Dianetics and the Press

Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health was published on 9 May 1950. It was at first something of a 'slow burner', but within a few weeks it had climbed into fourth place on the New York Times bestseller chart and had become a massively popular fad, with "Dianetics parties" being held across America. The newspapers, however, were chary of reviewing it - perhaps understandably given the intellectual climate of the time: sharing the bestseller list with Dianetics: MSMH was Immanuel Velikovsky's infamous Worlds In Collision. However, they could not ignore it indefinitely given the book's surging popularity. On 2 July 1950, Professor Rollo May, a noted psychologist, wrote the first major review of the book. It was, to say the least, not a positive one:

The review brought with it an avalanche of letters, many - probably the majority - criticising May and praising Dianetics. The Times published three, the first of which was the reaction of Frederick L. Schuman, a distinguished professor of political science from Williamstown, Massachusetts, who had visited Hubbard in New Jersey and been instantly converted:

L. Ron Hubbard also penned a response to May's review. In later years, he would ruthlessly use lawsuits and intimidation to crush criticism, but in 1950 he was still (relatively) civilised:

May himself perhaps had a rather unfair advantage - he was able to comment on the criticisms of his review and re-stated his opinions in an even blunter fashion, so getting the last word: