Hugh Urban on Understanding Scientology
In his new book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, Lawrence Wright, a staff writer at The New Yorker, tackles the long, strange story of Scientology. Reviewer Hugh Urban reports that the book offers not an "exposé" but an attempt to understand the effects of religious beliefs in people's lives, exploring the allure, the benefits, and the perils of involvement in this complex new religion.