Average customer rating:
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The Best Tobacco Cartoons of All Time
C. J. Phillips
Manufacturer: Grand National Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Drawing
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Comics & Graphic Novels
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General
| Humor
| Entertainment
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ASIN: 0962163996 |
Book Description
C.J. Phillips, author and compiler of America's Funniest Bathroom Graffiti, at the request of the American Cancer Society, wrote a number of cartoons related to tobacco use. This book is most popular with smokers. It's a great gift for a smoker or chewer. Several of the cartoons have been internationally published. It's also been used by several stop-smoking programs as it's presented in a way that's inoffensive to and appreciated by smokers and chewers.
Book Description
Learn to work effectively with clients who are experiencing work-related issues! Presenting a comprehensive overview of career counseling, THE ROLE OF WORK IN PEOPLE'S LIVES provides you with the information you need to be an effective career counselor. The role of work in people's lives is examined in the context of family life cycles, the global economy, technology, and diversity and awareness.
Customer Reviews:
Instructors beware: Horribly superficial, badly edited.......2005-11-07
As a grad student, I have read many, many books that are less-than-readable or useful. This book is on my Top Ten Books to Avoid.
First, the authors gloss over extremely important theories, such as Super's and Erikson's, and throw in graphics they've borrowed from other books but never fully explain. The result is a very disjointed, haphazard survey of past and current theories.
Secondly, in some aspects the book does cover cultural diversity adequately. In other areas, their coverage is ludicrous. Regarding Native Americans, they state "[Super's] Life-Career Rainbow also has the potential application for widespread application to Native Americans". First, the editor is asleep at the wheel (two instances of 'application' in one sentence), and secondly, there is no effort to describe why this could be applicable to Native Americans. Anyone who knows this population knows it's complete bunk to think that they could correlate aspects of their lives to such Western terms as Leisurite, Homemaker, or Citizen. It's beyond shoe-horning.
Thirdly, it's clear in too many passages to cite that the authors have a political agenda to put forth, and it's hard to believe that this has not clouded objective thought. It feels very much like we are being talked 'down to' by these 'enlightened' authors. I'm a bleeding heart liberal, and this book made ME cringe in it's tone -- anyone who is politically right to centrist may be offended by this book.
Finally, the structure of the book is haphazard. There is no parallelism throughout that I could ascertain, and so the reader learns different aspects about different theories, never being able to put together a cohesive apples-to-apples perspective. Most offensive is the chapter where the authors both put forth their own theories -- where Erikson gets 2 pages, Peterson dedicates 10 pages to her theory with 17 assumptions, and goes into the detail I wanted for all of the 'real' theories! Also, the editor missed many typos and awkward constructions, and needed to BLEED red ink all over the manuscript.
Ug. It's awful. I've only taken time to review text books once or twice, and only because they were so good. That should tell you how bad this one is.
The Role of Work.......2001-04-14
This book is an excellent treatment of the changing role of work as we move into the 21st century. It also does a wonderful job of dealing with diverse populations.
It is insightful even to the practicing counselor........1999-10-14
Dr. Peterson and Dr. Gonzalez give true insight to the "minority" populations in reguards to vocational counseling. It prepares us for the working and non-working forces of the 21st century. I would highly recommend this book to counselors or those in schooling for counseling, whether your career trend is in career counseling or child psychology. It gives the mind a new perspective.
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Pat the Yuppie
J. Becker
Manufacturer: Perigee Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Humor
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Satire, General
| Humor
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0399512667 |
Average customer rating:
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Image and Likeness: Religious Visions in American Film Classics (Isaac Hecker Studies in Religion and American Culture)
Manufacturer: Paulist Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
History & Criticism
| Movies
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Religion & Spirituality
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Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
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| Dance
| General
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| Theater
General
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General
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ASIN: 0809132869 |
Product Description
This collection of traditional music for the mountain dulcimer seeks to reunite this beautiful instrument with the people, the music, and the world from which it came. It tells the story of the Wilderness Road, a trail through the Appalachian Mountains from Gate City, Virginia, to Fort Boonesboro, Kentucky, blazed by Daniel Boone, and links it to the history and heritage of the mountain dulcimer. Numerous photographs and maps help tell the story, and each tune in the book includes a historical anecdote describing its origin. This book is a must for anyone interested in the history of the Appalachian Mountain region and its music. The sixteen tunes in this book are written in notation and tablature for the standard three-course mountain dulcimer (without the 6 1/2 or 1 1/2 fret in the fretboard), with chord symbols and complete lyrics. A knowledge of simple chording techniques is all that is needed to play the tunes. The tunings used are Ionian (DAA), Aeolian (DA! C), and Dorian (DAG).
Customer Reviews:
Dulcimer roots.......2001-02-28
I bought this book because it traces the history of the mountain dulcimer westward on the wilderness trail. Madeline MacNeil offers a map and directions and black and white photos to direct you on a modern pilgrimage of this trail, if you would like to experience the modern trail first hand. This is a trip I would like to take in the future. The history is straightforward and clear, and dulcimer tabulatures are given for tunes that came from different locations along the trail. Fascinating material to be used for entertainers, reenactors, storeytellers and dulcimer players. Audiences enjoy knowing brief histories and how tunes fit them. There are many early tunes in this instruction manual. The tab is clear and many early appalachian tunings are used. The only recommendation that I would make, is it would be nice if Madeline MacNeil and Ralph Smith had made an accompanying CD of all the tunes in the book. I would buy it!
Book Description
Learn how to become a tournament warrior. Master all the moves and combinations
that will ensure the survival of your mortal soul!
Mortal Kombat 3: Official Power Play Guide reveals all the secrets that will make you unbeatable.
Reveals the secrets that will make you unbeatable
1000+ color shots
Moves, attacks, and combinations in awesome Kombat Kolor
Pro Moves!
Fatalities, babalites, friendships & all-new animalities
Customer Reviews:
the best mortal kombat book that's out there.......1999-11-22
I really enjoyed reviewing this book,but some of the things thay were in this book have never been in any other Mortal Kombat code books.Also there were some info missing that needing to be in there.If you like Mortal Kombat then this is the book for you.
Book Description
A complete preparation guide for the AMP Real Estate Exam, the book and enclosed CD-ROM contain over 700 practice questions, with rationales included for every question. Content throughout the book is aligned with the new AMP content outline. Thirty new broker practice questions have been added to the book.
This is the LATEST and most COMPREHENSIVE tool available to help students prepare for the AMP Real Estate Exam. Features topics related to, and in the order of, the latest AMP Examination Content Outline. With more questions and answers than any other AMP guide on the market, it features over 700 AMP-style questions, with rationales to help schools and students improve pass rates. A new CD-ROM has been packaged with this edition, containing 50 new salesperson and 50 new broker practice questions.
Customer Reviews:
real estate book.......2007-03-14
Took forever to get, at least 3 weeks. Very disappointed in the shipping of it. Althpugh, the packaging was good.
Wonderful Cram Course.......2005-09-24
I found this book to be just as important in my studies as the cram course for the state exam.... excellent tool
EXCEPTIONAL BOOK!!!! I PASSED BECAUSE I BOUGHT IT. .......2005-09-17
This book is exceptional in that it points out the key six key elements for the nationals portion of the exam:
1. Listing Property
2. Selling Property
3. Property Management
4. Settlement/Transfer of Ownership
5. Financing
6. Professional Responsibilities/Fair Practice/Administration
There's also a math review portion thats goes in dept on the explanation prior to and after the problems.
Once you complete reading each section, within a chapter theres a key point review prior to going on the the next section, and at the end of each chapter is Questions to the material just read.
All in all if you set aside at least two to three hours a day to read and truly focus in on this material you should have no problem doing quite well on the national portion of your exam.
Thanks,
M.J. Ware
Very good book for study review........2001-11-30
I would recommend this book for anyone that is taking the AMP test. All material is laid out very well and it goes over just about everything.
Very good book for study review........2001-11-30
I would recommend this book for anyone that is taking the AMP test. All material is laid out very well and it goes over just about everything.
Average customer rating:
- Order the 3rd edition Book Instead!!!!
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Your Guide to Passing the AMP Real Estate Exam, Version 3.0
Joyce Bea Sterling
Manufacturer: Dearborn Real Estate Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: CD-ROM
General
| Popular Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business & Investing
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General
| Real Estate
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Sales
| Real Estate
| Business & Investing
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Professional
| Test Guides - Graduate & Professional
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Testing
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All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
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ASIN: 0793176573 |
Book Description
Give your salesperson and broker students the practice they need to pass the AMP exam with this targeted tools from veteran instructor Joyce Sterling. Over 700 questions test students' mastery of essential concepts, as well as their ability to master the AMP question style and format. The new CD-ROM supplement contains over 50 salesperson and 50 broker questions to help students better prepare for the computer-based AMP exam. Highlights include:
* CD ROM enclosed with 50 new salesperson and 50 new broker questions.
* Key point reviews at the end of each chapter for additional reinforcement.
* Answer keys that offer an explanation of each correct answer, helping students understant the rationale.
* Two 100 question practice final exams.
* Glossary and index for quick reference and review.
* Directory of important real estate related Web sites.
Customer Reviews:
Order the 3rd edition Book Instead!!!!.......2005-06-18
You can get this same CD packaged with the book for only $31.68. I ordered both and there is no difference between the CD that is sold separately and the one that comes with the 3rd edition of Your Guide to Passing the AMP Real Estate Exam. Why it is you can get the book and CD $20.00 cheaper than the CD alone seems to be a pricing error on the part of Amazon!
Average customer rating:
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Your Guide to Passing the Amp Real Estate Exam
Kaplan
Manufacturer: Dearborn Real Estate Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
General
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Real Estate
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Professional Development
| Education
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Business
| Books on CD
| Audiobooks
| Formats
| Books
ASIN: 1419582658 |
Book Description
In 1945, Josef Stalin, who had never been able to shake off the nightmare of Adolf Hitler, refused to believe that the dictator had committed suicide. He ordered his secret police, the NKVD, to explore Hitler's private life, and to clarify the circumstances of his death. For months the NKVD interrogated Hitler's two closest assistants, Otto Guensche and Heinz Linge. The resulting first-hand narrative of a decade of service in Hitler's headquarters was presented to Stalin in a limited edition of one, and for over fifty years was hidden in a Russian archive. Never before published in its entirety, it is "[a] notable historical document" (Wall Street Journal) that "gives an absorbing, truly disturbing account of Hitler and his demonic court" (PublishersWeekly)
Customer Reviews:
Hitler's Aggression, Genocidal Actions against Slavs, and Details of His Doom.......2007-05-03
This dossier is the result of the interrogation, by the Soviet NKVD, of two SS officials who knew Hitler very well--Heinz Linge and Otto Gunsche. It offers a comprehensive history of WWII, with much attention devoted to the closing stages of the European war on the eastern front. There is discussion of the Hitlerjugend sacrificed against the Soviets, the suicides of Goebbels and his family, and the self-destruction of the Fuhrer and burning of his body. (Hitler feared that the Soviets would turn him or his body into a public spectacle). The editors use numerous footnotes that clarify and correct the issues raised by the NKVD. The Editors' Afterword section provides extensive commentary, and the Notes include comprehensive biographical information on many Nazis (including dates of birth and death, and relevant postwar activities).
This dossier begins with a short, prewar history of Nazism: "The official version of the story was that Rohm had been executed for homosexuality, but Hitler concealed from the German people the fact that homosexuality was widely practiced and tolerated in the higher echelons of the National Socialist Party and the Hitler Youth." (p. 6).
Hitler is quoted, on April 17, 1943, of saying that Jews must either be annihilated of thrown into a concentration camp (p. 114). If correct, this itself suggests that, even at this late date, Hitler wasn't irrevocably committed to the extermination of every possible Jew within his reach. Interestingly, Hitler had a purely utilitarian view of Slavs that matched that of his view of Jews, as illustrated by the Nazis' use of both Slavic and Jewish forced laborers. Consider the former: "Filled with loathing Hitler remarked, `It is quite right to make Slavs do this, these robots! Otherwise they would have no right to their share of the sun!'" (p. 102).
The following was Hitler's reaction to Britain's declaration of war against Germany following the Nazi attack on Poland: "It is disgraceful to present Czechs and Poles as sovereign states when this rabble is not a jot better than the Sudanese or the Indians..." (pp. 47-48). At the start of Operation Barbarossa, the Germans fought under the slogan: "Bash the Russians' brains in...We need the Russian expanses without Russians!" (p. 76).
The editors cite an eventual figure of 11.27 million Soviet military deaths, but add: "On the other hand, it is mentioned only in a few places that the campaign against the Soviet Union was also a racially motivated war of annihilation, which claimed the lives of 18.4 million civilians. This war of annihilation was carried out above all by the SS, but a politically-indoctrinated Wehrmacht played its part." (p. 300). Combining these figures with others (e. g., the 2-3 million murdered Polish gentiles), it is obvious that the Germans' genocide of Slavs was greater than that of Jews (5-6 million). Considering this metric, the reader realizes that Jews and Slavs were indeed unequal victims--with Slavs the greater victims.
Some proponents of Holocaust uniqueness have claimed that the Nazis' disrespect and exploitation of the dead, as exemplified by the removal of tooth fillings, was done only to Jews. We learn instead that it was also done to Slavs--including living ones. Blaschke, Hitler's personal dentist, obtained crowns, bridges, and gold teeth that had been extracted from Soviet POWs (pp. 164-165).
Certain revisionists (e. g., Alfred Maurice de Zayas) have repeated the canard that the Soviets and Poles killed over 2 million German civilians during the final offensives and early postwar period. However heavy the loss of German civilian life actually was, it was clearly the fault of the Germans, not the Russians or Poles: "When the German troops fled in chaos, the population panicked and ran with their soldiers. A mass migration towards the German heartlands began. The roads and paths of East Prussia were thick with old men, women and children who had turned and run, only to become jammed in the numerous tank traps that offered only a torturously narrow path. Many--the children in particular--froze to death in the intense cold." (p. 180).
The Churchill-Roosevelt betrayal of Poland to the Soviet Union, culminating at Yalta, is often rationalized by the specter of a German-Soviet separate peace. However, Stalin ALSO feared a separate peace--a German-western one. For example, the Battle of the Bulge was framed as an attempt by the Germans to so bloody and dishearten the western Allies that they would unilaterally sue for peace (p. 170).
Somewhat interesting but hardly a "must-read".......2007-04-16
"The Hitler Book", a posthumous biography of Hitler personally prepared for Stalin, is of interest only as a historical curiosity and for the insight it provides into the strange political dynamics of postwar Stalinist Russia. Interestingly enough, and contrary to press reports and the claims of the researchers in question, this book was not recently "discovered" by a couple of German scholars digging around the Russian archives. David Irving used this dossier in the 1960s when writing his magnificent "Hitler's War", which is_the_book I would recommend for those interested in a life of Hitler, particularly his years in power.
Based on the interrogations of Otto Guensche and Heinz Linge (Hitler's SS adjutant and manservant respectively), this book covers most of the major events of Hitler's life more or less accurately, but should not be taken as an authoritative work of history. It's a gossipy, biographical caricature based on both public knowledge and the torture-induced testimonies of a butler and an aide. That's not to say that Guensche's and Linge's testimony shouldn't be trusted, but two low-level witnesses do not a biography make and, in any case, their information should be compared with what they freely told Western authors, like David Irving and James O'Donnell, after their decade in Soviet captivity. This book reveals no new information, and is also marred by the fact that it shamelessly panders to the prejudices and paranoia of its very important audience of one: Josef Stalin. It obviously makes no mention of the Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact and subsequent Soviet expansion into Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states, and certainly doesn't deal with Soviet agressive intentions toward Germany or the reasons for the disasters of 1941. Its portrait of Hitler sticks to the wartime propaganda line, showing him as a feral, rug-chewing, cowardly maniac. And while the Soviet Union did indeed bear the brunt of the fighting against Nazi Germany, this book seriously downplays the Anglo-American contribution, deprecates the bravery and effectiveness of their troops and even accuses the Western Allies of trying to negotiate a separate peace with Hitler and of not bombing armaments factories whose weapons they knew would be used exclusively against the Soviets. It's an interesting look into the dark maze of Stalinist psychology, but is not the source to consult for a legitimate Hitler biography.
The Hitler Book: The Secret Dossier Prepared for Stalin from the Interrogations of Hitler's Personal Aides.......2007-04-16
Clearly one of the most informative books written about the life of Adolf Hitler. The account of the last days in the Fuhrer bunker is not only spellbinding, but probably the most accurate. A "must read" for the WW2 history enthusiast.
A Fascinating Read.......2007-04-11
I couldn't put this book down and was disappointed when I finished it!It's mandatory reading for all WW2 buffs as the insight it provides into the personal lives of Hitler and other top Nazis in the Third Reich is invaluable. I found it riveting as it described Hitler's personal foibles,his descent into paranoia and detachment from reality while his lackeys around him continued to pander to his gigantic ego and self-delusion.It depicts a world gone mad and rampant evil. Hitler's callous diregard for the lives of his soldiers and those of German civilians caught up in the horror that was 1945 Berlin stuns the imagination. Equally disturbing is Stalin's prurient fascination with his Fascist counterpart.
This is a superb book and of great value to the keen historian who wants more than just facts and dates.
"Must Read" Book.......2007-03-21
This is a "must read" book on the subject of Hitler and the last days in Berlin. It is a jewel from the Soviet archives.
Having said that, great caution must be used in accepting what is written in the book as the truth. Only by comparison with other accounts can the facts be sifted out from the propaganda. Read all the front and back material as well to get a better understanding of what is in this report.
The report on which the book is based was written for Stalin's consumption and therefore there are distinct biases and distortions in what information is reported and how it is presented. It is almost comical in places how the Soviet writers attempted to twist things. Almost comical - but not actually, because the intended audience of this book, Stalin was as diabolical and hideous, if not more, than the subject of the report.
The fact that it is a Soviet report is not really a flaw since it gives us insight into the Soviet mind and their use of history to indoctrinate rather than enlighten.
The true flaw in the book is that the English translation has abridged the German editor's notes and inserted additional footnotes that are often just plain wrong. The English translator also lacks any understanding of WW2 German military terminology, for example, translating "Minenwerfer" as "mine thrower" instead of "mortar". Very childish, but fortunately there are not too many of these screwups.
I still give it 5 stars because it is a priceless document. I might suggest getting the German edition for better supporting material.
Product Description
This book is a meticulous reconstruction of a tragic episode in the history of the Nazi persecution of the Jews. The SS. St.Louis left Hamburg in May of 1939 with 937 Jewish refugees on board who thought they had bought visas to enter Cuba. Refused entry in Cuba and the United States the ship eventually had to turn around and return to Europe. The voyage to freedom was in the end nothing more than a roundabout journey to the concentration camps
Average customer rating:
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Voyage of the Damned
Manufacturer: Motorbooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1854431242 |
Average customer rating:
- Excellent historical storytelling!
- Should be in every Holocaust library
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Voyage of the Damned
Gordon Thomas
Manufacturer: Fawcett
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: 044922449X
Release Date: 1976-11-12 |
Customer Reviews:
Excellent historical storytelling!.......2002-10-19
In the vein of Walter Lord's A NIGHT TO REMEMBER and DAY OF INFAMY, this wonderful book details the horrific journey of persecuted Jews and their desperate attempt to flee Nazi Germany. As good as the movie which it spawned. A fascinating and important read, especially for history enthusiasts.
Should be in every Holocaust library.......2001-07-11
"Voyage of the Damned" is the infamous true story of the ill-fated 1939 voyage of the S.S. St. Louis, which carried 937 Jews who were fleeing Hitler. They hoped for freedom, but found only disappointment and, in some cases, death. The St. Louis made it safely Cuba, but the passengers were turned away under the influence of Hitler's anti-Jewish propaganda. Next, they sailed for the Florida Coast, only to be refused entry into the USA because of immigration quotas. For weeks the St. Louis sailed up and down the coast while Congress debated whether to make an exception and let them in. In the end, even a plea from President Roosevelt could not open America's doors to these refugees. The St.Louis was sent back to Europe, where her passengers were dispersed to France, Belgium, Great Britain, and the Netherlands. Some perished in Hitler's concentration camps. Others lived to tell the story.
This tragic event remains an ugly blot on America's past, and is one of the reasons for the "Law of Return" in modern Israel (which allows any Jew who is fleeing persecution in any country to enter Israel immediately upon arrival with no hassles.) It is also the reason that Israel was the first country in the world to grant political asylum to Vietnamese "boat people" fleeing the Communist regime at the end of the Vietnam War. The story also had an effect on America's current immigration laws, which make better provisions for granting asylum.
"Voyage of the Damned" was first published in 1974 and became an instant bestseller. It was made into a movie in 1977, and won three Academy Award nominations. It went through a number of printings, and was re-issued in 1994 as a fine "coffee-table" hardcover with 300 pictures, including reproductions of tickets, telegrams, passports, menus, newspaper articles, official documents, etc. as well as photos of the crew and passengers. To make the story more personalized, the 1994 version also features "cameo" photo albums, focusing on three specific families. For sheer wealth of information as well as human interest, the photo edition is the one to buy -- if you can find a copy.
Average customer rating:
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Voyage of the Damned
Manufacturer: Stein and Day Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000BKOCGM |
Book Description
After decades of writing and research about American intelligence, Joseph Trento has written the most authoritative indictment of CIA splinter groups, two generations of Bush family involvement in illegal financial networks, and the funding of the agents of terror. Prelude to Terror reveals the history of a corrupt group of spymasters—led by Ted Shackley—who were fired when Jimmy Carter became president, but who maintained their intelligence portfolio and used it to create a private intelligence network. After this rogue group helped engineer Carter’s defeat in 1980 and allied with George H.W. Bush, these former CIA men planned and conducted what became the Iran–Contra scandal and, through the Saudis, allied the U.S. with extreme elements in Islam. The CIA’s number-one front man, Edwin P. Wilson, was framed by Shackley and his cohorts so that Wilson’s operations could be taken over. For the first time the story of how CIA director George H. W. Bush was recruited into this network, and brought it into the bosom of the Saudi royal family, is told in detail, as well as how this group’s manipulation of the CIA bureaucracy allowed Osama bin Laden’s fundraising to thrive as al Qaeda flourished under Saudi and CIA protection.
Customer Reviews:
Appalling.......2007-02-01
After reading Mr. Trento's "The Secret History of the CIA" (see my amazon review of this book) several years ago I thought Mr. Trento could sink no lower. I was wrong. This book is so full of rumor, innuendo, slander, and just plain innaccuracies that I don't know where to start, so I will just provide a couple of examples. On page 271, discussing one of his primary sources for this book, the late Colonel William R. Corson, the author writes, "Corson...returned to Vietnam as the only American on the ground at Dien Bien Phu and was marched out with the French prisoner after their surrender. General Vo Nguyen Giap sent him back to President Eisenhower to tell the American that they faced the same fate as the French..." As anyone who studied the Indochina War knows, there were no Americans at Dien Bien Phu when it fell in 1954, and Corson certainly wasn't anywhere close to the place. On the same page the author also says Corson "had been sent on an unsuccessful mission in 1950 to try to bribe Ho Chi Minh to launch a diversionary attack against China to limit China's help in North Korea." Not only is this claim ridiculous on its face, at the time of the supposed mission (1950) William R. Corson was a raw, newly-commissioned Marine Corps second lieutenant, hardly the type of person to be selected for such a mission.
This book is not worth the paper on which it is printed. I had thought that Avalon was a reputable publishing house. I guess I was wrong.
Some Inconsistencies, But Best Synthesis of Bush-Mafia-Dictator-Privatized Intelligence Network.......2006-04-30
This is not a perfect book. It has inconsistencies and errors but this book has helped connect many dots from the other 690+ books I have reviewed.
I had no idea while I was at CIA as a clandestine officer that there are really multiple CIA's and that there are three *external* CIAS: the "Safari Club" led by Saudi Arabia, with France, Egypt, Morocco and Iran (during the Shah's time, not since); the murder network (South Africa, Israel, South Korea, and probably also Chile and Argentina during their worst years); and a privatized CIA running drugs and arms, laundering money, and generally doing things that were "off the books and out of control" as the author titles one of his chapters.
According to the author, Allen Dulles has the first private intelligence service at 44 Wall Street, relying heavily on the recruitment of former Nazis. There is a direct path from the CIA's fascination with former Nazis to the presence of Karl Rove in the White House.
The author draws on good sources to document the long-time relationship between Wall Street and certain companies such as the house of Morgan and Brown that leads us right up to when Buzzy Kronguard, formerly of Alex Brown, was executive director of the CIA at no salary. Prescott Bush, farther of the first President Bush, features heavily in the corrupt relations between CIA and the Wall Street mafia. These people financed the Nazis and weapons that killed Americans.
Interestingly, the Dutch are known to have all the details on the Bush family ties to the Nazis, and I have personally heard from the Dutch that they also have full details from the Chinese on drunken teen-ager George W. Bush, of whom photos are said to exist while he is incoherent and perhaps posed in naked compromising positions with his male Chinese tennis teacher). All of this is inevitably going to be in the public consciousness--right now it falls into what one author calls "Fog Facts"--known openly but not "computed" by the public.
This entire book is a tale of the corruption of intelligence, caused in part by the abysmal failure of US intelligence in the early years, ranging from failing to predict the Korean invasion to trying to assassinate Chinese premier Chou En Lai.
The Viet-Nam era empowered people like Ted Shackley (who died in 2002 and whose memoirs are coming out shortly). CIA learned to run drugs and arms, launder money, start its own banks, and generally avoid Congressional funding limitations and Congressional oversight. Unfortunately, creating a rogue CIA further incapacitated "CIA proper" of which I was a part, and the author reasonably points out that the fall of the Shah of Iran, the failure to understand the 1975 concerns about Shiite terrorism training camps, the assassination of Sadat, the CIA coup plans that were pre-empted by Qadafi, the growth of Al Qaeda, the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban (which deprived Wall Street of its drug crops, now restored courtesy of the U.S. Army)--the list goes on.
According to the author's sources, the CIA opened the Far East to the US mafia, and helped develop pipelines for the drugs that included piggy-backing on US servicemen corpses coming back into Dover AFP. Fast forward to CIA using Special Operations Forces to protect transmitters that allowed hundreds of drug airplanes to land in Panama where drugs could be traded for money and arms.
The author centers the book on Ted Shackley as a bridge figure among many "external" intelligence activities, but Clark Clifford is also key in the founding of the BCCI bank and in asking the Saudis directly to fund an alternative CIA to be known as the Safari Club. BCCI had overtly good intentions--to attract terrorist and criminal funds, but at root it represented the complete "sale" of US intelligence to the Saudis.
The politicization of intelligence is the other major theme in this book, and the Bush family features very prominently.
Side notes:
Ted Shackley recruited Zbigniew Brzezinski as a young Polish-American student, and had full access to him later when he was National Security Advisor.
Don Rumsfeld, today Secretary of Defense, was instrumental in persuading President Ford not to appoint Eliot Richardson, a reformer of known integrity, to the DCI position, and instead got Kissinger to invite Bush from Beijing, all to ensure that Kissinger's role in subverting Chile would be concealed.
As DCI, Turner shut the Israeli's out, essentially forcing them to adopt Shackley as their "black CIA" partner, and then Bush as DCI turned CIA over to the Saudi government.
Shackley fought Inman for the soul of CIA, and the evidence suggests that Shackley won, in part by blackmailing Inman in collaboration with the Israel lobby.
CIA placed officers under cover on the Hill, notably in Senator Dan Quayle's office.
The book left me with three thoughts for reflection:
1) 9-11 was the culmination of decades of CIA corruption and politicization. Of course there are other factors, but from 1975 forward CIA "sold out" and it can be safely said that Viet-Nam killed CIA and opened the doors to the privatization of dirty tricks, murders, and generally very bad out of control covert foreign policy and a consequent subversion of national security.
2) Cheap oil resulting from our support of ruthless dictators set the stage for the radicalization of the Muslim world against America. People are not stupid--they see the link between the US situation, US support for dictators, and their own suffering and exclusion from the wealth.
3) One day, someday, I am going to fund an ABLE DANGER analysis of the history of secret intelligence, starting with Richard Secord, who is in charge of GRAY FOX (the successor to YELLOW FRUIT) and who is not killing terrorists, which is what he is supposed to be doing, but instead continuing the for-profit external CIA, and Ted Shackley.
This is an important book.
Not a perfect book.......2006-02-11
Unlike the previous reviewer I wasn't that impressed with this book. The author puts Felix Rodriguez at the Watergate break-in, when in reality he had no involvement in it whatsoever since he was in Vietnam at the time. That was one one the mistakes I noticed. I'm sure there were more.
Some of his theories are viable, yet others seem far-fetched. In fact a lot of these theories have already been refuted by reputable journalists in the past. Overall, something you should read with an open mind. By the way, to make a correction to the previous reviewer it's Chi Chi Quintero.
Indispensable.......2006-01-06
First and foremost, I think the POV is the CIA's "intelligence" wing(s) vs. the "Ops" goons, a longstanding civil war in the CIA and the other clandestine services where Trento, who has covered intelligence for 35 years, clearly sources to the inteligence side of the battle.
Those of us following scandals from Nixon's treason in 1968 as a private citizen who sabotaged Vietnam War peace negotiations, through Watergate, through Bush I's treason in Iran as a private citizen negotiating the continued retention of American Hostages, through Iran/Contra, through Bush II's treason as a private citizen interfering in Mideast peace negotiations, noticed the same small cabal involved in everything - Ted Shackley, Thomas Clines, John Poindexter, Richard Secord, John Singlaub, George Herbert Walker Bush, James Angleton, Chi Chi Quinterez, Ed Wilson - and at various times, people like Oliver North and even Zbiegniew Brzezhinski operating on their behalf on a regular basis. Two of these, Angleton and Clines, were interviewed by Trento.
This book goes back to the days of Dulles and ahead to the present and shows how the CIA's old boy network can always bite back harder than it's bitten. It deals peripherally with things like BCCI and Nugan/Hand. It's much more critical of Stansfield Turner, whom I have met on a couple of occasions, than I would be, but it nicely fills in the back story on his period as director of the CIA.
This book has nothing about Adnan Kashoggi but does talk about Sarkis Soghnalian, a Turkish/Armenian power broker. I think one of the weak links for the rogue operative network is in fact the information held by their non-American allies. It's possible the US or Israel will attack Iran, and if so, people should be educated enough to understand any revelations the Iranians might have for us in retaliation.
Books:
- The Breathing Disorders Sourcebook (Sourcebooks)
- THE COLLECTOR'S GUIDE TO DOLLHOUSES AND DOLLHOUSE MINIATURES
- The Eastern Dada Orbit: Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Central Europe and Japan (Crisis and the Arts)
- The Euston Road School: A Study in Objective Painting
- The iconography of late Minoan and Mycenaean sealstones and finger rings
- The Life of a Style: Beginnings and Endings in the Narrative History of Art
- The Paradoxes of Art: A Phenomenological Investigation
- The R. Crumb Coffee Table Art Book
- The Regime of Visibility
- The Shredding of Families
Books Index
Books Home
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- Adobe Photoshop CS2: The Art of Photographing Women
- Biology, Sixth Edition
- Behind the Burqa: Our Life in Afghanistan and How We Escaped to Freedom
- The Brass Book, American, English and European: Fifteenth Century to Eighteen Fifty
- Acupuncture Medicine: Its Historical and Clinical Background
- Field Guide to the Mammals of the Kruger National Park
