Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Gallery Books (2022), 335 pages
Description
Biography & Autobiography. Religion & Spirituality. Nonfiction. HTML:One of the highest-ranking defectors from Scientology exposes the secret inner workings of the powerful organization in this remarkable memoir. Mike Rinder's parents began taking him to their local Scientology center when he was five years old. After high school, he signed a billion-year contract and was admitted into Scientology's elite inner circle, the Sea Organization. Brought to founder L. Ron Hubbard's yacht and promised training in Hubbard's most advanced techniques, Mike was instead put to work swabbing the decks. Still, Rinder bought into the doctrine that his personal comfort was secondary to the higher purpose of Hubbard's world-saving mission, swiftly rising through the ranks. In the 1980s, Rinder became Scientology's international spokesperson and the head of its powerful Office of Special Affairs. He helped negotiate Scientology's pivotal tax exemption from the IRS and engaged with the organization's prominent celebrity members, including Tom Cruise, Lisa Marie Presley, and John Travolta. Yet Rinder couldn't shake a nagging feeling that something was amiss�Hubbard's promises remained unfulfilled at his death, and his successor, David Miscavige, was a ruthless and vindictive man who did not hesitate to confine many top Scientologists, Mike among them, to a makeshift prison known as the Hole. In 2007, at the age of fifty-two, Rinder finally escaped Scientology. Overnight, he became one of the organization's biggest public enemies. He was followed, hacked, spied on, and tracked. But he refused to be intimidated and today helps people break free of Scientology. In A Billion Years, the dark, dystopian truth about Scientology is revealed as never before. Rinder offers insights into the religion that only someone of his former high rank could provide and tells a harrowing but fulfilling story of personal resilience.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member knightlight777
An expose book written by a former Scientology upper level operative who finally broke the chain. Mike Rinder grew up in the religion/cult as his parents were members in Australia. Heading right into Sea Org the elite training ground for future leaders in the organization.
Despite the level he
The story itself is both astonishing at times and at times boring. It is just a rinse and repeat of the last episode of degradation and evil deeds of the first. Again and again I asked myself why would someone submit to this. But then again if you have been indoctrinated into a belief your whole life that is all you really know and breaking away is much more difficult than it looks. Indeed Rinder even after his escape held to the belief that Hubbard was the all knowing and seeing Mesiah he claimed to be.
The hallmark of all these cult-type organizations, as supreme leader and stringent rules and controls the keep everyone in line. Add to that a steady and abundant source of revenue and tax exemption in this case and you have the boilerplate to go on and on forever as this organization has. Even the government has stayed its distant as the alleged atrocities play out.
So yet another book on the evil doings of Scientology and it seems they are indeed evil from the depictions. Yet those inside see us as the evils. And time marches on and so do they and the really is the story here, business as usual.
Despite the level he
Show More
reached he related how it was never secure as the system they operate under is to tear you down again and again in the most demeaning ways. Ultimately there seems to be only one in power and that is David Miscavige. He of course assumed the reins on the passing of the founder and Head Guru, L. Ron Hubbard.The story itself is both astonishing at times and at times boring. It is just a rinse and repeat of the last episode of degradation and evil deeds of the first. Again and again I asked myself why would someone submit to this. But then again if you have been indoctrinated into a belief your whole life that is all you really know and breaking away is much more difficult than it looks. Indeed Rinder even after his escape held to the belief that Hubbard was the all knowing and seeing Mesiah he claimed to be.
The hallmark of all these cult-type organizations, as supreme leader and stringent rules and controls the keep everyone in line. Add to that a steady and abundant source of revenue and tax exemption in this case and you have the boilerplate to go on and on forever as this organization has. Even the government has stayed its distant as the alleged atrocities play out.
So yet another book on the evil doings of Scientology and it seems they are indeed evil from the depictions. Yet those inside see us as the evils. And time marches on and so do they and the really is the story here, business as usual.
Show Less
LibraryThing member booktsunami
I was surprised how interesting this book became. Ostensibly, it's just another confession by a cult member who has escaped the cult but I found it hard to put down and it is a surprisingly good read. Mike Rinder.....for somebody who never went further than high school in terms of formal
But he tells a scary story about the organisation; the exploitation, the tactics of harassment, overwork, charging for courses, the internal politics, the unquestioning position required by adherents, the punishments meted out, and the crazy belief. As with all autobiographies, I guess there is a large measure of self-serving and excuses for behaviour but in general I found it to at least sound like a reasonably honest attempt to tell things the way they were. He treated his two children appallingly....."I’d rarely had time for family visits—maybe thirty minutes twice a year". But, as he explains, this is what you were required to do as a good scientologist. As he says: "Much of the control factor in scientology is based on peer pressure. The power of this method has been proven in studies where people go along with everyone else in making clearly erroneous decisions".
There is a scientology centre next to our regular shopping centre and we used to see, very regularly, a rather old unmarked bus heading to the centre about 8am in the morning bringing adherents in from their dormitories somewhere in Parramatta. Always neatly dressed in black and white outfits but always looking absolutely exhausted. No light conversation on this bus!! And I could see that this was a tactic...straight out of the cult-makers handbook.....sleep deprivation.
And at some stage I watched a documentary about the Scientologists......I think it must have featured Rinder....because it certainly had one of the really high-up executives who had jumped ship explaining how the organisation worked and how you were indoctrinated to accept the most bizarre beliefs and do horrific things (such as the "fair game" strategy....."In Hubbard’s words, those designated as enemies of scientology, or Fair Game, “may be tricked, sued, or lied to or destroyed.”) and leaving your families. Actually, I've read a few books on cults and they all seem to employ the same sort of tactics; a charismatic leader, separation from family and friends, sleep deprivation, constant group re-inforcement, punishment for questioning, isolation etc etc. But the book also exposes the current leader David Miscarvige to some ferocious criticism. And it is interesting that when Hubbard had an accident on his Harley Davidson, his pain—and the embarrassment of an accident when he proclaimed himself to be “cause over matter, energy, space, time and thought”—was taken out on those around him" Likewise when he died, "despite his self-proclaimed wisdom and knowledge of all things, to expire from a stroke in a motor home parked in a barn was hardly a noble end. Worse still....there was no succession plan.....Hubbard was expected to live forever. And Miscavige just grabbed the reins of power and destroyed any that could be in a position to oppose him.
It will be interesting to see if Miscavige has a succession plan himself. He's now 63.
Reading this book makes me wonder about the rights of children to an unbiased education. If you are born into a cult like this then you have no chance of getting a "normal" education.....and there is a very high likelihood that you will never escape the organisation or its beliefs. So is this fair? Yet we have parents everywhere demanding their right to educate (or indoctrinate) their children (as though they are some sort of private property not individuals in their own right) ...as they see fit. Of course developing an "unbiased” education is problematic.But surely when we are constantly harping on about human rights and parental rights that children too should have some rights.
There is a lot to think about arising from this book. Pretty clearly, the scientologists are not playing by normal rules and have some very toxic impacts on a lot of people and might be considered a dangerous organisation. For my money I would like to see all religious organisations pay tax like most other other organisations. This would do a lot to curb their influence.
As for the book. I give it five stars. It certainly held my interest.
Show More
education.....writes really well and has a good story to tell. I found it fascinating on a few counts. The first is that Rinder is an Australian and hails from Adelaide where I had my first brush with Scientologists. I was walking the streets one night whilst doing some sort of work in Adelaide and was approached by a couple of pleasant young people who offered to do a free personality test on me. It was also my first brush with the notorious "E Meter" supposedly designed by Ron L Hubbard. As far as I understand it is just a conductivity meter and is responsive to the moisture and salt content of your skin.....more sweat than higher conductivity etc. (and you tend to sweat more when under pressure or agitated). Anyway, after a few questions from me they quickly decided that they did not have the answers so I should come along with them and meet their "boss". I declined he offer but the son of a friend of mine had an identical experience some years later when stopping for a few days in Adelaide ....except that he's been with the Scientologists ever since. I found myself wondering if Rinder might have been one of these people on the street corner ...or even the "boss" that I declined to visit. But he tells a scary story about the organisation; the exploitation, the tactics of harassment, overwork, charging for courses, the internal politics, the unquestioning position required by adherents, the punishments meted out, and the crazy belief. As with all autobiographies, I guess there is a large measure of self-serving and excuses for behaviour but in general I found it to at least sound like a reasonably honest attempt to tell things the way they were. He treated his two children appallingly....."I’d rarely had time for family visits—maybe thirty minutes twice a year". But, as he explains, this is what you were required to do as a good scientologist. As he says: "Much of the control factor in scientology is based on peer pressure. The power of this method has been proven in studies where people go along with everyone else in making clearly erroneous decisions".
There is a scientology centre next to our regular shopping centre and we used to see, very regularly, a rather old unmarked bus heading to the centre about 8am in the morning bringing adherents in from their dormitories somewhere in Parramatta. Always neatly dressed in black and white outfits but always looking absolutely exhausted. No light conversation on this bus!! And I could see that this was a tactic...straight out of the cult-makers handbook.....sleep deprivation.
And at some stage I watched a documentary about the Scientologists......I think it must have featured Rinder....because it certainly had one of the really high-up executives who had jumped ship explaining how the organisation worked and how you were indoctrinated to accept the most bizarre beliefs and do horrific things (such as the "fair game" strategy....."In Hubbard’s words, those designated as enemies of scientology, or Fair Game, “may be tricked, sued, or lied to or destroyed.”) and leaving your families. Actually, I've read a few books on cults and they all seem to employ the same sort of tactics; a charismatic leader, separation from family and friends, sleep deprivation, constant group re-inforcement, punishment for questioning, isolation etc etc. But the book also exposes the current leader David Miscarvige to some ferocious criticism. And it is interesting that when Hubbard had an accident on his Harley Davidson, his pain—and the embarrassment of an accident when he proclaimed himself to be “cause over matter, energy, space, time and thought”—was taken out on those around him" Likewise when he died, "despite his self-proclaimed wisdom and knowledge of all things, to expire from a stroke in a motor home parked in a barn was hardly a noble end. Worse still....there was no succession plan.....Hubbard was expected to live forever. And Miscavige just grabbed the reins of power and destroyed any that could be in a position to oppose him.
It will be interesting to see if Miscavige has a succession plan himself. He's now 63.
Reading this book makes me wonder about the rights of children to an unbiased education. If you are born into a cult like this then you have no chance of getting a "normal" education.....and there is a very high likelihood that you will never escape the organisation or its beliefs. So is this fair? Yet we have parents everywhere demanding their right to educate (or indoctrinate) their children (as though they are some sort of private property not individuals in their own right) ...as they see fit. Of course developing an "unbiased” education is problematic.But surely when we are constantly harping on about human rights and parental rights that children too should have some rights.
There is a lot to think about arising from this book. Pretty clearly, the scientologists are not playing by normal rules and have some very toxic impacts on a lot of people and might be considered a dangerous organisation. For my money I would like to see all religious organisations pay tax like most other other organisations. This would do a lot to curb their influence.
As for the book. I give it five stars. It certainly held my interest.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Lcmcsr
Mr. Rinder pens a shocking revelation of his life story. The horror experienced by countless members of Scientology who only see the acts as necessary boggles the mind. Kudos to the author for unveiling the darkness that permeates this group.
Awards
Language
Similar in this library
Girls and Their Monsters: The Genain Quadruplets and the Making of Madness in America by Audrey Clare Farley
Prophet's Prey: My Seven-Year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints by Sam Brower
Captive: A Mother's Crusade to Save Her Daughter from the Terrifying Cult Nxivm by Catherine Oxenberg
We Thought We Knew You: A Terrifying True Story of Secrets, Betrayal, Deception, and Murder by M. William Phelps