'Going Clear' provides some clarity about Scientology

I have been listening to an audiobook of Lawrence Wright's Going Clear, his history of L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. It's a subject I thought I knew quite a bit about, so I have been surprised so far at how much I have been learning, and how much light the book sheds on Robert Anton Wilson's intellectual milieu (though he is not mentioned in the book, at least so far.)

I knew something about the relationship between Hubbard and Jack Parsons, for example, but I did not know that Hubbard believed he had a Guardian Angel (described as a woman with red hair) who dictated much of  his writings to him; Aleister Crowley apparently was an influence on L. Ron. I also did not know that the writings of Alfred Korzybski were a Hubbard influence.

The book has details on Operation Snow White, a massive espionage operation by Scientologists against the U.S. government and other governments, and Operation Freakout, a campaign of harassment and attempted murder directed against Paulette Cooper, who had written a book critical of Scientology. (The book, The Scandal of Scientology, has been allowed to go out of print.) Given the cult's treatment of Cooper, Wright showed considerable courage coming out with his own expose.

One sobering aspect of the book is the way that otherwise apparent intelligent Americans such as John Campell and Robert A. Heinlein fell for many of Hubbard's lies and outlandish claims; I've always had decidedly mixed feelings about RAW's crusade against skeptics and Wright's book isn't doing much to change my mind. I'm all for skepticism about skepticism, but Wright's book implies that people in the U.S. suffer not from too much skepticism, but from too little. (Many American SF fans apparently were less easy to take in.  I read years ago about the "Elron Awards" given at a science fiction convention — a bronze lemon on a plywood base for the worst in SF.)

RAW had little good to say about Hubbard. If you think RAW's comments are extreme, I suggest checking out Wright's book.

RAW, discussing L. Ron Hubbard:

Did L. Ron Hubbard ever get interviewed by you, while you were working for Playboy, Robert Anton Wilson? Did you ever make contact, you and L. Ron Hubbard?
No, thank God, I've never had any contact with him and I've had as little contact as possible with any member of Scientology.

From another interview:

9. What do you think of the works of L. R. Hubbard?

What do you think of Stalin and Hitler?