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  • The Church of Fear

  • Inside the Weird World of Scientology
  • Written by: John Sweeney
  • Narrated by: John Sweeney
  • Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (8 ratings)

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The Church of Fear

Written by: John Sweeney
Narrated by: John Sweeney
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Publisher's 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.

©2013 John Sweeney (P)2015 Audible, Ltd

What the critics say

"A bold and swashbuckling reporter...let him shout: at least he shouts the truth." ( Mail on Sunday)
"Gripping." (The Economist)
"A brave book." (Liverpool Daily Post)
"Blackly comic." (The Humanist)

What listeners say about The Church of Fear

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Great book read by author = awesome! :-) :-) :-)

This book is an account of the author’s experience researching and filming an investigative journalism tv program about Scientology. It’s VERY, VERY GOOD!!! He provides research references, including a number of scholarly publications. Also, the author’s personality is great; adds some comedic relief to a very serious story.

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  • sd
  • 2020-10-18

Horrible narration

Tedious, melodramatic and hard to listen to. Sentences trailed off into lower tones and I kept having to rewind and still didnt know what was said . Harsh unclear accent ..and I grew up in the UK.

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