Bare-Faced Messiah tells the extraordinary story of L. Ron Hubbard, a penniless science-fi ction writer who founded the Church of Scientology, became a millionaire prophet and convinced his adoring followers that he alone could save the world.

According to his 'official' biography, Hubbard was an explorer, engineer, scientist, war hero and philosopher. But in the words of a Californian judge, he was schizophrenic, paranoid and a pathological liar. What is not in dispute is that Hubbard was one of the most bizarre characters of the twentieth century.

Bare-Faced...