Bent Corydon

This is a rather strange book, oddly written, but it gets the point across. First, the book is written backwards, starting with, basically, Bent Corydon's personal story, an account of Hubbard and the "Sea Org" in the 1960s and 1970s, then bouncing around to the beginning of Scientology, then explaining, poorly, the central tenets of Scientology. A glossary of terms is provided, but it will be easier to fire up the old Wikipedia to get explanations of all this stuff. L. Ron Hubbard's biography is scattered willy-nilly over the book, but the gist is attainable through the dint of just reading and reading and reading: Hubbard was a huckster, hack-writer who managed to mix a bit of psychology, science fiction, and magick (the connection between the Aleister Crowley and Hubbard, though tenuous, are undeniable) together with the blunt force of his personality to create a self-serving cult. This is apparent from the inconsistencies in his works and the selfish nature of his life (enough to make Joseph Smith seem like an actual saint). The presentation of the book is, however, mostly off-putting. Some parts are actually written in a gripping style, others are disconnected, disjointed, and jargon-filled. The author (and that is mostly Bent Corydon, as "co-writer" L. Ron Hubbard, Jr., aka Ronald DeWolf, is mostly absent, hidden) should have told the story in a straightforward, chronological manner, but he did not, and that is a shame. If told in a proper narrative fashion, there is enough in this book alone to make anyone but a die-hard Scientologist wonder what the hell is going on. But, then again, there is South Park's "Trapped in the Closet" episode, isn't there? Just watch that.

The book is informative, just poorly written and badly structured. The author quotes from so many sources, and block quotes so often, you forget who is saying what and you don't know where his information is coming from. This is the largest failing of the book: it is not properly cited and there is no bibliography of sources. I'm sure Mr. Corydon did the interviews, and I'm certain he is an honest quoter of sources, but, this book makes it nearly impossible to track down what he has said. Surely there is a better book on the subject? Well, there is the better-cited Wikipedia article, and the already mentioned South Park episode.… (altro)