{"product_id":"going-clear-scientology-hollywood-and-the-prison-of-belief-9780307745309","title":"Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief","description":"\u003cb\u003eNATIONAL BESTSELLER - NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST - From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of \u003ci\u003eThe Looming Tower\u003c\/i\u003e comes \"an utterly necessary story\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e) that pulls back the curtain on the church of Scientology: one of the most secretive organizations at work today. - The Basis for the HBO Documentary.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eScientology presents itself as a scientific approach to spiritual enlightenment, but its practices have long been shrouded in mystery. Now Lawrence Wright--armed with his investigative talents, years of archival research, and more than two hundred personal interviews with current and former Scientologists--uncovers the inner workings of the church. We meet founder L. Ron Hubbard, the highly imaginative but mentally troubled science-fiction writer, and his tough, driven successor, David Miscavige. We go inside their specialized cosmology and language. We learn about the church's legal attacks on the IRS, its vindictive treatment of critics, and its phenomenal wealth. We see the church court celebrities such as Tom Cruise while consigning its clergy to hard labor under billion-year contracts. Through it all, Wright asks what fundamentally comprises a religion, and if Scientology in fact merits this Constitutionally-protected label.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLAWRENCE WRIGHT is a staff writer for \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker, \u003c\/i\u003e a playwright, and a screenwriter. He is the best-selling author of the novel, \u003ci\u003eThe End of October, \u003c\/i\u003eand ten books of nonfiction, including \u003ci\u003eGoing Clear, God Save Texas, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Looming Tower, \u003c\/i\u003e winner of the Pulitzer Prize. He and his wife are longtime residents of Austin, Texas.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50692635132178,"sku":"9780307745309","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_cf71aa6a-c59c-4bbc-a059-443e21cb8d33.jpg?v=1734130423","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/going-clear-scientology-hollywood-and-the-prison-of-belief-9780307745309","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}