First published 2011
Janet Reitman tackles the secretive world of Scientology in this comprehensive investigation. Drawing from five years of research, confidential documents, and interviews with current and former members, she chronicles how L. Ron Hubbard transformed his 1954 creation from a pseudoscientific self-help movement into a global spiritual corporation. Reitman examines Scientology's claims of rapid growth and millions of members, its celebrity followers, and its volunteer disaster relief efforts. She also investigates the organization's darker aspects: aggressive litigation against critics, government infiltration, attacks on psychiatry, and requirements that members pay enormous sums for spiritual advancement. The author documents how ex-members use online platforms to share accounts of harassment and abuse. This journalistic history traces Scientology's evolution from Dianetics to its current form, revealing how the organization maintains control over both active members and those who leave. Reitman provides readers with an objective examination of one of the most controversial and misunderstood religious movements of our time.
Genres: abuse, cults, non-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-reporting, organizational-culture
Period: 1954, 21st-century
464 pages · Kindle Edition · HarperOne
Content warnings: abuse, emotional-abuse