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The Church of Fear
- Inside the Weird World of Scientology
- Narrated by: John Sweeney
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
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The Church of Fear
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Summary
Tom Cruise and John Travolta say the Church of Scientology is a force for good. Others disagree.
Award-winning journalist John Sweeney investigated the Church for more than half a decade. During that time he was intimidated, spied on, and followed, and the results were spectacular: Sweeney lost his temper with the Church's spokesman on camera, and his infamous 'exploding tomato' clip was seen by millions around the world.
In The Church of Fear, Sweeney tells the full story of his experiences for the first time and paints a devastating picture of this strange organisation, from former Scientologists who tell heartbreaking stories of families torn apart and lives ruined to its current followers who say it is the solution to many of mankind's problems.
This is the real story of the Church by the reporter who was brave enough to take it on.
John Sweeney is a reporter for BBC Panorama. He is the author of six previous books including the novel Elephant Moon.
Critic reviews
"Gripping." (The Economist)
"A brave book." (Liverpool Daily Post)
"Blackly comic." (The Humanist)
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What listeners say about The Church of Fear
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Adam Buckler
- 16-08-15
narration of arguments was impossible to follow
Following the arguments between John and the scientologists was difficult enough on panorama but the narrator terrors to convey that confusion by just speed reading those bits such that it is genuinely impossible to keep up.
the book also repeats itself a fair bit, particularly when discussing the indicators of a cult. this gave me an impression that it might be padding a bit.
The subject matter is genuinely interesting and the story portrays the craziness and aggressiveness of the people he is dealing with well. I just get the feeling it would be a better read than listen.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kirsty G.
- 03-03-19
such a good listen
such a good listen. listern to the whole book in two days at work. best book so far
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jude Uk
- 30-06-15
Brilliant, funny and scary
Really enjoyed this and loved the way he reads his own work. Found myself giggling along to the relentless questions he puts to the church members. Definitely recommend
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- NinaB
- 09-01-20
Wtf
This book is insane! It’s written and narrated really well, with a sarcastic British humour from Sweeney from his dealings with the church and the crazy mind games they play with him and others. Very gripping.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Ron
- 06-06-15
fascinating but a bit disappointing
i desire to know about world religions as an amateur theologist i guess. i chose this book to learn more about scientology generally without the investment and analysis of the lrh books. what this book is not is a biography of lrh, not a history, not even an explanation of the goals andor dogma. what it is is a reporters personal (a terrifying) story of trying to get that information.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- KAREN JAYNE S
- 05-01-20
Excellent Listen
Brilliantly written and narrated by John Sweeney. Sweeney exposes "The Church of Scientology" for what it really is, a manipulative, paranoid, self serving, money making Cult.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Colin Chisholm
- 26-06-21
The Church of Snail Trails
scientologists are weird. They do weird stuff.
Tom Cruise is weird.
The church of Scientology is not a religion.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chris
- 10-08-15
Fantastic
Absolutely enthralling, chose this purely because of the YouTube video and wasn't disappointed. With a wonderful mixture of humour and honesty Sweeney paints a picture that may seem hard to believe but will have you hooked from start to finish.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Phoebe
- 03-03-18
Good book but too long
Great account and nice narration by the author himself. Felt the book was a little too long though, could have done with being an hour or so shorter.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lewis M.
- 02-04-24
Could Not Stop Listening.
Literally listened to the entire 10-hour book in one go - It’s absolutely fascinating, as are John Sweeney’s other books, which he obviously does a fantastic job at narrating.
At several points I had to remind myself that this isn’t fiction; that these people actually exist - But the twists and turns sometimes read more like a dramatised crime-thriller, which will keep you hanging on every word from start to finish.
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