The Scandal of Scientology
Cover
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| Author | Paulette Cooper |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Scientology |
| Publisher | Tower Publications |
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Publication date
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1971 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 220 |
The Scandal of Scientology is a critical exposé book about the Church of Scientology, written by Paulette Cooper and published by Tower Publications, in 1971.
In 2007, Cooper wrote about the events that occurred as a result of her original publication of an article called "The Scandal of Scientology" in Queen, in 1968. In the article "The Scandal of the Scandal of Scientology," in Byline, Cooper commented on her motivation for writing the book: "I had a master's degree in psychology and had studied comparative religion at Harvard for a summer and what I learned during my research about the group founded by L. Ron Hubbard was both fascinating and frightening. The story cried out to be told."
The book earned Cooper negative attention from members of the Church, and she was subsequently the target not only of litigation but a harassment campaign known as Operation Freakout, the goal of which was to deter Cooper from criticism of Scientology by having her "incarcerated in a mental institution or jail or at least to hit her so hard that she drops her attacks". Members of the church sent itself forged bomb threats, purportedly from Cooper, using her typewriter and paper with her fingerprints on it; further plans included bomb threats to be sent to Henry Kissinger. The Church's campaign was discovered when the FBI raided Scientology offices in 1977 and recovered documents relating to the operation.
In June 2007 Paulette Cooper wrote about her experience with the Church of Scientology and Operation Freakout from "beginning to end" for the first time. Another account of Cooper's testimony can be found in Bent Corydon's L. Ron Hubbard: Messiah or Madman? in part 1, chapter 14: "Freaking Out Paulette: A Six Year Operation to Drive a Journalist Insane."
The Church of Scientology of Canada attempted to suppress the book in libraries in Canada. In June 1974, libraries were advised that if they do not remove the books Scientology: The Now Religion, Inside Scientology, The Scandal of Scientology and The Mind Benders from their shelves, they would be named in a lawsuit. Two different library boards in Ontario, Canada had been served with writs.
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