The announcement was made, and all across the nation people eagerly anticipated its release.

“There is something new coming up in April called Dianetics,” wrote national columnist Walter Winchell on January 31,1950. “A new science which works with the invariablilty of physical science in the field of the human mind. From all indications, it will prove to be as revolutionary for humanity as the first caveman’s discovery and utilization of fire.”

Winchell’s prediction proved correct.

Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health was published on May 9, 1950. The response was instantaneous and overwhelming. Almost overnight the book became a nationwide bestseller, with 25,000 letters and telegrams of congratulation pouring in to the publisher. The book hit the New York Times bestseller list where it remained week after week, month after month, forever changing L. Ron Hubbard’s life and, as we shall see, the lives of millions.