{"product_id":"9780307745309","title":"Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Basis For The New HBO Documentary.\u003c\/b\u003e A National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Scientology 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. Brilliantly researched, compellingly written, \u003ci\u003eGoing Clear\u003c\/i\u003e pulls back the curtain on one of the most secretive organizations at work today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book\u003cbr\u003e A Best Book of the Year: \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNew York\u003c\/i\u003e magazine,\u003ci\u003eSlate\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHuffington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Week\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eA GoodReads Reader's Choice\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47024253927664,"sku":"9780307745309","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780307745309_p0.jpg?v=1763673357","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780307745309","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}