Let's sell these people a Piece of Blue Sky: the new, unexpurgated, unabridged version of the classic history of L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. Exposing Hubbard's false claims to be a war hero, a nuclear physicist, an explorer and a prot g of Eastern gurus, and showing the true malevolence of Scientology."Invaluable for its history and insight into the character of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard." Lawrence Wright, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief "If you only have time to read one book about L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology, this landmark work is the one." Miles C. Ferguson"This is the best book I have read about Scientology." Steve Cannane, ABC Lateline, Australia"A Piece of Blue Sky is the standard reference among serious students of authoritarian belief systems. Newer books about Scientology have been released, but none reproduce the detail and narrative clarity of Atack's book." Christian Szurko, DialogCentre UK"Since 1976, I have met, interviewed and counseled countless former officials and ex-members of Scientology. Of everyone I have ever met, and every book I have ever read, Jon Atack is the definitive resource of all things 'Hubbard.'" Steven Hassan, author Freedom of Mind "When I first read Jon Atack's amazing book A Piece of Blue Sky it was a series of revelations. I had been on the receiving end of the false promises, heavy ethics pressures and greed-motivated financial stresses for decades without being able to reconcile these things with Hubbard's writings. Jon's book gave me considerable relief as to what was really going on behind the facade" Michael Pattinson, ex-OT 8."As someone who has been at the top of organized scientology, and seen much of what really went on there, I would like to express my appreciation for what Jon Atack has done to get out the truth when it was not safe to do it." Denise Brennan, former Watchdog Committee Member"Throughout my professional life, I have seen so many victims of poisonous ideologies from communism and scientology to Saddam Hussein's "return to faith" and Al Qaeda's "martyrdom". In my attempts to help those sufferers, I applied a lesson learned from Jon Atack's writings that freedom cannot be delivered, granted, or enforced. The true and complete freedom comes only with the freedom of mind and Jon Atack's book is the best guide for all who want to achieve that freedom." Professor Khapta Akhmedova, expert on terrorism"Honestly written, amazingly accurate, and beautifully assembled, which is why it stood the test." Gerry Armstrong, former Hubbard aide"This book is fascinating.... and fresh. I've read every expose and this one is on the top of my list." Paulette Cooper, author The Scandal of Scientology"A Piece of Blue Sky was my first introduction to the real truth about L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. It's still the most reliable of the many books on the subject. No one seems to have worked harder to get things right by relying so carefully on rare and crucial documents that spell out the history of Scientology's abuses." Tony Ortega, former editor, Village Voice "All future scholarship on Scientology will build upon his contribution." Professor Stephen Kent"When I first read A Piece of Blue Sky, it became more than instrumental in helping me to understand my experiences and put them into a meaningful context that changed my life." Bonnie Woods, ex-OT3"Atack's book displays mastery of his material and subtlety of analysis and discussion that would be praised at the typical final doctoral examination." Richard de Mille, ghost author of Hubbard's Science of Survival"This book delivers like none other. We used it extensively during the fifteen years we helped families retrieve their loved ones from the cult of Scientology, and we still recommend it today to those who want to know the truth about Scientology." Jerry Whitfield and Hana Eltringham Whitfield
A translation of the classic history of the Scientology cult. Let's sell these people a Piece of Blue Sky: the new, unexpurgated, unabridged version of the classic history of L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. Exposing Hubbard's false claims to be a war hero, a nuclear physicist, an explorer and a prot g of Eastern gurus, and showing the true malevolence of Scientology. E' il miglior libro che abbia mai letto su Scientology. Jon Atack combina le sue esperienze personali con una meticolosa ricerca per denunciare con coraggio le bugie e gli abusi al cuore della Chiesa di Scientology. - Steve Cannane, ABC Lateline, Australia Una delle prime analisi dall'interno della Chiesa di Scientology - oggi di estremo valore per la sua storia e per la comprensione del carattere del suo fondatore, L. Ron Hubbard. - Lawrence Wright, vincitore di un Premio Pulitzer e autore di La prigione della fede - Scientology a Hollywood Jon Atack la risorsa definitiva per tutto ci che riguarda Hubbard. Leggete questo libro per scoprire tutti i dettagli accurati e reali sul fondatore di Scientology. - Steven Hassan, autore di Mentalmente liberi Questo libro affascinante... e originale. Scoprirete qualcosa di interessante in ogni sua pagina. Ho letto tutte le denunce pubblicate e questa la mia preferita. - Paulette Cooper, autrice di The Scandal of Scientology Il libro pi affidabile tra tutti quelli usciti sull'argomento. - Tony Ortega, ex direttore di Village Voice
The most precious and personal part of every person is his or her own mind. No one else ever sees it, or knows exactly what it is thinking or feeling. It is our most sacred possession because it houses our innermost identity. It defines for us precisely who we are, and who we are not. We can hide the truth from others, but not from ourselves. Or so we think.But our mind, like our body, needs nourishment. Other people feed our mind with thoughts, suggestions, comments and ideas. We choose which ones to accept and which ones to reject. And we feel confident that we are good at doing so. But are we?To be good at protecting our minds we must be familiar with the tactics and strategies that may be used by others to outmaneuver our natural protections and defenses. You can see a punch coming, but not a carefully crafted lie or manipulation strategy, unless you are trained to look.The greatest threat to the autonomy of our mind is from people who seek to influence it for their own best interests, but present themselves as our friends and helpers. Every one of us has great confidence in our ability to protect ourselves from other people acting in ways that would harm our own best interests. We have faith that we have a strong mind, have good "crap detectors" and are not easily influenced. I call this "The Myth of the Unmalleable Mind." As kids are fond of saying, "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me." But they can.
