The story of L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986) is also the story of a movement--the Church of Scientology. Founded by L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology claims millions of devoted members worldwide and, beyond all controversy, it cannot be denied that the movement retains its influence around the world even after Hubbard's death.

Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was born on March 13, 1911, in Tilden, Nebraska. He was the son of Harry Ross, a naval officer, and Dora May (Waterbury de Wolf) Hubbard. He attended George Washington University in the early 1930s and studied at Princeton University in 1945. The years in between undergraduate studies were spent as a free-lance writer. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant though he was not "extensively decorated" as church brochures would later claim. After two unsuccessful marriages, Hubbard married Mary Sue Whipp on October 30, 1952. The couple had four children: Diana Meredith...