''L. Ron Hubbard, Messiah or Madman?'' is a posthumous biography of Scientology founder

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianetic ...

written by

Bent Corydon Bent Georg Corydon (born June 11, 1942) is an American author and journalist. Corydon is the author of the biography '' L. Ron Hubbard, Messiah or Madman?'' first published in 1987. Corydon also restored and runs the YMCA Building, a historic bu ...

, which makes extensive use of interviews he conducted with Hubbard's son

Ronald DeWolf Ronald Edward "Ron" DeWolf (born Lafayette Ronald Hubbard Jr.; May 7, 1934 – September 16, 1991), also known as "Nibs" Hubbard, was the eldest child of Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard by his first wife Margaret Louise Grubb, and hig ...

. Though originally published in 1987 by Lyle Stuart Inc., the book was re-issued in a paperback edition on July 25, 1992, and a hardcover edition in October 1995, both by publisher Barricade Books. The 1995 edition also featured Brian Ambry as principal researcher. The first edition of the book listed DeWolf as coauthor.

History

Corydon had previously been head of the Scientology mission at Riverside, California, and used letters, court transcripts, affidavits, and first-hand accounts to write the biography of

, the founder of the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...

. In addition to extensive interviews with Ronald DeWolf, Hubbard's son by his first wife, Corydon corresponded with others, such as

Sara Northrup Hollister Sara Elizabeth Bruce Northrup Hollister (April 8, 1924December 19, 1997) was an occultist and second wife of Scientologist founder L. Ron Hubbard. She played a major role in the creation of Dianetics, which evolved into the religious movement Sci ...

, Hubbard's second wife. In an open letter to the '' New York Times'', Lyle Stuart, the book's publisher, said he had poured all the profits from the book into educational advertisements about Scientology. The letter described the group as a

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

. Prior to publication of the first edition, DeWolf retracted his statements and sued Stuart claiming that he had been misrepresented and the book was inaccurate. DeWolf also claimed Corydon had breached their authorship agreement, and that he had not been paid for his work. He demanded that the publisher remove his name from book. DeWolf's demands were not met, and the book was published naming DeWolf as co-author. DeWolf died in 1991. In the 1992 edition of the book, Corydon said that he believed DeWolf was under duress due to debt and poor health when he made the retraction. The later editions of the book do not name DeWolf as an author, although his interviews are still used.

Legal challenges from the Church of Scientology

In order to prevent the publication of the biography, the Church of Scientology engaged the publisher, Lyle Stuart Inc., in a legal dispute, claiming copyright infringement. The claim was dismissed. The original cover design featured a volcano similar to the one depicted on the cover of ''

Dianetics Dianetics (from Greek ''dia'', meaning "through", and ''nous'', meaning "mind") is a set of pseudoscientific ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body created by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubba ...

,'' but Scientology won an injunction against its use. The legal dispute was ongoing when the publisher wished to distribute the work, so Stuart altered the design of the book cover to instead feature a letter addressed "Dear Bookbuyer:" The Church of Scientology, through its attorney Timothy Bowles, sent threatening letters to those planning to publish reviews of the book. The following message was sent to the ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'': The newspaper refused to comply with Scientology's requests, and published not only the review, but also the letter. It went on to win an award from the '' Columbia Journalism Review''.

Reception

Writing for the '' Marburg Journal of Religion'', historian and theologian Marco Frenschkowski ( de) called the book " very important book but also a deeply problematical item" and "Many of the claims made in Corydon's book are very sensationalist. It is quite believable that Hubbard Jr. was not happy with the book even when he wanted to expose the darker side of his father." A '' New York Times'' book review stated, "This book, supposedly a biography of Hubbard (who died in 1986), turns out to be a series of tales about naïve people who were put through abusive tests before they were allowed to pay thousands of dollars to an organization that humiliated them... ubbardis portrayed as a greedy, vindictive man whose hidden agenda centered on hoarding vast sums of money and escaping legal accountability."

References

External links

Full Text of ''Messiah or Madman?''

Operation Clambake Operation Clambake, also referred to by its domain name, xenu.net, is a website and Norway-based non-profit organization, launched in 1996, founded by Andreas Heldal-Lund, that publishes criticism of the Church of Scientology. It is owned and ma ...

, Plaintext version 1.0, August 18, 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:L. Ron Hubbard, Messiah Or Madman? 1987 non-fiction books American biographies Books critical of Scientology Books about Scientology Books about L. Ron Hubbard 1987 in religion Barricade Books titles

History

Legal challenges from the Church of Scientology

Reception

See also

References

Further reading

External links