effective in helping the reader feel apart of the story and motivating the reader to read and learn more about the subject. He tells you his complete story, gives you all facts, and makes the writing objective enough for the reader to form their own opinion on the matter after reading. The book does not feel like it is forcing you to think one way or another; it just informs the reader on what Hubbard tried to hide from his followers for decades. This book provided the thrill of a fiction novel but with all the facts and first hand experience detail of a true story. “A Piece of Blue Sky” is a truly great book that is well written on an interesting topic and is sure to provide new, eye-opening information to anyone who reads it.
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What a great overview of how the fraud of L Ron Hubbard ...
What a great overview of how the fraud of L Ron Hubbard built his destructive cult and harmed millions of people with his lies and extortion. Jon Atack did an amazing job to provide the facts that Scientology hides
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Facts can be stranger then fiction
Reviewed in Canada on August 28, 2023
Matthew Denny
