negotiations and historically in-depth IRS audits that culminated in tax exemption. Even with my detailed descriptions over the past several years publicly available, Rinder's new fiction betrays a remarkable degree of ignorance about Scientology's history vis a vis the IRS. Anyone who has grown up in a “prison of belief” will relate to one of his first descriptions of the experience: Rinder travelled with the IRS negotiation team to D.C. on perhaps 2 or 3 occasions over that two-year span as a board member of Church of Scientology International (CSI). CSI was always required to participate in each meeting. Heber Jentzsch was the primary CSI participant, but could not attend on a couple occasions and so Rinder subbed from the bench. He never contributed a constructive thing to any meeting. I was at every meeting - which by conservative estimate numbered several dozen. I was in fact in charge of organizing the substantial data compilation evolutions required after each IRS meeting. I recall routinely dealing with the heads of Church litigation, corporate affairs, accountancy, finance, data, management and investigations throughout that period in the accomplishment of that task. And those folks sent me the tomes of information required. I never recall Rinder lifting a single pinky to help during that entire two-year period. He certainly was nowhere to be found during the investigative (with the exception of his colossal Armstrong failure), public relations, and litigation (involving literally thousands of lawsuits) efforts that for nearly a decade lead up to the negotiations and audits between 1991 and 1993.

This was the pinnacle of achievement in the Sea Org-I had been selected to become one of the elite. I was thrilled. Since the day I arrived...I had been envious of peers who had been in the CMO and so it was as if I were finally being invited to sit at the cool kids' table."

His [LRH] demise also raised one of the most puzzling inconsistencies: though he'd had the time and foresight to clearly specify he did not want an autopsy done and wished to be cremated immediately, and though his elaborate estate planning had detailed precisely where his money was to go, he had not provided instructions or even a briefing for scientologists on what was to happen to the organization and who was to be his successor. This was the man who wrote millions of words and delivered thousands of lectures explaining everything from how to wash windows to how to cure yourself of cancer...Despite his supposed 'causative departure' from this earth as he 'discarded his body,' he neither spoke nor wrote anything that laid out his plans for the future or who would be in charge after he left or how long he was planning on being gone. To not have anything from Ron was an enormous omission that should have been a signal flare to every scientologist." (p. 117) Our most basic instinct to belong and to be accepted is our biggest weakness in the end. Our desire to connect convinces us that we will improve or enlighten ourselves. Or at least receive support and acceptance. There's nostalgia and remorse in Mike Rinder's case. And heartbreak.

Next, fifteen years after leaving Scientology Rinder suddenly emerges now as the cause of Scientology's tax exemption. He was mum on the subject for fifteen years - rightly deferring to me on that subject - precisely because he had little to nothing to do with the dozens of court struggles As to the 1989 Supreme Court decision, Rinder betrays even more ignorance, feigned or otherwise. Had Rinder even read the decision - let alone participated in litigating any corner of IRS matters - he would have known and stated that the court did not definitively decide the merits of whether Scientology donations could ever be deemed tax exempt. Instead, it ruled that in the single case in front of the court there was an insufficiency of evidence to reverse the IRS's deduction denial. It explicitly remanded the case for further proceedings and invited the petitioner to attempt to fill the gaps in that evidence insufficiency. If Rinder had lifted a finger of support to the effort to attain tax exemption he would have known and stated that in fact, upon remand a number of federal courts ruled in Scientologists' favor and were upheld by United States Appellate Court decisions across the country. Some courts ruled for the IRS too; establishing a classic split in the Circuits leading to an inevitable second appointment with the Supreme Court (just as the original Supreme Court decision contemplated). Still, Rinder bought into the doctrine that his personal comfort was secondary to the higher purpose of Hubbard’s world-saving mission, swiftly rising through the ranks. In the 1980s, Rinder became Scientology’s international spokesperson and the head of its powerful Office of Special Affairs. He helped negotiate Scientology’s pivotal tax exemption from the IRS and engaged with the organization’s prominent celebrity members, including Tom Cruise, Lisa Marie Presley, and John Travolta.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ROzm...), IRS, Actual Malice on Wright's behalf, ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OOw9...)) I watched and then read Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief and saw "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath." That might be the problem with this book. Most of the things in it are covered by those already. Mike Ridner's early life in scientology was interesting and mostly new, but most of this was handled in the series and in the previous book.