Obsessed with Scientology

Okay, I'm probably not alone here, but I'm obsessed with Scientology. It's endlessly fascinating. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes totally creep me out. John Travolta and Kelly Preston freak me out. Giovanni Ribisi broke my heart when I discovered he was a Scientologist. And the Scientology South Park was one of the funniest things of all time (trapped in the closet!!!). But I think my favorite part of all is this brief history of Scientology I read in Mike Davis' City of Quartz (a really great book about the history of LA; everything from tax revolts by Orange County suburbanites to the fortress-like architecture constructed in the city. It also has a chapter on LA intellectuals, which is what this anecdote comes from). I highly recommend the book in general, but because not everyone is a giant history nerd, here are the relevant pages. Click on the images to enlarge. PS--If you are still having trouble reading this due to my crappy pictures, you can search inside this book on Amazon. Go to "Search inside this book" and look up L. Ron Hubbard and then click on the link to page 59.