Bare-faced Messiah
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| Author | Russell Miller |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject(s) | biography |
| Genre(s) | non-fiction |
| Publisher | Michael Joseph books |
| Released | 1987 |
| Pages | 380 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7181-2764-1 |
This article forms part of a series on Scientology |
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Concepts
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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.
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[edit] Synopsis
The book takes a critical perspective, claiming to expose lies perpetuated by Hubbard about himself.
[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.[1].
[edit] References
[edit] External links
[edit] 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)
[edit] Reference material
- The Bare-Faced Messiah Interviews, transcripts of interviews Russell conducted while researching the book
[edit] 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
