Scientology: Christmas Comes Early with TWO New Books on Hubbard’s Wacky Cabal

This Scientology watcher is beside himself with joy. In the past couple of days, we’ve received not one but TWO new advance copies of new books on Scientology.

One, an academic approach put out by the Princeton University Press, the other, a likely blockbuster by Rolling Stone contributing editor Janet Reitman.

Oh, is my subway reading going to be a hoot!

Reitman’s expose, Inside Scientology, has been anticipated since her similarly titled 2007 Rolling Stone article. Promises the back cover: “A revelatory, page-turning investigation that pulls back the curtain on life inside Scientology.” Woo-hoo!

Several days before Reitman’s book arrived, however, a similar-looking volume arrived in the mail. I hadn’t heard about this one at all. Ohio State University professor Hugh B. Urban says he set out to write about Scientology from an academic perspective, and keep above the fray that surrounds the controversial group. Well, good luck with that! I’m really looking forward to diving into his The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion.

It’s really exciting to see this kind of material finally getting serious, mainstream attention, after some of us have toiled for many years trying to warn the public about Hubbard’s wacky cabal.

Now, I have to get to reading!

@VoiceTonyO

Tony Ortega is the editor-in-chief of The Village Voice. Since 1995, he’s been writing about Scientology at several publications. Among his other stories about L. Ron Hubbard’s organization:

The Larry Wollersheim Saga — Scientology Finally Pays For Its Fraud
The Tory Bezazian (Christman) Story — How the Internet Saved A Scientologist From Herself
The Jason Beghe Defection — A Scientology Celebrity Goes Rogue
The Paul Haggis Ultimatum — The ‘Crash’ Director Tells Scientology to Shove It
The Marc Headley Escape — ‘Tom Cruise Told Me to Talk to a Bottle’
The Jefferson Hawkins Stipulation — Scientology’s former PR genius comes clean
The Daniel Montalvo Double-Cross — Scientology lures a young defector into a trap
A Church Myth Debunked — Scientology and Proposition 8
Daniel Montalvo Strikes Back — Scientology Hit with Stunning Child-Labor Lawsuits
When Scientologists Attack — The Marty Rathbun Intimidation
A Scientologist Excommunicated — The Michael Fairman SP Declaration
The Richard Leiby Operation — Investigating a reporter’s divorce to shut him up