Going Clear
Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief
by Lawrence Wright · first published 2013
62% recommend38% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Well-researched history of Scientology that is deeply engaging, with research depth and an account of how the group recruits and holds people. Suits readers curious about Hubbard and the movement's origins.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Based on more than two hundred personal interviews with both current and former Scientologists--both famous and less well known--and years of archival research, Lawrence Wright uses his extraordinary investigative skills to uncover for us the inner workings of the Church of Scientology: its origins in the imagination of science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard; its struggles to find acceptance as a legitimate (and legally acknowledged) religion; its vast, secret campaign to infiltrate the U.S. government; its vindictive treatment of critics; its phenomenal wealth; and its dramatic efforts to gro
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2014–2018Sex and Rockets
John Carter
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 32 recommend · 3 mention2 recommend · 32 recommend
2014–2018Strange Angel
George Pendle
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 44 recommend · 4 mention4 recommend · 44 recommend
2008–2026Gravity's Rainbow
Thomas Pynchon
Recommended by 58 · mentioned by 17958 recommend · 179 mention58 recommend · 17958 recommend
Currently I'm trudging through GEB[1]. Last month I read: - The Dip (super short read and has a few good points but overall I didn't really like it)[2] - Going Clear (great book, terrible formatting, but a great book)[3] - The Martian (short read, very entertaining and well researched)[4] 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del,_Escher,_Bach 2. http://sethgodin.typepad.com/the_dip/…
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?” ↗If that's interesting to you, check out _Going Clear_, by Lawrence Wright, who also wrote _The Looming Tower_, which is also an excellent book.
on “John Dee and the occult in California” ↗A fascinating question, and as noted by others, may (and does) vary depending on the country. Lawrence Wright's 'Going Clear' (more so the book than the HBO movie) goes into some detail about the apparent hand-wringing going on with the IRS as it suddenly had to come up with a definition of a religion. Predictably it's a pretty…
on “Scientology says it's received $5.7M from Google in ad grants” ↗And because Parsons' life intersected in the late '40s with that of L. Ron Hubbard, he features prominently in Lawrence Wright's excellent history of Scientology Going Clear (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Going_Clear_(book)) as well. Wikipedia summarizes Parsons' and Hubbard's sex-magic collaboration here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Parsons_(rocket_engineer)...
on “Jack Parsons and the Occult Roots of JPL” ↗…Friedrich (1887) On the Genealogy of Morals Rhodes, Richard (1986) Making of the Atomic Bomb Sun Tzu (c. 400 BCE) Art of War Taleb, Nassim Nicholas (2005) Fooled by Randomness Wright, Lawrence (2013) Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗…introducing Hubbard to Crowely, and most notably Sara Northrup. Sara Northrup, later L Ron’s wife, helped develop Dianetics, and Scientology. I read J.W. Carter’s ”Sex and Rockets”, and Lawerence Wright’s “Going Clear” back to back, and together they paint a fascinating portrait of the time. If you want to round out the Pasadena OTO scene, Spencer Kansa’s “Wormwood Star” about Marjorie Cameron is supposed to be good,…
on “Jack Parsons and the Occult Roots of JPL” ↗Going Clear is great. I've read several of Wright's books and really enjoy the depth of the research he does.
on “Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?” ↗Going Clear is a wonderful book https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Going_Clear_(book) I loved the break down of how Scientology finds people. The simplicity is stunning. People need connection, they need to feel important…
on “My favorite nonfiction books about cults, scams, and schemes” ↗I plan to read: - "Debt: The First 5,000 Years" by David Graeber - "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief" by Lawrence Wright - "The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves" by Matt Ridley - "Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life" by William Finnegan
on “Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?” ↗Reading right now: Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief Up next: God's Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican http://www.amazon.com/Going-Clear-Scientology-Hollywood-Pris... http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Bankers-History-Money-Vatican/dp/...
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?” ↗…means. And I'm sure a lot of folks are reading about it in Wired for the first time. But Parsons's backstory has been covered pretty extensively -- most recently as a significant side chapter (or two) in "Going Clear," the NYT-bestselling book about L Ron Hubbard and Scientology. Prior to that, Parsons figured prominently into "Barefaced Messiah," another Scientology history, written in the late 1980s. For the record,…
on “Jack Parsons: Occultist involved in early rocketry” ↗In light of HN's (edit: temporary) ban on political content, I find it interesting that so many of YC's favorite books relate to: - religion (Going Clear, Zealot, Finding God in the Waves) - war and oppressive policy (War in a Time of Peace, Silence Once Begun) - conservative lifestyle (Strangers in Their Own Land, Hillbilly Elegy) The first two are…
on “YC's Winter Reading List” ↗…read with Seth Rogen was very illuminating (from the NY Times): "You know how every once in a while you read one sentence and it snaps your whole perspective into place? I remember reading that book “Going Clear,” about Scientology, and there was one sentence about how if famous people aren’t treated in a certain way, it makes them think they’re not as talented as they wish they were. Like, if I go to a restaurant…
on “SpaceX to buy Cursor AI coding agent operator Anysphere for $60B” ↗