Bare-faced Messiah
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| Bare-faced Messiah | |
 Book Cover |
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| Author | Russell Miller |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject(s) | biography |
| Genre(s) | non-fiction |
| Publisher | Michael Joseph books |
| Publication date | 1987 |
| Pages | 380 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7181-2764-1 |
Bare-faced Messiah: The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard (London, Michael Joseph books, 1987, ISBN 0-7181-2764-1) is a posthumous biography of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard by journalist Russell Miller.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The book takes a critical perspective, discussing falsehoods allegedly perpetuated by Hubbard about himself.
It stretches from Hubbard's birth to death, and covers his success as a science fiction writer, his military career, the rise of Dianetics and Scientology, his journeys at sea with his followers, and his period on the run from the law in California.
There are 378 footnotes in the book. These include references to interviews conducted specially, to court or government documents and to Hubbard's own writings.
[edit] Harassment of the author and publishers
While researching the book in the USA, Miller was spied on. His friends and business associates also received visits from scientologists and private detectives. Attempts were made to frame him for the murder of a London private detective, the murder of American singer Dean Reed in East Berlin and a fire in an aircraft factory.[1][2][3][4] Senior executives at publishers Michael Joseph, and at the Sunday Times, which serialised the book, received threatening phone calls and also a visit from private investigator Eugene Ingram, who worked for the Church. [5] Another private investigator, Jarl Grieve Einar Cynewulf, told Sunday Times journalists that he had been offered "large sums of money" to find a link between Miller and the CIA. [6]
[edit] Legal dispute
In 1987, weeks before the book's publication, Scientology engaged Penguin Books Ltd and Russell Miller in a legal dispute, claiming that certain parts of Miller's work consisted of copyright infringement. They also claimed that the use of a photo of L. Ron Hubbard on the dust-jacket cover of the book was misleading. The case was titled:
"The Church of Scientology of California v. Russell Miller and Penguin Books Ltd, in the Chancery Division, before Mr. Justice Vinelott."
At the end of the case, Justice Vinelott found in favor of the defendant, and dismissed the lawsuit:
... It is to my mind clear that the public interest in the affairs of the Church and in the life of its founder far outweigh any duty or confidence that could possibly be owed to Mr. Hubbard or the Church ... I have reached the conclusion that this application is both mischievous and misconceived and must be dismissed.[7].
[edit] References
- ^ Robert W. Welkos Shudder into silence: The Church of Scientology doesn't take kindly to negative coverage The Quill, November/December 1991
- ^ Russell Miller, See you in court Punch 1988-02-19, page 46
- ^ Richard Palmer Cult threatens to sue on book Sunday Times 1987-11-01
- ^ Margarette Driscoll and Steven Haynes Hounded by the church of stars and hype Sunday Times 1997-01-19
- ^ Scientologists In Dirty Campaign To Stop Book Sunday Times 1987-10-18, page 7
- ^ Richard Palmer Cult's private detective fires at journalists Sunday Times 1987-11-08
- ^ See You In Court, Russell Miller, Punch (magazine), February 19, 1988.
[edit] External links
- Full text
- Bare-Faced Messiah by Russell Miller (PDF, full text, by express permission of the author)
- Bare-Faced Messiah by Russell Miller (HTML version)
- Reference material
- The Bare-Faced Messiah Interviews, transcripts of interviews Russell conducted while researching the book
- Legal related
- Public interest outweighs private duty, The Times Law Report, Oct 15, 1987
- Church appeal to ban book fails, The Times Law Report, Oct 23, 1987
- Cult's private detective fires at journalists, The Sunday Times, November 8, 1987, Richard Palmer
- See You In Court by Russell Miller (from Punch, Feb 1988), Article by Miller about the Scientology lawsuit to stop publication of the book.
- 'Salinger' Haunts Ruling on Hubbard Biography, Publishers Weekly, May 12, 1989, Madalynne Reuter
[edit] See also
- L. Ron Hubbard: Messiah or Madman?, biography, overcame legal actions from Scientology
- A Piece of Blue Sky, overcame legal actions from Scientology
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