2 comments about Nasa, Nazis & JFK: The Torbitt Document & the Kennedy Assassination.

1. This book, although somehwhat cryptically written--in the uncomfortable vernacular of JFK assassination research buffs--nevertheless is in my estimation a valuable addition to JFK assassination research. Anyone who is up on this literature has to have a good "crap detection" system, and this selection seems to have passed the test with flying colors. Since the early 70s, all serious roads to discovering who killed JFK seem to be leading back to tying up the loose ends left by the Jim Garrison New Orleans investigation. And since there were many such loose ends to tie up, doing so is not a small job. Torbitt has hit pay dirt, and at the very least, pushes Garrison's investigation to the next research frontier--if not to the very edge of completely uncovering the assassination plot. Yet, there are questions this research raises itself. For instance, I am not yet convinced of the Nazi connections--even though there is much circumstantial evidence to support Torbitt's point of view. Despite my misgiving, this piece is coherent in the extreme and can stand on its own. We know that when the conspiracy is finally uncovered, the truth will have its own unmistakable context, and this book has the "smell of truth."



2. This book more or less covers topics instigated by the Elite that we all already know about. What interests me is the Nazi connection. I (we) all need to know more facts about how the SS cult survived the fall of the 3rd Reich, who they were, how they still exist (sans the cool uniforms),and most importantly, how they have infiltrated the American government, especially the Republican National Commitee and NASA. This book falls a little short of these details.

No comments about The Lincoln Assassination: The Evidence.

5 comments about Deadly Secrets: The Cia-Mafia War Against Castro and the Assassination of J.F.K..

1. Really interesting stuff here. Digs deep behind the scenes of the whole affair & leaves one wondering what really happened. Very detailed & well-researched.



2. Although the original message was the CIA-Mafia complicity in President Kennedy's death, there is a more important message for 2005. Namely, Bush, far from being against terrorism, loves terrorists if they're anti-Castro Cubans. Our current president's father is the real villain, but our current Bush has done nothing to put the Miami Mafia terrorists in their place and bring them to justice. (...)



3. In addition to what was written above, I'd like to add that this book would almost be funny if it weren't so depressing. When I say funny I mean this only for those who might find James Ellroy or Chandler's bleak wit funny. A bitter sarcasm tinges the language that fleshes out this strange corner of WW3. Unlike many history/expose books, Deadly Secrets is written with attitude, with a sharp perspective that is illuminating (Hinckle and Turner have clearly spent some time with many of the players).
   
   The oblique cold warriors (mafia, arms dealers, mercenaries, displaced patriots, displaced murderers, gamblers, right wingnuts, oil barons, cia officers, bad bankers,international corporations, drug traffickers and all those other types of people we don't like to think of as soldiers on the front lines of the cold war) aren't so oblique after reading this...Its a wonder we won the cold war because with friends like these who needs Soviets. Your taxpayer dollars have gone to interesting 'causes,' (schemes) and its not hard to imagine that these secret wars are no different today.
   
   If you are interested in the Cold War and how it bleeds into to "War on Terror" you should check this out. Also helpful for those interested in the continuity of the careers of those who pass through, in, and around 'Dallas,' Watergate, and the Iran/Contra affair.
   
   If you're hungry for more afterwards, other authors to look for are Jonathan Kwitny, Peter Dale Scott, Jonathan Marshall,Alan Block, Pete Brewton, whose bibliographies give up a bunch of great sources.



4. While this book doesn't identify the actual shooters in the assassination of John Kennedy,it offers up an immense volume of information about the C.I.A.-mafia partnership regarding assassination attempts directed at Fidel Castro.
   
   The planning,execution,and failure of the Bay of Pigs operation are detailed.
   
   The book really focuses on the C.I.A.'s activities and participants,especially in the Caribbean. Air America and the Corsican mafia are also discussed. Various agency business connections and financial ties are detailed.
   
   You will read about characters such as Robert Maheu,Howard Hughes,E.Howard Hunt,Mitchell WerBell III,Frank Sturgis,"Maurice Bishop", and a myriad of other interesting people that were in some instances heavily involved in the intelligence community. In addition to that aspect, the authors investigate the mafia activities in Cuba and Haiti and how they particpated in projects with the Agency, sometimes without Kennedys knowing about it.
   
   The authors documented this book well.
   On the subject of the JFK assassination,this is one of the better books available. The details in the book make it an even better book on the subject of secret wars and how participants re-surfaced in the Watergate scandal and even later in politics.



5. Authors Warren Hinckle and William Turner are "in the know". Learn what they know and you will be a wiser person. In "Deadly Secrets", these thorough investigators reach out to the American people in an attempt to educate them about how the American government really works. They did a superb job, from detailing George H.W. Bush's involvement in the JFK assassinaiton, Iran-Contra, and CIA drug smuggling to Nixon's hiring of the same CIA thugs for his personal and sinister use. Who would have known? This is a great chronicle of the events leading up to and surrounding all these secret events. The most interesting part is the chapter on Bush. I did not realize he had so many connections to the murder of a president. But now, writing in the year 2008, it looks like such pathological killing runs in the family. America is lost forever.

2 comments about The Trial: The Assassination of President Lincoln and the Trial of the Conspirators.

1. In 1865 President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, this is commonly known by most people. But what is not known is that there were eight others who had a part in the conspiracy to kill the president.

   Unlike the other books I have read on the subject; this one has very little plot, in fact the book spends more time talking about the trial rather than the events leading to the assassination. Rather the author has put together the actual court transcripts of the testimony against each of the conspirators.

   After reading the text, which took about 5 hours, I learned more about those involved and even found out a few new things along the way. I found the discussion about Dr. Mudd so intriguing I spent several hours on the internet reading about him.

   I found the book well documented and researched. The author has certainly seemed to leave no stone unturned. Overall this book is the best overall presentation into the murder and conspiracy I have read so far.

   If you are looking for serious information about the Lincoln Assassination or just wondering what happened than this book is the place to start looking.




2. In this much-needed reprinting of Benn Pitman's transcript of the trial of the "conspirators" to assassinate President Lincoln, a new element has been added in the articles in the front. Although the trial itself remains, unfortunately, unannotated, a variety of top scholars in the field contributed articles on the conspirators and the trial itself which are both helpful & interesting. This is certainly one of the best purchases I have ever made. The list of witnesses that make Pitman the preferred version of the trial, and the charming print style left as-is, make for an enjoyable read or for helpful reference material. However, it should be kept in mind that Pitman's version is an edited copy of the original trial, with the dialogue surrounding each witness reduced to monolouge testimony, and some confusing areas eliminated or altered. Nonetheless, this is a valuable resource.
   
   I would recommend accompanying this book with Carmen Cumming's Devil's Game: The Civil War Intrigues of Charles A. Dunham, which helps the reader understand the confusing testimony of Sanford Conover, the alias of Charles Dunham.

No comments about The Oswald File.

4 comments about Brotherhood Of Murder.

1. This book could be read in conjunction with Kerry Noble's Tabernacle of Hate. It is less of an emotional tale of fall and redemption than Noble's book, but it is gripping nonetheless. Martinez tells in detail how he was slowly drawn into The Order (the most organized and violently active neo-Nazi group in American history) and convinced of the importance of its cause by the now-dead leader, Robert Matthews. The book shows how the Order eventually collapsed in on itself due to treachery within its own ranks. (Like all organized pro-white terroristic groups.) It is a good book for gathering information on how the groups operate, where their thinking (or lack thereof) is headed. It's a good reference for preparing for the coming battle in which the non-Aryans will rise up and exterminate all Neo-Nazis, (the real result of the future racial war that Nazis are dreaming of).



2. Tom Martinez' story is terrifying and uplifting. It's frightening to learn how easy it can be for someone to become a neo-Nazi. It's exalting to see the same person change. Martinez is one of the bravest characters you'll ever meet in the pages of a book, and he's real, not fiction. I bought copies for every teenager I know.



3. One word to describe this book? "Amazing."

   Tom Martinez gives an inside look of the far-right, from his fundraising days with the National Alliance to how he helped the FBI bring down Bob Mathews, leader of the Order.

   Besides learning the inner workings of such organizations, what amazed me about the book is Martinez's personal experiences. For example, his shattering the myth that hate and racism is learned at home. Martinez makes it clear that hate is a form of fear...in his case, his fear of black gang members in his high school led to his support of David Duke and a downward spiral from there. Not once did his parents ever utter a derogatory word about minorities, Martinez says.

   Martinez could have easily written this book in a spiteful manner, blaming his felony conviction for passing bad money on the members of the Order. But he doesn't. Martinez takes full responsibility for his actions and even has compassion for some of the Order members who he brought to justice...even Bob Mathews who was killed in an FBI shootout.

   Unfortunately, I missed the Showtime movie based on this book...but I recently won a copy of it on eBay and cannot wait until it arrives!




4. tom martinez is a joke he snitched on his comrads to keep his ownself out of trouble when he was the one that passed the bill that led them to question him.the accounts that he told in the story does not add up to much.if you want the truth write bruce carrol pierce at the levenworh us prison in kansas or "richard sucitari at the usp in florence co, last i heard richard was still there. the both are very informitve and usualy have kind words to say. i would have rated 0 but there isnt one so 1 is all i could do

1 comments about In the Crosshairs: Famous Assassinations and Attempts From Julius Caesar to John Lennon.

1. I picked this book up a few months ago at a local bookstore for cheap. It's a wonderful little book for anyone that has an interest in assassinations. And not just the big ones like JFK, RFK, Franz Ferdinand, John Lennon, MLK, etc. They seriously have a few pages dedicated on people like Castro, Larry Flynt, Phil Hartman, Rasputin, etc. The book's a little bare-bones on a few stories, but there's enough in there to spark an interest in one and get you researching with other books. If you get the chance, pick this one up.

5 comments about Pictures of the Pain: Photography and the Assassination of President Kennedy.

1. A single good example of Richard B. Trask's "thinking" in this book is his observation that the bunched-up appearance of President Kennedy's jacket in a photograph that Trask is describing allows the single bullet theory to be correct. If this kind of lone nutter sensibility doesn't bother you too much, there are things here to weigh and consider. This book is far superior to the moral imbecility of a Posner, and is worth dipping into now and then.



2. A large, fascinating volume devoted to all those photographers who were snapping away on November 22, 1963. There are several pictures presented here that I'd never seen published anywhere else, particularly some shots taken in Fort Worth of the impromptu gathering outside JFK's hotel on the drizzly Friday morning of November 22nd, and a shot or two snapped from the doorway of Air Force One just upon Mr. Kennedy's arrival at Love Field in Dallas.

   The background stories on the photogs are interesting, as are the individual stories of how each of these cameramen came to be involved in the events of November 1963.

   My only complaint would be that many of the pictures presented in the book are much too small in size, in my opinion. I would have preferred seeing these photos on a much larger, grander scale. However, there are several pictures that are larger, size-wise, as well. But having a magnifying glass handy as you turn these intriguing pages wouldn't be a bad idea at all.

   My (new) copy of "Pictures Of The Pain" arrived nicely wrapped in plastic, much like a sealed shrinkwrapped VHS video or DVD, which was a nice surprise. This method of packaging, unusual in my experience with regards to bound printed matter, ensures (for the most part) a dust-free, pristine copy of the product. Very nice.

   If you *think* you've seen all there was to see regarding the many pictures taken on that terrible day in 1963, you might just be surprised to find a few pics that have eluded your eye in this fine volume by Richard B. Trask.




3. Incredible collection of virtually all the photos taken that weekend. The story of each of the photographers (and Trasks' detailed interviews with a lot of them) make this a volume to refer to for years to come.
   
   
   Ty Newcomb



4. While I thought this fine book was very much worthwhile in many respects, ULTIMATE SACRIFICE is simply the best book ever on the JFK assassination.Still, definitely worth your time. Along with Groden's "The Killing Of A President", perhaps the finest book on the photographic evidence in the JFK case.
   
   Vince Palamara-JFK/ Secret Service expert (History Channel, author of two books, in over 30 other author's books, etc.)
   Pittsburgh, PA
   
   BEST JFK ASSASSINATION BOOK: ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
   BEST JFK SECRET SERVICE BOOK: SURVIVOR'S GUILT BY YOURS TRULY :)



5. If you would like to spend about forty bucks for a book of fuzzy black and white photos about an inch or two square, with zero color photos of any size, then this is your book.

1 comments about Trujillo: The death of the goat.

1. This is a very intense compilation of the facts, and circumstances of one unbelievably cruel dictatorship, and the conditions that helped perpetuate it. As a Dominican born after the Trujillo's Era, I'm very glad and thankful that someone (in this case Mr. Bernard Diederich) having been in such a prominent position (Reporter in the Caribbean during the Trujillo's regime), decided to put together all the information that he had access to. This book is an amazing source of information for those who wonder why such a cruel dictatorship lasted so long, and why so many atrocities went unpunished until after the death of the dictator.

5 comments about The Road to Terror: Stalin and the Self-Destruction of the Bolsheviks, 1932-1939 (Annals of Communism Series).

1. Unlike other mass murderers, the Bolsheviks left a paper trail detailing their horrific criminal deeds. Naturally, dictator Josef Stalin is prominently cited in the formerly top secret transcripts of the Soviet's Central Committee. Others, however, like his nomenklatura henchmen; Lazar Kaganovich, a Jew and rabid Christian hater; Vyacheslav Molotov; Lavrenti Beria; and Genrikh Yagoda, were just as complicit as him. The historian, H. R. Trevor-Roper put it well, "Great massacres may be commanded by tyrants, but they are imposed by people." The authors conservatively estimate that "1.5 million" Communist Party members were killed during the "Great Terror" purges of the 1930s. The majority were shot to death, others died in the GULAG camps, originally established by the fanatical Bolshevik thug, Vladimir I. Lenin. This riveting story opens by telling the sad tale of one Alexander Yulevich Tivel. It is typical of what happened to many of Marxism's true believers. A hack propagandist for Pravda, Tivel was shot as an "enemy of the people" on March 7, 1937, in Moscow, after a perfunctory trial. He was also a Zionist, who had made the fatal mistake of knowing Grigory Zinoviev and Karl Radek. Like Tivel, they were all Jews, who were suspected by the Kremlin elite of plotting with its arch rival, the exiled zealot, Lew Davinovich Bronstein, a/k/a Leon Trotsky. The Tivel drama didn't end there. His wife was sent to Siberia and she wasn't freed until 1953. Their young son was placed in an orphanage for being a "member of the family of a traitor of the Motherland." In this book, too, surprisedly, you will find the modern seeds of the dubious "Hate Crime" concept, championed by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY). Stalin, in a rant about the putative enemies of his Communist hell hole, is quoted in October, 1937, as saying, "Anyone who by his actions and thoughts-yes, his thoughts-encroaches on the unity of the socialist state, we will destroy them and their kin." I'm sure Schumer, a pompous windbag, will deny the alien-based connection to his legislative scheme. This is an authoritative book that exposes the unspeakable crimes of Stalin's Bolshevik gang against its own party faithful. It should be a sobering lesson to anyone who tends to believe in extremist solutions.

   William Hughes, J.D. Baltimore, MD. (Published in the journal of the Social Justice Review, July-August, 2000 issue.)




2. Dr Getty's study of the Terror is among the most groundbreaking and insightful of the last decade. I believe it is the best book on the Terror yet written. What began as a moderate attempt to clean up the Party in 1933 through controled means turned into violent chaos in mid-1937. The Yezhov years are covered deeply with a great reliance on archives avalible. For the first time the documents themselves can be viewed by the reader. Getty clearly defines the periods of the Terror according to their severity. In 1933 people were purged from the Party but it only ment dismissal and a chance for readdmition. In 1936 things began to get bloody but it was still controled by the elites. The explosion of 1937 with the liquidation of top Soviet Marshals signaled the coming of a full blown bloodbath. This period lasted from the last half of 1937 to the first half of 1938. This was largely directed by the NKVD under Yezhov but Getty stresses Yezhov was ordered by Stalin and the Politburo to conduct arrest and executions of party elites in both the Center and provinces along with mass shootings of social marginals. The Terror was horrible yet more conservative numbers of deaths are given. Elites were the primary victims. Getty's statistics appear to be correct. Millions were not executed but social trama of the Terror was horrid. This work shreds Robert Conquest to pieces...



3. before buy it, use amazon.com look inside at In Denial: Historians, Communism, & Espionage - John Earl Haynes; Hardcover



4. This review refers to the hardcover edition of the book. I have always been one of those who prefer primary source material, as opposed to second hand material. Not that the latter is without merit, however, with the primary documents one gets a better look into history. And without a doubt the history of Soviet Russia under Stalin was truly a road to terror. The books material has been culled and translated from primary source documents from the archives of the former Soviet regime. These documents were preserved at three major archives in Moscow, and provide invaluable primary source material for those wishing to delve into the mindset of the criminals whose actions against the Russian people are there for all to see.
   
   The purges by Stalin in the 1930s have been well documented, however, these latest documents add further to those whose research into Stalin's crimes, also implicate many of his cronies, who without their support, Stalin would not have been able to carry out his heinous crimes. The documents in the book are also accompanied by commentary by the authors. I remember talking with Dr. Arch Getty many years ago at UCLA, and was fascinated when he discussed how he had always been more interested in those in lower positions of power who carry out the crimes of their leaders, than by those that are in positions of power. For without the willing executioners, those in power cannot carry out their twisted and appalling crimes.
   
   Dr. Getty's discussion was very enlightening. [As were his seminars and lectures]. The fact that the terror was not planned in the begining, but consisted of haphazard steps until Stalin took charge in 1937, leading to his crushing of ALL resistance in the Communist Party is a very fascinating look into Stalin's reign of terror. And as one of the other reviewers noted, until a diary is discovered with Stalin's own reasons for his actions, we will never know fully why Stalin did what he did. However, these docuements are insightful into the terror of the purges which took place under Stalin in the 1930s, and in a sense act as a sort of diary. The book is highly recommended as a supplement to your history library.



5. 
   I'm probably the only person in continental North America to have not only read this book, but feels it is important to understanding President George W Bush's administration.
   
   Researchers Getty and Naumov have gone through previously closed archives of Soviet documents, and have put together an invaluable survey of the history of the Stalin era purges of the Soviet Communist Party. What is wholly amazing is that the highest levels of the Party, in secret and closed sessions, used EXACTLY the same language denouncing each other as 'Trotskites,' 'Wreckers,' 'Rightwing Opportunists,' et al--the same ridiculous charges applied to the victims of the notorious 'Show Trials.'
   
   The universal use of this language, as pointed out by Getty and Naumov, shows two things. First, the long held belief in the west of a potential 'liberal' opposition to the Stalinist purges (of Kirov, et al) is just wishful thinking: Not only is there NO evidence of any opposition to the idea that the 1930s Soviet Union was a awash in wild conspiracies, even those ACCUSED of being part of the 'conspiracy' agree that the imposible conspiracies existed. And second, as silly as it appears from the viewpoint of 21st century Americans (my viewpoint, because that is who I am), the Soviet leadership GENUINELY believed their own impossible rhetoric.
   
   What does that have to do with President Bush? The old argument of 'no one can be THAT dumb' is not true, because (in the final analysis) they really ARE that dumb. When Alberto Gonzales was FINALLY forced from the office of US Attorney General, after a reign universally condemned as both grossly corrupt and incompetent, George Bush strongly defended his friend, saying a 'good man' had been unfairly hounded from office--------a stance that can only be charitably described as 'delusional,' if only after the fierce hearings with Senators Schumer and Spector.
   
   Or what about the prison camp in Guantanamo, where 774 'enemy combatants' who were the 'worst of the worst' have been housed? These men were supposedly so bad, they could only be flown bound, gagged, blind folded, and ear muffs preventing them from hearing anything. The Bush administration insisted these unrepentant 'terrorists' if given the chance, would chew through wiring in an effort to crash the plane they were on....Seven years later, over 400 havge been released with no charges, and what? TWO have been actually convicted of anything.
   
   And the now infamous 935 'lies' that the Bush administration is to have told, all in an effort to market the invasion of Iraq to the American people. There can be no dispute that evey one of those 935 statements were objectively incorrect. However, was the President 'lying'? Getty and Naumov's exhastive work on the self-delusional nature of Stalin's Soviet Union strongly suggests that the truth behind George W. Bush is even worse than he 'lied.' In the immortal words of Seinfeld's George Costanza: 'It's not a lie, if you believe it.'
   
   America would be a better and stronger nation today, if only George W. Bush was a liar. Unfortunately, the President--along with Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Robert Gates, John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzales, Michael Mukasey THE BEAT GOES ON--are wholly able to go on fooling themselves. Much like Josef Stalin and his apparchnikis, President Bush is on a mission from god (to coin a phrase), where the ends justify the means--and eventually, be it a bastardized version of Marx's motion of history or a twisted neo-Old Testament version of Judeo-Christian spiritualism--everything will come out in the wash...and our eyes will be opened, and we the people will discover they were in fact right all along!
   
   Any day now...Some day....Just you wait....Hold on, it's coming.....