Those nutters at Bridge Publications (4751 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90029, tel. 323-953-3320 or 800-722-1733, fax 323-953-3328) are continuing their mindless promotion of Hubbard's petrified drool, the flavor of the month being Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science.

Historical note: Hubbard's original article in the May 1950 issue of Astounding Science Fiction (actually released in April 1950) preceded by one month the debut of his 500+ page brick, "Dianetics: the Modern Science of Mental Health". The Astounding Science Fiction article, about 16,000 words long, was later turned into a short book called Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science. This is the latest in a series of ancient Hubbard writings to be repackaged by Bridge.

Not only are they running infomercials on TV for this relic (as previously reported by tikk), they're also mailing freebies to university faculty. Here's what the package consists of:

- one new, hardbound edition of Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science, updated to include some drawings (the usual Bridge Pubs cartoons) and an email address (authoraffairs@authorservicesinc.com)

- one new, shrinkwrapped, audio version of the book, in two cassettes with a playing time of 2 hours 20 minutes. The book is read by Lloyd Sherr, "an accomplished voiceover artist". I expect Lloyd has spent lots of time at the <cough> Celebrity Center. Oh, and the tape is recorded using ClearSound (tm).

- a reply card where one can supply contact info (name, address, phone, and email), confirm that the material arrived in good condition, and jot down any comments one might have on the content.

- a cover letter that begins:

"Dear Professor,

I am very pleased to present you with a complimentary copy of the book and audiotape of Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science by L. Ron Hubbard.

[snip a lot of drivel about how great the book is]

Originally published as a book-length feature in a national American magazine [why won't they say which magazine? bwahahaha!], Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science gives the mechanics of how the mind operates and malfunctions....

[snipped more drivel]

The book and tape are donated by our patrons and so are free of charge. Please take a few minutes to fill out the enclosed acknowledgment card and drop it in the mail.

Do let me know if I can be of any further assistance to you.

Sincerely,

Blake Silber, Director of Public Affairs

================

An interesting fact about this book is that it contains not a single reference anywhere to the Church of Scientology. All the org addresses in the back are for Hubbard Dianetics Foundations! All the contact and copyright info mention Author Services or L. Ron Hubbard Library or Bridge Publications or New Era Publications. Not a word about our favorite "applied religious philosophy". Even the legal disclaimer at the front of the book refers only to Hubbard's "observations and research", omitting the standard Scientology phraseology about this being a "religious" work.

Well, it's not a scientific work either. It's recycled, 52 year old crap. What's most pathetic is that some "patrons" (they dare not say "parishioners") donated good money to disseminate this pathetic book and turd-on-tape to a hilariously inappropriate audience.

-- Dave Touretzky, fearless NOTs Scholar extraordinaire

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