''The Mind Benders'' was written by

Cyril Vosper Cyril Ronald Vosper (7 June 1935 – 4 May 2004) was an anti-cult leader, former Scientologist and later a critic of Scientology, deprogrammer, and spokesperson on men's health. He wrote '' The Mind Benders'', which was the first book on Sciento ...

, a Scientologist of 14 years who had become disillusioned, Published in 1971 (hardback, Neville Spearman, ) and reprinted in 1973 (softcover, Mayflower, ), it was the first book on Scientology to be written by an ex-member and the first critical book on Scientology to be published (narrowly beating '' Inside Scientology'' by Robert Kaufman). It describes the lower levels of Scientology and its philosophy in detail (it does not go into the

Operating Thetan In Scientology, Operating Thetan (OT) is a notional spiritual status above Clear. It is defined as "knowing and willing cause over life, thought, matter, energy, space and time (MEST)." According to religious scholar J. Gordon Melton, "It’s ba ...

levels) and also includes the story of Vosper's expulsion from the Church. The book was released as an electronic edition on the internet with the approval of Vosper by the old

Cult Awareness Network The Cult Awareness Network (CAN) was an anti-cult organization created by deprogrammer Ted Patrick that provided information on groups that it considered to be cults, as well as support and referrals to deprogrammers. It was founded in the wake ...

, in April 1996 and then again in August 1997.

Attempted bans by Scientology

In the UK

In 1972, the Church of Scientology sued to prevent publication, claiming that as a condition of taking the Special Briefing Course at Saint Hill, Vosper had agreed not to divulge its content to anyone who wasn't " Clear".

Lord Denning Alfred Thompson "Tom" Denning, Baron Denning (23 January 1899 – 5 March 1999) was an English lawyer and judge. He was called to the bar of England and Wales in 1923 and became a King's Counsel in 1938. Denning became a judge in 1944 when ...

dismissed the case, arguing that the material was sufficiently dangerous for the

public interest The public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society. Overview Economist Lok Sang Ho in his ''Public Policy and the Public Interest'' argues that the public interest must be assessed impartially and, therefore ...

to override the confidentiality agreement. The hardback edition was rushed to print owing to the legal action. Vosper regarded the paperback — which was properly proofread and had an extra chapter on the litigation — as the authoritative edition. To this day, the case ''

Hubbard v Vosper ''Hubbard v Vosper'', 9722 Q.B. 84, is a leading English copyright law case on the defence of fair dealing. The Church of Scientology sued a former member, Cyril Vosper, for copyright infringement due to the publication of a book, '' The Mind Bend ...

'' is a staple in many classes studying copyright law. Vosper referenced the legal troubles that the 1971 edition of the book encountered, by titling the 1973 edition ''The Mind Benders: The Book They Tried to Ban''.

In Canada

The Church of Scientology of Canada attempted to ban the book in libraries in Canada. In June 1974, libraries were advised that if they do not remove the books: '' Scientology: The Now Religion'', '' Inside Scientology'', ''

The Scandal of Scientology ''The Scandal of Scientology'' is a critical exposé book about the Church of Scientology, written by Paulette Cooper and published by Tower Publications, in 1971. In 2007, Cooper wrote about the events resulting from the publication of her stor ...

'' and ''The Mind Benders'' from their shelves, they would be named in a lawsuit.Libraries Face Libel Threat
''

Winnipeg Free Press The ''Winnipeg Free Press'' (or WFP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as ...

'', 27 June 1974 Two different library boards in

Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

had been served with writs. After obtaining out-of-court settlements of

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

7,500 and

500 and apologies from the publishers of two of the works (Dell Publishing and Tower Publications), Scientology further threatened to sue any library or bookstore that carried them.Anti-Scientology Books Targets of Lawsuits, ''

The Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practi ...

'', November 1, 1974. After certain libraries in Canada refused to remove the books from their shelves, they were sued by Scientology. One Canadian library reported the theft of a book critical of Scientology from its shelves. These incidents were later reported in a chronological timeline of

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

.Censorship in British Columbia
, BCLA Intellectual Freedom Committee, 1970-1979., retrieved 2/28/07.

References

External links

*
The Mind Benders
' (complete book)

(transcript)
Researching New Religious Movements: Responses and Redefinitions by Elisabeth Arweck, p. 114
(required Google login)

- seminal copyright case {{DEFAULTSORT:Mind Benders, The 1971 non-fiction books Books critical of Scientology Books about Scientology 1971 in religion