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He was the drummer in a rock ‘n’ roll band: Eddie Stratton’s Scientology story

[Eddie Stratton, on the far left in this One Minute Silence lineup]

Jon Atack introduces us to yet another former Scientologist today, drummer Eddie Stratton. What a treat.

In 1996, I received a hilarious 11-page hand-written letter from Eddie Stratton detailing his experiences in Scientology. I responded and received a 20-page letter by return of post. It []

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It’s not hard to figure out where L. Ron Hubbard came up with Scientology’s space cooties

[A couple of Burks covers]

After Ron Hubbard had sold the rights to Dianetics to Don Purcell in 1952, he had to create a new subject from whole cloth. Much of the “new” material that he now called “Scientology” came from Aleister Crowley — including the notion of “entities.” But entities proved unpopular, and would only []

Jon Atack: Seduction, recruitment, and Scientology’s hard sell

Our thanks to the readers who wished Jon Atack a happy birthday recently, because it inspired him to check in with us…

Thanks to all for the good wishes on my birthday! It was most gratifying to read so many kind []

Atack: What David Mayo told me about L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology, and the upper levels

[David Mayo]

After we brought the news that prominent Scientology figure David Mayo had died last year in New Zealand, there was a pretty huge reaction from many former Scientologists, as well as a lot of discussion of his legacy. One person who had lengthy talks with Mayo after he left the church was historian Jon []

A new chapter for one of the best Scientology books of all time? Yes, and we have it!

[Sea Org toughs at the infamous 1982 Mission Holders Conference]

Jon Atack just let us know that he’s putting out a fourth edition of his excellent book of Scientology history, Let’s sell these people a piece of blue sky. And he’s taking the opportunity to restore a missing chapter that was left out previously for legal []

L. Ron Hubbard’s son was troubled, but don’t discount him entirely: few knew his father better

[Ron DeWolf at the 1982 Clearwater hearings]

Earlier this week, we wrote about a 15-page 1985 letter written by Ron DeWolf to the IRS that was released by the FBI and became public for the first time. DeWolf was the name adopted by L. Ron Hubbard Jr., who was known as “Nibs” to the Hubbard family. []

Scientology’s tiger: How L. Ron Hubbard created a language trap

 Jon Atack is the author of A Piece of Blue Sky, one of the very best books on L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. For more than three years he’s been helping us sift through the legends, myths, and contested facts about Scientology that tend to get hashed and rehashed in books, articles, and especially on []

Louis Theroux isn’t the first who tried to find Scientology’s positive side and failed

[Rev. Stewart Lamont, photo by Callum Moffat]

Louis Theroux’s My Scientology Movie is now on Netflix, but Jon Atack reminds us that Theroux wasn’t the first investigator who tried to find something positive to say about Scientology, and ended up in a very different []

Jon Atack: The biggest thing L. Ron Hubbard got wrong about Buddhism

 Jon Atack is the author of A Piece of Blue Sky, one of the very best books on L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. For more than three years he’s been helping us sift through the legends, myths, and contested facts about Scientology that tend to get hashed and rehashed in books, articles, and especially on []

Janis Grady’s new book on life in Scientology: Jon Atack’s take, and an excerpt

 Jon Atack is the author of A Piece of Blue Sky, one of the very best books on L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. For more than three years he’s been helping us sift through the legends, myths, and contested facts about Scientology that tend to get hashed and rehashed in books, articles, and especially on []