"Going Clear" by Lawrence Wright

I heard about this book when it was being made into a movie. Then I saw it on it the shelf at the library and picked it up.

Summary: This reads like an in depth expose on the church. The book explores the biography of Hubbard and the history of the church from its founding. It starts with a look at Hubbard's life as a science fiction writer and naval officer. It reviews deception in his service record and his injuries. It then goes into the creation of dianetics which evolved into the modern church. There was a significant period where the church was mainly sea-going and struggled with prohibitions in several countries. They endured a long legal battle with the IRS and governments in Europe.

Eventually, the church is accepted as a legitimate religious organization and grows. Much of their energy is spent on recruiting and maintaining celebrity members including a strong presence in Hollywood offering classes and workshops for movie stars. This book takes a close look at how the church treated Tom Cruise and John Travolta. It also has a lot to say about Paul Haggis, a famous screenwriter, producer and director. It examines claims of physical and psychological abuse in the Sea Org (the clergy) and the many practices of the church that have given it the terrifying reputation it has today.

What I Liked: Before this book I did not know much about Scientology beyond the rumors I heard from atheists and critics of the church. After this book I have a better grasp of what the church is like on the inside and what were major events in its timeline.

What I Didn't Like: This book was exactly what I hoped it would be. The only downside to an audiobook is that I don't have the same ease regarding citations.

Rating: Very informative. I recommend it for anyone who wants to know more about Scientology.

Also Read by this Author: None.

Reviewed by: Nick

"Doomed" By Chuck Palahniuk

This is the sequel to Damned which I enjoyed. I listened to it as an audiobook.

Summary: Madison Spencer is a ghost. She spent time in Hell, and on Halloween she returned to the land of the living. If a ghost leaves Hell on Halloween, they must return by midnight, or be stuck in the mortal realm until the next Halloween. Madison missed midnight and began to settle in for the year. Like the previous book, this one has two intermingled stories. The story is presented as a series of blog posts, often referencing other users' comments and questions.

The first is a flashback to when Madison was a child, focusing on a long stay with her grandparents in upstate New York. She becomes interested in Darwin and goes on a Naturalist adventure. She then finds herself in a terrifying situation and recounts the death of her grandparents. Throughout these retellings we see the clues to a larger conspiracy to shape Madison's fate.

The other story follows Madison as a ghost while she stalks her parents. They hire a paranormal investigator to locate her. The investigator operates by overdosing on drugs and having near-death experiences where he then talks with ghosts. He finds Madison and escorts her to her parents who have built up a cult. In the previous book, Madison had instructed her parents to do a list of bad deeds in order to guarantee their family would be reunited in Hell. Madison told them she was in Heaven, and as they are world famous celebrities they shared the instructions with their followers. The cult of Boarism developed in which everyone is offensive, but no one takes offense. This new religion then takes an apocalyptic turn that has Madison worried.

What I Liked: This book builds off the first and answers many questions. It also develops the plot, bringing it to a new level. I love the little details Palahniuk includes, making the world feel immediate and real.

What I Didn't Like: This book has the single most disturbing death scene I have ever read or watched. It is described in careful detail and involves some very disgusting elements. It might haunt me forever.

Rating: I enjoyed this as a sequel as it fills out a lot of the story and builds on it, but it was not as compelling as the first book.

Also Read by this Author: Fight Club, Damned.

Reviewed by: Nick

"Damned" by Chuck Palahniuk

I liked Fight Club enough that when I saw more books by Palahniuk I picked them up. This one is the first in a series. 

Summary: Madison Spencer is dead. At the age of 13 she got high, blacked out and woke up in a Hell surrounded by other damned souls. The form of the book is a series of letters that begin with "Are you there Satan? It's me Madison". She narrates two distinct stories that unfold side by side throughout the book.

The primary story follows her experiences in Hell in which she meets other kids and tries to figure out how things are organized in the afterlife. Demons roam the land slaughtering poor humans, whose bodies are reformed after every death to be eaten, dismembered, stabbed or squished over and over for all eternity. There is also a formal bureaucracy which manages incoming souls, career assignments and appeals. Madison's friends show her the ropes, including how to use the currency and how to make the system work for her. She finds a job as a telemarketer and acts on some bold initiatives.

The second story is made up of Madison's memories from her pre-dead existence. She was the daughter of a famous movie star and a powerful business executive, spending much of her life flying from home to home all over the globe. Her childhood is a mixture of normal growing up and totally bizarre events that might only happen to someone so wealthy as her. Palahniuk uses this as an opportunity to highlight some absurdities in our culture, especially criticizing rich liberal Hollywood elite. Madison recounts events that ultimately lead up to her death and discovers what was originally hidden from her.

What I Liked: This book is written in a compelling style, where Madison tells compact, but satisfying tales about herself, all of which build up to create a coherent narrative with a proper plot. It builds in such a way you have no idea what to expect until it happens, at which point the story only becomes more interesting.

What I Didn't Like: When I read it, I did not know it was first in a series, and so I thought the conclusion would be more complete. Instead, this ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, which leads into the second book.

Rating: I am realizing that Palahniuk must only write disturbing books. I am somewhat embarrassed by the idea someone else might read this book and wonder if I am a psycho for liking it. So it's hard for me to say this is a Must Read knowing that basically everyone will find something highly offensive or overly gross to continue reading it, but I recommend it despite that.

Also Read by this Author: Fight Club

Reviewed by: Nick

"The Wordy Shipmates" by Sarah Vowell

We picked this audiobook based on the fact that I like authors who contribute to public radio programs and Tami has a copy of this book in softcover, but has not gotten around to reading it.  

Summary: This book is a non-fiction account of the colonies in and around the land that became Massachusetts. Sarah Vowell spent years reading primary sources from the era and visiting sites important to the history. The source she explicitly refers to the most is the personal diary of John Winthrop, who played a central role in the founding and managing of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Vowell discusses the lives of the colonists before they ever left England, and what it was like to sail across the Atlantic. She quotes often from the men and women, directly from their written words. She discusses the early years of the colony, including the life of the Charter, the religious disagreements and the banishments doled out for those who were deemed a danger to the colony. The native Americans also play a big role in this book, for their continuous relations with the Europeans. At times they were allies and at times they were at war. Vowell explores the reasons for both, with a personal interest since she can trace her descendants to both sides of the ocean, pre-Columbus.

What I Liked: Vowell let a lot of the historical figures speak in their own words a lot, using a lot of direct quotes from letters, diaries and texts written at the time. I learned a lot about the colony, as I never really studied this particular group in school and felt no compulsion to investigate before this book.

What I Didn't Like: This audiobook has multiple voice actors, including Vowell herself. Each character has a unique actor for when they are quoted. It was fine when they recited a paragraph or more, but Vowell often would quote a single word of phrase and it was really disorienting to hear two voices interrupt each other while working to finish a sentence. I wish that they had handled it differently. Of course, you wont notice that if read the book.

I also found the material was presented in a form that reminded me of a history lecture. Tami did not finish the book, and I doubt I would have been able to finish without the audiobook setting the pace for me.

Rating: Skip it, unless you are a fan of Sarah Vowell.

Also Read by this Author: None.

Reviewed by: Nick

"Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James W. Loewen

 Originally, my brother gave me this book years ago. I recall being on a plane headed for South America reading it. I do not recall seeing it when I returned. Whatever happened to the poor text is forever a mystery, but it inspired me to pick it up as an audio book for Tami and I to listen to on the way to work. 

Summary: Loewen selected the twelve most used textbooks in high school American History classes. He then spent years reading and analyzing all twelve and talking with college students in his classes. This book is the result of that research. Loewen's major conclusion should be obvious from the title. He argues strongly that American History textbooks are not vehicles for historical facts, but a way for students to learn the multitude of American myths that our nation has come celebrate. He criticizes textbooks for pretending that good old USA is always the good guy, no matter what. Similarly, textbooks deify our founding fathers and other famous figures by either hiding their crimes or justifying them in bizarre ways. He spends a lot of the book clearing up many of the big myths to give the reader clear and factual information. He also goes into the metadata, discussing the amount of space devoted to different purposes, for example comparing number of words used for the War of 1812 and the Vietnam War and other such events. He talks about the historians who work for the publishers to show that many of them have published very truthful academic work outside of school textbooks, and goes into the dynamics of textbook publishing to show how a person fully aware of the truth might end up echoing the same old myth.

What I Liked: This book is a refreshing look at the way in which history classes are used for reasons other than teaching history. I also learned a lot from this book about what really happened when Columbus came to America, bringing with him an endless tide of Europeans.  

What I Didn't Like: It was a little outdated. This book was published in 1994 and the success of the internet has made myth-busting both easier and harder. This book is written right at the end of the non-internet era and so it never comes up in the discourse.

Rating: This is a must read if the only thing you know about history is what you learned in school.

Also Read By This Author: None.

Reviewed By: Nick

"Never Have Your Dog Stuffed" By Alan Alda

Tami and I watched every episode of the West Wing together (a show where Alda has a big supporting role) and we both grew up with M*A*S*H on the television. We decided that Alda would be interesting, and we were right. We picked this one up as an audio book and listened to it in the car.

Summary: This is a memoir in which Alda reflects on his life from his earliest memories as the son of a travelling burlesque comedian all the way up through the end of Scientific American Frontiers in 2007.  The story is told through vignettes of his unique and unconventional boyhood and as well as through well thought out analysis of what it means to be a comedian, an actor, a host and a "civilian".  Alda reflects on his father, who was a mentor and rival and tries to come to terms with his mother who suffered from a near debilitating mental illness.  Alda reminisces about supporting his family through "professional" gambling while taking any acting gig he could get and his time at M*A*S*H where he was able to hone his writing skills and define himself as one of the most well remembered television actors of his time.

What We Liked: Alda has a lot of experience writing and a very good sense of humor. The entire audio book was fun to listen to. There were a number of jokes and funny stories mixed in with more serious memories, including boarding school, his thought on religion and his efforts during the equal rights movement. We learned a lot about the actor who we only knew as the man on the screen.

What We Didn't Like: He didn't talk about his time on the West Wing!

Rating: If you like Alda as an actor, you should read this book.  If you don't know who he is, you should read this book

Also Read By This Author: Nothing yet.

Reviewed By: Nick and Tami.