Outrageous Betrayal

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Outrageous Betrayal
Hardcover Edition
Author Steven Pressman
Cover artist Richard Oriolo, design
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Genre(s) Non-fiction
Publisher St. Martin's Press
Publication date September 1993
Media type Print (Hardback)
Pages 289 p.
ISBN ISBN 0312092962
OCLC 27897209

Outrageous Betrayal: The Dark Journey of Werner Erhard from est to Exile is a non-fiction book on Werner Erhard, written by legal journalist Steven Pressman. The book was first published in 1993 by St. Martin's Press, and a second edition was published in 1995 by Random House.[1][2] Outrageous Betrayal book gives an account of Werner Erhard's early life, his exploration of various forms of self-improvement techniques including Scientology and Mind Dynamics, and his foundation of Erhard Seminars Training "est" and later Werner Erhard and Associates and the est successor course, "The Forum". Pressman details the quick financial success Erhard had with these companies, as well as controversies relating to litigation involving some former participants in his courses. The work concludes by going over the impact of a March 3, 1991 60 Minutes broadcast on CBS where family members made allegations of abuse against Erhard, and his decision to leave the United States.

The book received positive reviews in Library Journal, Publishers Weekly and Booklist, but Kirkus Reviews questioned why the author did not discuss the methodology of est or the reasons for its popularity and financial success. It has been cited within the United States House of Representatives, as well as in several works on psychology, cults and new religious movements, for historical background on Erhard and his companies. In 1998, Landmark Education, the successor company to The Forum, attempted to compel Steven Pressman to reveal the unnamed sources he had consulted while researching Outrageous Betrayal. This matter was later dropped after Landmark Education settled litigation against the Cult Awareness Network (CAN). As a result of this settlement, CAN agreed not to sell copies of Outrageous Betrayal for at least five years after it emerged from bankruptcy.

Contents

[edit] Contents

In Outrageous Betrayal, Steven Pressman gives a chronological account of Werner Erhard's life and businesses, from high-school years through his formation of companies that delivered awareness training and the later controversies surrounding his business and family life. The book goes into detail regarding his early life as Jack Rosenberg and his name change to Werner Erhard, his move to California, and the initial inspirations behind the training that would come to be known as "est." Pressman writes that Erhard was inspired by the self-help course Mind Dynamics, cybernetics, the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, and Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz, and by Scientology and the writings of L. Ron Hubbard. He also notes how Erhard was helped in the formation of his first awareness training company, Erhard Seminars Training, by an attorney skilled in tax law.[3][4][5]

Pressman notes how Erhard and his businesses became successful within two years of foundation, and writes that his awareness training programs trained over half a million people in his courses and brought in tens of millions of dollars in revenue. The book then describes controversies relating to both Erhard's businesses and his reported treatment of his family. Pressman details some of the lawsuits and professional desertions that hurt his business, as well as some of his conflict with the Internal Revenue Service. The end of the book describes the impact and aftermath of a March 3, 1991 60 Minutes investigation on CBS News, where one of his daughters accused him of sexual abuse. Pressman also describes the successor company to est, Werner Erhard and Associates, and Erhard's decision to sell the "technology" of Erhard's course The Forum to his employees and leave the United States. The book's epilogue includes a firsthand account of a Forum seminar led by trainer Laurel Scheaf in 1992.[3][4][6][5][7]

[edit] Reception

Outrageous Betrayal received a positive review in Library Journal, where the book was described as "a compelling account of the 1980s guru who rose from selling used cars to peddling personal transformation."[4] The reviewer recommended public libraries carry the book, and that they place it next to Wendy Kaminer's I'm Dysfunctional, You're Dysfunctional.[4] Publishers Weekly also reviewed the work, and briefly described Pressman's assessment of Werner Erhard. The review noted: "Pressman here cuts into him with surgical precision."[3] A review published in the American Library Association's Booklist noted that the controversy surrounding Erhard was not new, but wrote that "Pressman pulls the details together effectively."[5] The reviewer went on to comment: "Outrageous Betrayal is a disturbing but fascinating object lesson in the power of charisma divorced from conscience."[5]

An analysis in Kirkus Reviews noted the choice of title by the author, and asserted that Pressman: "makes no pretense to objectivity here: His Werner Erhard is a charismatic but abusive con man with a genius for repackaging and marketing others' ideas."[6] The review briefly summarized key points of the book, and noted that even Pressman did not know of Erhard's whereabouts at the time of publication.[6] Kirkus Reviews criticized Outrageous Betrayal for not delving into the nature of the est training itself, noting that by concentrating on the negative aspects of Erhard's life, the work fails to explain why the est seminars appealed to so many people.[6] Paul S. Boyer, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, reviewed the book in The Washington Post.[8] Boyer wrote that the book "nicely recounts the bizarre tale" of Werner Erhard, saying "Pressman tells his fascinating story well."[8] However he also commented that the book gives "only the sketchiest historical context" of the est movement and its roots in societal experiences.[8]

Psychologist Margaret Singer recommended the book to a client, which helped the person understand some of the jargon used in the est training.[9] Books on subjects related to psychology,[10][11][12] and cults and new religious movements,[13][14][15] have later referenced Outrageous Betrayal for background on Werner Erhard and the est movement, including Janja Lalich's Bounded Choice,[13] and Irvin Yalom's The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy.[16] According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "Some of Erhard's followers" were "irate" at the book's 1993 publication.[17]

Outrageous Betrayal in testimony, U.S. House of Representatives, 1995
Outrageous Betrayal in testimony, U.S. House of Representatives, 1995[18]

In 1995, Outrageous Betrayal was cited in a report on the United States Department of Transportation by the United States House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations.[18] This was in reference to a Congressional investigation of Gregory May and controversial trainings given by his company Gregory May Associates (GMA) to the Federal Aviation Administration.[18] The testimony given stated that, according to Outrageous Betrayal, a member of GMA's board had been influenced by Erhard Seminars Training and the Church of Scientology.[18] Events related to this Congressional investigation were reported on by Cokie Roberts in Nightline, and in the book Flying Blind, Flying Safe.[19][20][21] Gregory May was later convicted of mail fraud and sentenced to six months in prison, in April 1996.[20][21]

[edit] Landmark Education lawsuit

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Steven Pressman was threatened with legal action related to his book in 1993.[17] In March 1993, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Werner Erhard was "threatening a libel suit" against Pressman and St. Martin's Press.[22] In 1994, Art Schreiber, Chairman of Landmark Education, told The San Diego Union-Tribune that he considered Pressman's book "defamatory".[23]

In 1998, Landmark Education spent months attempting to compel Steven Pressman to respond to deposition questions aimed at obtaining the sources he used for research on Outrageous Betrayal.[24] In the "Acknowledgments" section of Outrageous Betrayal, Pressman wrote that he relied upon both named and unnamed sources for information in the book.[1] According to a piece published on Rick Ross's website "Introduction to the Landmark Education litigation archive", the suit was brought under the pretext of compelling legal discovery for use in Landmark Education's lawsuit against the Cult Awareness Network (CAN).[24] The piece also asserts that Pressman concluded the deposition questioning was mainly a form of harassment.[24] The piece was written by attorneys Skolnik and Norwick of Lowenstein Sandler PC, who defended Ross pro-bono in a separate lawsuit initiated by Landmark Education.[24] Skolnik and Norwick cited the discovery commissioner in the Pressman case (who entered an interim order in the matter), as stating that: "..it does not appear that the information sought [from Mr. Pressman] is directly relevant or goes to the heart of the [CAN] action, or that alternative sources have been exhausted or are inadequate."[24]

The action against Pressman was dropped after the Cult Awareness Network litigation was settled.[25][24] As a result of the Cult Awareness Network settlement with Landmark Education, CAN agreed to cease selling copies of Outrageous Betrayal for at least five years. From the resolution of the CAN board of directors: "In the interests of settling a dispute and in deference to Landmark's preference, however, CAN now agrees not to sell the Pressman Book for at least five years after CAN emerges from bankruptcy."[26]

[edit] See also

Books Portal
Psychology Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Pressman, Steven (1993). Outrageous Betrayal: The Dark Journey of Werner Erhard from est to Exile. New York: St. Martin's Press, 289. ISBN 0-312-09296-2. 
  2. ^ Pressman, Steven (April 22, 1995). Outrageous Betrayal: The Dark Journey of Werner Erhard from est to Exile. Random House. ISBN 0517143356. 
  3. ^ a b c Staff (August 9, 1993). "Outrageous Betrayal, review". Publishers Weekly 240 (32): Page 446. 
  4. ^ a b c d Annichiarico, Mark (September 1, 1993). "Outrageous Betrayal: The Dark Journey of Werner Erhard from Est to Exile.". Library Journal 118 (14): Page 207. 
  5. ^ a b c d Carroll, Mary (September 1, 1993). "Pressman, Steven. Outrageous Betrayal: The Dark Journey of Werner Erhard from est to Exile.". Booklist 90 (1): Page 7: Adult Books, Non-fiction, General Works, Philosophy & Psychology. American Library Association. 
  6. ^ a b c d Staff (August 1, 1993). "Outrageous Betrayal. (Book Review)". Kirkus Reviews 61: Page 986. Kirkus Associates, LP., Nielsen Company. 
  7. ^ Pressman, Steven. "Soul Revival at the Forum - No one calls it est or mentions Werner Erhard anymore, but the New Age movement he founded is still hawking personal transformation to the masses", San Francisco Chronicle, January 16, 1994. 
  8. ^ a b c Boyer, Paul. "Book World - Erhard, From est to Worst", The Washington Post, The Washington Post Company, December 9, 1993, p. D2. 
  9. ^ Asimov, Nanette. "A Cult of Two - A reporter sifts through the ashes of what she once believed was an ideal relationship", San Francisco Chronicle, October 15, 1995. 
  10. ^ Weiten, Wayne; Margaret A. Lloyd (2005). Psychology Applied To Modern Life: Adjustment In The 21st Century. Thomson Wadsworth, 596. 0534608590. 
  11. ^ Milton, Joyce (July 15, 2002). The Road to Malpsychia: Humanistic Psychology and Our Discontents. Encounter Books. 978-1893554467. 
  12. ^ Lalich, Janja (May 30, 2006). Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships. Bay Tree Publishing. 978-0972002158. 
  13. ^ a b Lalich, Janja (2004). Bounded choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults. University of California Press, 284. 0520231945. 
  14. ^ Jenkins, Philip (2000). Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History. Oxford University Press, 270. 0195127447. 
  15. ^ Conway, Flo; Jim Siegelman (December 1995). Snapping: America's Epidemic of Sudden Personality Change. Stillpoint Press, 19. ISBN 0964765004. 
  16. ^ Yalom, Irvin D. (1995). The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy. Basic Books, 584. 0465084486. 
  17. ^ a b Caen, Herb. "Doctor Three-Dots", San Francisco Chronicle, September 1, 1993, p. B1. 
  18. ^ a b c d United States Congress; House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations. (1995). Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1996, 834. ISBN 0160473527. 
  19. ^ Staff.; Cokie Roberts, Ted Koppel. "FAA Compromised!", Nightline, ABC News, 02/21/95. Retrieved on 2007-10-27. 
  20. ^ a b Schiavo, Mary; Sabra Chartrand (April 1997). Flying Blind, Flying Safe. Avon Books, Chapter: Truth: CULT-ure at the FAA. 0380975327. 
  21. ^ a b Del Valle, Christina. "Was the FAA Asleep at the Joystick?", Business Week, McGraw-Hill, April 14, 1997. Retrieved on 2007-10-27. 
  22. ^ Caen, Herb. "The Daily Dailiness", San Francisco Chronicle, March 17, 1993, p. B1. 
  23. ^ Bauder, Don. "Firm turns to est guru, still slides", The San Diego Union-Tribune, Union-Tribune Publishing Co., August 7, 1994, p. I-1. 
  24. ^ a b c d e f Skolnik, Peter L.; Michael A. Norwick. "Introduction to the Landmark Education litigation archive", Lowenstein Sandler PC, The Rick A. Ross Institute, February 2006. Retrieved on 2007-10-25. 
  25. ^ Skolnik, Peter L.; Michael A. Norwick. "The Landmark Education Litigation Archive", Compiled by attorneys for Lowenstein Sandler PC, The Rick A. Ross Institute, February 2006, pp. Subsection, Pressman. Retrieved on 2007-10-25. 
  26. ^ Svoboda, William. "Certified Resolution of the Board of Directors of the Cult Awareness Network, Inc. A California Not-for-Profit Corporation", Cult Awareness Network, November 3, 1997. 

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