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  • The Church of Fear

  • Inside the Weird World of Scientology
  • By: John Sweeney
  • Narrated by: John Sweeney
  • Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (402 ratings)
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The Church of Fear

By: John Sweeney
Narrated by: John Sweeney
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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.

©2013 John Sweeney (P)2015 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

"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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Truly Bonkers

Any additional comments?

This is a great insight into a truly bonkers world. Although John Sweeney makes it clear that there was much more that could have gone into the book, due to the litigious nature of the church the content was restricted. For me, this actually worked really well as it made the book far more powerful and personal because everything was based on hard, in your face evidence.

And John, don't feel bad about exploding like a tomato, I thought you were really rather restrained!

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14 people found this helpful

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Fascinating

Whatever scientologists believe, and whether or not scientology is a cult, the real fascination for me is in the utterly unreasonable behaviour of Tommy Davis and his cronies in the way they relentlessly attack the Panorama team with illogical, hypocritical nonsense. John Seeeney snaps, but only long aftet the point where I - and most others - would have done.

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10 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Love the subject; less impressed by narration

The relevations in this book of scientology are really fascinating and it is hard to believe the nonsense to which people are not only prepared to adhere but to pay vast sums of money not to mention the fact they can cut themselves off from family and friends. It was well-researched too. What I found rather irritating was the author's constant overuse of certain expressions such as 'creepy' or 'strange' and his similies also tended to be way over the top. His writing is full of hyperbole and on many occasions he cannot resist his own self-aggrandisement which is tiresome - his high IQ, his string of dangerous assignments. His voice is more suited to doing voice-over on images and it should have been toned down for audio reading where the relationship with the reader is more intimate. I do believe, in spite of my criticisms, that he is on the whole sincere in his wish to expose the 'church' as a sect or cult.

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9 people found this helpful

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Captivating Listen

I always wanted to know more about Scientology and now I do.
John Sweeney's first hand account of his interactions with the "church's" members is riveting. It is an excellent listen and many times I shouted aloud at how unbelievable some of his accounts were at how he and others were treated by scientologists.
Ironically this is the only audiobook I've ever had trouble downloading...and stopped working twice! They are controlling the book or a weak internet connection...hopefully the latter! ;)

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8 people found this helpful

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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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    5 out of 5 stars
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Nice one John

The standard of reporting here is of the highest grade, honest, open and human...which is more than you can say about the subject matter...creepy indeed.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Scientology is worse than a War Zone!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Church of Fear to be better than the print version?

Yes, the text was personal to the narrator, who was also the author, so you could tell how personal the whole situation became. How he and Scientology were at war with one another was good, though it was such a aristocratic war I couldn't help but laugh at how pompous they all were at times.

Who was your favorite character and why?

This is a personal account so I'd have to say Sweeney. Paranoid at times, angry at others he was also genuine and passionate, if a little dorky now and again. He knew his subject well and was able to highlight how he struggled during some interviews, what he had to deal with who can blame him, but he also used hindsight effectively to elevate his arguments later on. Just for the record, I think he won the war of words.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes. John Sweeney drew on research effectively he described the scenes vividly.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were some moments of shock for me. I could also understand why John became so angry.

Any additional comments?

The book is basically exploration of Scientology as a cult. It highlights how the system works, mind control, mental prisons etc it covers what scientologist believe, that is, if you can believe what they believe, it's a bit out there. It was a informative listen. Though I would like to have heard him interview Scientologists from a wider range of people. enjoyed this listen.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An mind-blowing and compelling insight

If you could sum up The Church of Fear in three words, what would they be?

Compelling, insightful, provocative

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Church of Fear?

Mike Rinder's interview with John Sweeney after exiting the church.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The car chase.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Y.S.C.O.H.B

Any additional comments?

A fascinating insight into the alleged dangerous cult of Scientology which causes one to reflect on what drives people to believe such outragous beliefs and demonstrates the need to teach ourselves and our kids the importance of critical thinking.
It left me wanting more and wondering if we are about to witness the self-distruction of the Church of Scientology.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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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

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very good, but also terrible..

A brilliant work on an awful subject. Well worth a listen if you feel happy go lucky about this twisted cult.

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3 people found this helpful