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Outrageous Betrayal
Hardcover Edition
AuthorSteven Pressman
Cover artistRichard Oriolo, design
LanguageEnglish
GenreNon-fiction
PublisherSt. Martin's Press
Publication date
September, 1993
Publication place United States
Media typePrint (Hardback)
Pages289 p.
ISBNISBN 0-312-09296-2 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character

Outrageous Betrayal: The Dark Journey of Werner Erhard from est to Exile is a non-fiction book on Werner Erhard, written by legal journalist Steven Pressman. The book was published in 1993, by St. Martin's Press.

Contents

In Outrageous Betrayal, Steven Pressman gives a chronological account of Werner Erhard's life and businesses, from high-school years through his formation of companies that delivered awareness training and the later controversies surrounding his business and family life. The book goes into detail regarding his early life as Jack Rosenberg and his name change to Werner Erhard, his move to California, and the initial inspirations behind the training that would come to be known as "est." Pressman writes that Erhard was inspired by the self-help course Mind Dynamics, cybernetics, the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, and by Scientology and the writings of L. Ron Hubbard. He then notes that Erhard was helped in the formation of his first awareness training company, Erhard Seminars Training, by an attorney skilled in tax law.[1][2]

Pressman notes how Erhard and his businesses became successful, and writes that his awareness training programs trained over half a million people in his courses, and brought in tens of millions of dollars in revenue. The book then describes controversies relating to both Erhard's businesses and his reported treatment of his family. Pressman details some of the lawsuits and professional desertions that hurt his business, as well as some of his conflict with the Internal Revenue Service. The end of the book describes the impact and aftermath of a March 3, 1991 60 Minutes investigation on CBS News, where one of his daughters accused him of sexual abuse. Pressman also describes the successor company to est, The Forum, and Erhard's decision to sell the "technology" of The Forum to his employees and leave the United States.[1][2]

Reception

Outrageous Betrayal received a positive review in Library Journal, where the book was described as "a compelling account of the 1980s guru who rose from selling used cars to peddling personal transformation."[2] The reviewer recommended public libraries carry the book, and that they place it next to Wendy Kaminer's I'm Dysfunctional, You're Dysfunctional.[2] Publishers Weekly also reviewed the work, and briefly described Pressman's assessment of Werner Erhard. The review noted: "Pressman here cuts into him with surgical precision."[1]

Other books on subjects related to psychology, cults and new religious movements have later referenced Outrageous Betrayal for background on Werner Erhard and the est movement, including Janja Lalich's Bounded Choice and Irvin Yalom's The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy.[3]

Lawsuit over confidential sources

In 1998, Landmark Education spent months attempting to compel Steven Pressman to respond to deposition questions aimed at obtaining the confidential sources he used for research on Outrageous Betrayal.[4]

The suit was brought under the pretext of compelling discovery for use in the then-active Cult Awareness Network litigation. However, Pressman concluded that the suit was brought primarily to harass him. The discovery commissioner who entered an interim order in the matter, commented that: "..it does not appear that the information sought [from Mr. Pressman] is directly relevant or goes to the heart of the [CAN] action, or that alternative sources have been exhausted or are inadequate." The action against Pressman was dropped after the Cult Awareness Network litigation was settled.[5]

Congressional testimony reference

Outrageous Betrayal in testimony, U.S. House of Representatives, 1995[6]

Outrageous Betrayal is cited in a 1995 report on the United States Department of Transportation, by the United States House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations[6] This was in reference to a Congressional investigation of Gregory May and controversial trainings given by his company Gregory May Associates (GMA) to the Federal Aviation Administration.[6]

The testimony given stated that, according to Outrageous Betrayal, a member of GMA's board had been influenced by Erhard Seminars Training and the Church of Scientology.[6] Events related to this Congressional investigation were reported on by Cokie Roberts in Nightline.[7], and in the book Flying Blind, Flying Safe.[8][9] Gregory May was later convicted of mail fraud and sentenced to six months in prison, in April 1996.[8][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c Staff (1993). "Outrageous Betrayal, review". Publishers Weekly. Reed Business Information, Inc. Retrieved 2007-10-24. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d Annichiarico, Mark (June 1, 1992). "Pressman, Steven. Outrageous Betrayal". Library Journal. Reed Business Information, Inc. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ Bardini, Thierry; Friedewald, Michael (2002), Chronicle of the Death of a Laboratory (PDF), vol. 23 (History of Technology ed.)Anderson, Walter Truett (2003). The Next Enlightenment: Integrating East and West in a New Vision of Human Evolution. St. Martin's Press. p. 254. ISBN 0312317697. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)Jenkins, Philip (2000). Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History. Oxford University Press. p. 270. ISBN 0195127447. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)Lalich, Janja (2004). Bounded choice: True Believers and Charismatic Cults. University of California Press. p. 284. ISBN 0520231945. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)Yalom, Irvin D. (1995). The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy. Basic Books. p. 584. ISBN 0465084486. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)Weiten, Wayne (2005). Psychology Applied To Modern Life: Adjustment In The 21st Century. Thomson Wadsworth. p. 596. ISBN 0534608590. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)Weiner, David L. (October 1999). Battling the Inner Dummy: The Craziness of Apparently Normal People. Prometheus Books. pp. 393, 397. ISBN 978-1573927475. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)Palm, Carl (August 30, 2004). The Great California Story: Real-life Roots Of An American Legend. Northcross Books. ISBN 978-0975483213. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)Milton, Joyce (July 15, 2002). The Road to Malpsychia: Humanistic Psychology and Our Discontents. Encounter Books. ISBN 978-1893554467. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)Lalich, Janja (May 30, 2006). Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships. Bay Tree Publishing. ISBN 978-0972002158. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ Skolnik, Peter L. (February 2006). "Introduction to the Landmark Education litigation archive". Lowenstein Sandler PC. The Rick Ross Institute. Retrieved 2007-10-24. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Landmark Education Litigation Archive, Section: Pressman.
  6. ^ a b c d United States Congress (1995, digitized Aug 30, 2005). Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1996. p. 834. ISBN 0160473527. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
    "Our investigation disclosed that Gregory May and GMA have been affiliated with certain New Age and human potential organizations including the Ramtha School of Enlightenment and "EST." Also, a member of GMA's Board of Directors is referenced in a book about the founder of "EST." The book is entitled, Outrageous Betrayal by Steve Pressman, published 1993. The book describes this GMA board member as an early student of the Church of Scientology, another organization which is commonly referred to as part of the human potential movement."
  7. ^ Staff. (02/21/95). "FAA Compromised!". Nightline. ABC News. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
    Was a cult training government employees? Nightline will reveal the results of a forthcoming investigation by the FAA Inspector General. FAA employees had bizarre training techniques imposed on them by an outside contractor with clear connections to the Ramtha cult located in Washington State. Gregory May was hired to train senior executives of the FAA. ABC News Nightline has learned that over five years, May put executives through bizarre training rituals; had control over appointments and was able to continue being funded without competitive bidding. ABC News Correspondent Cokie Roberts will have a report. Ted Koppel anchors from Washington
  8. ^ a b Schiavo, Mary (April 1997). Flying Blind, Flying Safe. Avon Books. pp. Chapter: Truth: CULT-ure at the FAA. ISBN 0380975327 , ISBN-13: 978-0380975327. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ a b Del Valle, Christina (April 14, 1997). "Was the FAA Asleep at the Joystick?". Business Week. McGraw-Hill. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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Citations and excerpts

Litigation

See also

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