A clear-sighted revelation, a deep penetration into the world of Scientology by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of\u00a0The Looming Tower,<\/i>\u00a0the now-classic study of al-Qaeda\u2019s 9\/11 attack. Based on more than two hundred personal interviews with\u00a0current and former Scientologists\u2014both famous and less well known\u2014and years of archival research, Lawrence Wright uses his extraordinary investigative ability to uncover for us the inner workings of the Church of Scientology.<\/p>\n
At the book\u2019s center, two men whom Wright brings vividly to life, showing how they have made Scientology what it is today: The darkly brilliant science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, whose restless, expansive mind invented a new religion. And his successor, David Miscavige\u2014tough and driven, with the unenviable task of preserving the church after the death of Hubbard.<\/p>\n
We learn about Scientology\u2019s complicated cosmology and special language. We see the ways in which the church pursues celebrities, such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, and how such stars are used to advance the church\u2019s goals. And we meet the young idealists who have joined the Sea Org, the church\u2019s clergy, signing up with a billion-year contract.<\/p>\n
In\u00a0Going Clear,<\/i>\u00a0Wright examines what fundamentally makes a religion a religion, and whether Scientology is, in fact, deserving of this constitutional protection. Employing all his exceptional journalistic skills of observation, understanding, and shaping a story into a compelling narrative, Lawrence Wright has given us an evenhanded yet keenly incisive book that reveals the very essence of what makes Scientology the institution it is.<\/p>\n