60 Minutes and Werner

In 1988, I started a lifelong relationship with the personal growth and development work designed by Werner Erhard. His work was later incorporated into Landmark Worldwide, after the employees bought the rights to his technology and formed their own corporation.

On March 3, 1991, 21 million households watched television’s top show “60 Minutes” air a story that attempted to destroy the life and work of EST founder Werner Erhard. Award-winning journalist Jane Self suspected that there was more to these allegations than was being reported. She discovered an amazing plot of espionage, conspiracy, and sabotage.

The numerous courses offered through Werner Erhard & Associates and Landmark Worldwide included several levels of communication courses, being part of a team and many other avenues for looking at how we operate in the world.

All of these have been tremendously beneficial in my personal and professional life.

My background in journalism led me to write 60 Minutes and the Assassination of Werner Erhard: How America’s Top Rated Television Show Was Used in an Attempt to Destroy a Man Who Was Making A Difference in 1992.

The book is about the founder, Werner Erhard, who was maligned on CBS’ “60 Minutes” and subsequently sold his organization to his employees.

The yearlong investigative work on this book required extensive traveling both nationally and internationally to research court documents and interview family members, former and current employees and participants.

Buy Printed or e-Book version

To order a copy of the book if you live in North America, click the Buy Now button. The price is $6.50, plus shipping and handling of $4. Total: $10.50 USD. If you live outside North America, please contact me to discuss the shipping charges.

Documentary about Werner Erhard

After the book was published, I resumed my participation in the work of Landmark, which has provided excellent training for me in leadership, communication, living my dreams and being happy under any circumstances.

A documentary was produced in 2006 about Werner, which showed what he had been up to since leaving the country in 1991, including a snippet about the “60 Minutes” piece and the book I wrote about it.

The documentary, Transformation: The Life and Legacy of Werner Erhard, has been shown around the country in various film festivals.

To track its schedule or to purchase a copy of the DVD, visit the website.

You can also watch the full length film here, courtesy of WernerErhardBiography.com.

Book Reviews

William F. Grady Published on Amazon.com

Thank you Jane, for your honesty and integrity. Anyone who reads this book will see that it was very well researched. Jane Self obviously did not enter the writing project with an ax to grind, but as someone wanting simply to uncover the truth. I benefited greatly from doing the EST training in 1972 and was active in EST programs for many years, including being a guest seminar leader, and know first hand about the truth of many of her assertions. I was delighted to see someone stand up to the–surprisingly spineless–60-Minute people, who had done a real hatchet job on Werner Erhard in that broadcast. As other reviewers have mentioned, all the seemingly damning allegations have subsequently been recanted. I worked for Werner’s wife Ellen in 1973, and was in close touch with Werner all during the 70’s and 80’s, and still consider him to be one of the best friends I ever had. I think he has a heart of gold, and his greatest desire is to love and empower people. I assert that he’s done a better job of it than just about anyone anywhere. Which is not to say he didn’t make mistakes, maybe some major ones. So who hasn’t?? I know for a fact that he put in 100+ hour weeks every week, putting out the most positive energy he could, once again, to empower the greatest number of people possible. I’d think it is fair to say that he’s surely done his best to rectify past mistakes the best way he can…and has moved on. Like I would hope we all do. More power to you, my dearest of friends. This book is well worth reading.

Harry Published on Goodreads.com

Although the main focus of this book is on the intentional destruction of Werner Erhard’s reputation and career, it also provides a look at the sorry state of news reporting. I do not expect the news media to omit critical information or spin reported facts, but this has become accepted practice along with lazy researching by not reviewing original sources. Also the news media seem to have accepted the job of defining and maintaining social norms using ridicule and name calling much as the church did a century ago.

Joanne Published on Goodreads.com

The allegations in the newspapers at the time and on 60 Minutes did not ring true or match what thousands of associates and participants of Erhard’s programs experienced. Werner Erhard has received bad press for a long time and been accused of many things that were never proven. Dr. Self delivers the facts behind the hype and show what we all know, that it is much easier to trash someone’s reputation than it is to defend it. This is a case study of how a small group of people undercut the reputation of Werner Erhard, through manipulating the media, (including the 60 Minutes video program). This book is a factual account with dates, times, names, and references of what happened. This book does a lot to set the record straight about a mountain of misinformation about Werner Erhard. It also helps shed light on the process by which our national scandals take shape. It is interesting to note that 60 Minutes and CBS themselves do not stand by their original 1991 video segment about Werner Erhard. In fact it was filled with so many “factual discrepancies” that they removed it from their archives.