Subjects:  1. Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations    2. General Organizations    3. History    4. History: World    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Secret societies    7. Social History    8. World - General    9. World History    10. History / General   

Reviews (2)

Classic History
Francis Parkman was an eccentric Harvard graduate whose life work was the struggle of the British and French for North America (although he is better known to the general reader for
The "Original" American West - in Two Volumes
This volume is a reader's delight, for it presents not one but two of Francis Parkman's classic works: The Oregon Trail and The Conspiracy of Pontiac.Rightly hailed as America's greatest historian, in The Oregon Trail Francis Parkman relates a journey to the 1840's American West - undertaken for the express purpose of living among "real"American Indian tribes of the Great Plains before their way of life passedforever.By this experience Parkman hoped to better understand and relate what eastern tribes had so tragically fought for and lost in the precedingcentury's struggle for the continent.The Oregon Trail is a great book inits own right, and has been reviewed by this reader previously (see more in"About Me/Other Reviews"), but the primary focus of this review is Parkman's study of a crucial chapter in the development of North Americaas we know it today: the disastrous consequences France's defeat in Canada would bring to the remaining eastern tribes.For this event would inexorably lead to the explosion of the English colonies across lands heretofore held by them under French "dominion".
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Subjects:  1. Description and travel    2. Frontier and pioneer life    3. History - U.S.    4. History: American    5. Indians of North America    6. Oregon National Historic Trail    7. Pontiac's Conspiracy, 1763-1765    8. U.S. Local History - Western United States    9. United States - 19th Century/Old West    10. United States - Colonial Period    11. West (U.S.)    12. History / United States / General    13. Local history    14. USA   

Editorial Review

Fearless investigative journalists Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber (Read more

Reviews (36)

Take critical thinking one step further...
...and use the techniques in this book on the book itself.Sadly, a book with so much promise falls victim to its own PR machine all too often.Face it, if you're going to use critical thinking, use it consistently.If you use it against what you don't like, but cast a blind eye on things you are passionate about, how critical is that, really?

Beware of "Experts" -- Follow the Money!
John Stauber tells it like it is, and I wish this book were a bestseller. Readers who can accept these truths may also want to read a highly detailed yet fascinating expose of a huge and profitable industry that has been manipulating science and gambling with your health -- "The Whole Soy Story:The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food" by Kaayla Daniel, The fact that you are probably thinking, "No, we all know that soy is healthy for us" is proof of how thoroughly you've been conned. I was too, but no longer. "Fluoride Deception" by Christopher Bryson is another good one.Thanks to John Stauber, I'm wary of experts and now know enough to follow the money.

The good and the not-so-good
Stauber and Rampton have written an expose of the PR arm of corporate America that on the whole is valuable. After reading this book, you will never look at an "expert" defending a product in quite the same way again. The best service this book provides is to enlighten the reader to techniques used by the PR industry to sway public opinion.
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Subjects:  1. Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations    2. Corporations    3. Corrupt practices    4. Current Affairs    5. Government - U.S. Government    6. Industrial publicity    7. Political    8. Political Process - General    9. Politics / Current Events    10. Politics/International Relations    11. Public relations    12. Public relations consultants    13. United States    14. Business & Economics / Business Ethics    15. Business ethics   

Reviews (10)

Required Reading!
I've read the complete series. The "Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys" series is REQUIRED reading for all parents of African-American children. The information contained within this series is priceless. I was especially impressed when Dr. Kunjufu talked about parents who need advocates to help them navigate through public school systems, as they relate to SPECIAL EDUCATION and their children! Parents, arm yourselves. Buy the entire series. Read the entire series. And, be enlightened by this highly annointed and practical body of work!

An Honest No Punches Pulled Assessment ...
Dr Kunjufu is one of the few public voices speaking reasonably and honestly regarding the Mis-Education of the American black male child as a result of the inadequacies of the American Public Education system.The current system has been carelessly designed, poorly assessed, and inadequadetly held to account.The best possible education seems no longer to be the goal of the sytem; and creativity, flexibility and passion on the part of those that administrate and guide it is woefully missing.My apologies to those few caring souls (teachers and administrators) who are struggling against the very system in which they work, in order to make a tremendous difference in the lives of our American children; my prayers are with you and I exhort you to continue the battle, though frustrating it may be!We must heed the words of Dr Kunjufu and bring ethnic and gender sensitivity to the science of teaching and relevant practices that maximize overall learning.We must work to bring more well qualified African American males into the profession of teaching, and draw them into the inner city schools, compensate them well, encourage and uphold them, recognize and empower them.We should once again look seriously at single gender schools, or at least single gender programming within schools.It makes sense and it improves school performance.Thanks Dr Kunjufu for all your tremendous works!

That's what I have been Preaching!!!!
Countering the Conspiracy...Is a book we all need to church our children with.It's educational for the children who are having children and "we" need to get back to the concept, "It takes a village to raise a child"This book...What can I say, we need more on the shelf like this, (It has a message).
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Subjects:  1. Black American Sociology    2. Ethnic Issues    3. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    4. Social Psychology    5. Social Science    6. Sociology    7. Black studies    8. Children    9. North America    10. Social Science / African-American Studies    11. USA   

Editorial Review

The most facile presidential comparison one could make for George W. Bush would be his father, who presided over a war in Iraq and a struggling economy. Some "neocons" reject the parallel and compare Bush to his father's predecessor, Ronald Reagan, citing a plainspoken quality and a belief in deep tax cuts. But John Dean goes further back, seeing in Bush all the secrecy and scandal of Dean's former boss, the notorious Richard Nixon. The difference, as the title of Dean's book indicates, is that Bush is a heck of a lot worse. While the book provides insightful snippets of the way Nixon used to do business, it offers them to shed light on the practices of Bush. In Dean's estimation, the secrecy with which Bush and Dick Cheney govern is not merely a preferred system of management but an obsessive strategy meant to conceal a deeply troubling agenda of corporate favoritism and a dramatic growth in unchecked power for the executive branch that put at risk the lives of American citizens, civil liberties, and the Constitution. Dean sets out to make his point by drawing attention to several areas about which Bush and Cheney have been tight-lipped: the revealing by a "senior White House official" of the identity of an undercover CIA operative whose husband questioned the administration, the health of Cheney, the identity of Cheney's energy task force, the information requested by the bi-partisan 9/11 commission, Bush's business dealings early in his career, the creation of a "shadow government", wartime prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, and scores more. He theorizes that the truth about these and many other situations, including the decision to go to war in Iraq, will eventually surface and that Bush and Cheney's secrecy is a thus far effective means of keep a lid on a rapidly multiplying set of lies and scandals that far outstrip the misdeeds that led directly to Dean's former employer resigning in disgrace. Dean's charges are impassioned and more severe than many of Bush's most persistent critics. But those charges are realized only after careful reasoning and steady logic by a man who knows his way around scandal and corruption. Read more

Reviews (192)

Worse Than Buchanan: Bush's Rise to the top spot as our nation's worst president
Dean did a fantastic job footnoting his evidence, data and sources; he gives the reader ample information if they want to explore this information further (or make a vain attempt to refute it).
Bush Bash du jour (2004 elections) acceleratedly crumbles in 2006
Look, this is just another Bush Bash of the day. John simply pulls his topics from the most prevalent headlines of the time heand proceeds to rant on them with little reliable reference. As we distance ourselves from 2004 with the passage of time, his arguments break down further and further. The key arguments regarding the subject of "secrecy" are more like the end of a Jenga game than the beginning, with the "leaker" of Plame's name out (Richard Armitage) vindicating the administration, neither the Butler or Senate Intelligence Committee Reports refuting the "16 words", and the deficit falling and tax revenue climbing. Time has already rendered this book unreliable and discredited.
Why are the Democrats and the press so quiet?
This book should be required reading for all Americans.I do not understand why this Bush and Cheney are still in power. Based on "W's" falling approval ratings, Americans seem to be waking up, but we need to "throw the scoundrels out."
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Subjects:  1. Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations    2. Deception    3. Government - General    4. Government - U.S. Government    5. National security    6. Official secrets    7. Political    8. Political Freedom & Security - Terrorism    9. Political Science    10. Political aspects    11. Politics / Current Events    12. Politics/International Relations    13. United States    14. Current Events / Political   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (10)

Search for Scapegoats
Jill Lepore's "New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan" is a valuable and admirable examination of one of the darkest episodes in New York's history: the so-called slave rebellion of 1741 and the brutal vengeance that was extracted. Professor Lepore's painstaking research confronts the reader with a terrible conclusion: even the most respectable of people in society will consent to the deaths of human beings, based on even the tiniest shreds of evidence.
An 18th century conspiracy by slaves to destroy New York City
Jill Lepore's New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery And Conspiracy In 18th Century Manhattan receives a vivid reading by Beth McDonald and tells of an 18th century conspiracy by slaves to destroy New York City: a history nearly forgotten were it not for this vivid story. Audio brings the story to life in a way the written word is hard-pressed to compete with as it recreates events and rationale.

A Forgotten Example of the Past Ubiquity and Unfairness of Slavery
During the American Revolution, Samuel Johnson, who was unfailingly able to spot paradoxes and express them forcefully, asked, "How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes?"It took almost a hundred more years for the paradoxes of slavery to be abandoned in America, but it had been business as usual in America for centuries.The New York of the mid-eighteenth century was dependent on slave labor, as was everywhere in the New World.There were New Yorkers even then who worried that slavery was wrong, but there were others who worried that the slaves were going to rise up in insurrection, as they had in the South and in the Caribbean.Thus, when there was a rash of fires in New York in 1741, it was easy to suspect a conspiracy conducted by black slaves.In _New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan_ (Knopf), historian Jill Lepore has focused on a forgotten and shameful episode in American history.There are few documents surviving from the incident, and many of those that Lepore has been able to consult were written by authors that were justifying themselves in the events.The account compiled here, however, is convincing and is as close to historical truth about the incident as we are likely to get.What's more, it is a vivid picture of Manhattan life two and a half centuries ago.
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Subjects:  1. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - Histor    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History - U.S.    5. History: American    6. New York - Local History    7. Slavery    8. United States - Colonial Period    9. United States - State & Local - Middle Atlantic    10. History / United States / Colonial Period (1600-1775)   

Reviews (6)

Good Take on Enduring Issue
I got this book with several other similar books, doing some research for one of my clients. For me, it's the best overview of conspiracy theories and why they're so compelling to people. The psychological question of why these stories are so meaningful to some people is the most interesting question.

Excellent conspiracy genre
This book covers most of the conspiracy theories popular in the United States.It is a good contributing text to political science courses, and a great volume for those who wish answers about their government's activities.Don't look for answers in this book; it is a book that evokes questions only the reader can answer.

The Why behind conspiracy theories and buying this book...
This book challenges and takes the reader to the next level by asking WHY! Why do conspiracy theories exist in American society and culture?
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Subjects:  1. Conspiracies    2. Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations    3. Criminology    4. Political History    5. Politics / Current Events    6. Social Science    7. Sociology    8. United States    9. United States - General    10. Controversial Knowledge & Mysteries   

Reviews (84)

Unraveling The Web: A Journalistic Investigation That Brought Down A President
In 1972 the Democratic National Committee Headquarters was located in offices on the sixth floor of 2600 Virginia Avenue NW in Washington D.C.The building itself was part of a complex of hotel and office space and named for its location on the bank of the Chesapeak and Ohio canal: Watergate.On the night of 17 June 1972, five men were arrested for breaking into DNC offices, apparently to repair illegal wiretaps that had been installed on a previous occasion.Republican leadershipdisavowed any knowledge of the wiretap, ascribing it to excessive zeal on the part of marginal party members.And that might have very well been that--except that several reporters employed by The Washington Post found the entire escapade unexpectedly bizarre.Surely, they thought, there's a bit more to it than that.
A Tale of Two Journalists
It is hardly necessary for me to review All the President's Men by Bernstein & Woodward -- or "Woodstein" as they were collectively named by their editors. I think the book has already shown that it stands the test of time, and the gist of the story and the roles of the two authors in bringing about President Nixon's resignation are well known as history. Having seen and enjoyed the movie of the same title, I took the opportunity of the 30th year anniversary of the publication of All the President's Men to take up the topic afresh. I can whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone who still believes that their government is always acting in the interests of its constituents.
Required Reading
This book and the newspaper reports it descibes literly changed my life.It also changed fhe view of all thinking Americans ofthe presidency and the press. We need a similar team today. Should be required reading in our schools. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1944-    2. Bernstein, Carl,    3. Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations    4. History - U.S.    5. History: American    6. Political History    7. United States - 20th Century (1945 to 2000)    8. Watergate Affair, 1972-1974    9. Central government    10. History / General    11. USA   

Reviews (1)

5 stars from Germany: the most interesting and sophisticated book on 9/11
This book was a direct hit in Germany that sold 100,000 copies. Here are translations of a couple customer reviews from Amazon.de
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Subjects:  1. Political    2. Political Ideologies - General    3. Political Science    4. Politics/International Relations   

Reviews (26)

Beware, downtrodden masses
This is obviously part of the massive Opus Dei conspiracy to take over the antichrist with the number of the beast using the illuminati's star weapon from atlantis. The abominable snowman has access to this weapon and we must find and protect him from the illuminati before it's too late and the day of the latter day saints is upon us. BEWARE THE FREE MASONS. THIS BOOK WAS WRITTEN BY THEM IN AN ATTEMPT TO ROOT OUT THOSE WHO ARE THE HIDDEN WARRIORS OF THE LIGHT, THE TRUE MEMBERS OF THE AQUARIUS ANTI-CONSPIRACY. THEY ARE TAKING YOUR IP'S AS WE SPEAK AND ARE GOING TO HUNT YOU DOWN AND CAPTURE YOU FOR INTERROGATION. WE MUST FLEE MY ELITE-INTELLECTUAL BRETHREN AND ESCAPE THE GRASP OF THE ILLUMINATI, WHO HAVE CENTERED THEIR EMPIRE AS SHAREHOLDERS OF PEPSICO AND PROCTER & GAMBLE. AND WATCH OUT FOR PRESIDENT BUSH TOO.
Informative and exposes the Illuminati
My whole life I have dealt with wanting the truth. Yes this book does expose ideas and beliefs of the Illuminati. Actually to the reader who says this is a pitch for 7th day adventist let me remind you thee are freemasons and illuminized freemasons in the 7th day adventist church. There are 2 or 3 people that will try to talk negative about books like this because they are BLIND and IGNORANT and they don't want to believe that this is actually happening and also because it is an attempt to give them a clear conscience. But I can tell you that the satanism/luciferianism is VERY much real and to those that do NOT know this and understand this, they should talk to Alex Jones for example of www.infowars.com who actually has the crust of what books like this talk about. Sure it is hard to fully expose and birn these kinds of sick and evil people to the forefront because they are the power elite of the world. But that does not mean we cannot protect ourselves and help others by knowing. Also the number 666 IS the mark of the beast and of satan/lucifer. To the person who said otherwise believes too much in occult teaching and half-baked history books. Most of what schools are teaching now is NOT the whole truth and usually not much of anything that is valuable to people. This is what is called "dumbing down of the educational system"! The Illuminati and those connected to them do NOT want us to expose them or know about them. They want us to be controlled. Look around you. If you want to continue to be like a few of these others who are so ignorant that they think they know it all, then they are already deceived and so are you. You can reach me at erniemusic2@yahoo.com anytime.

Terrific Book!
It explains the history of communism and so much more. Book One was much more biblical but this is more historical and speaks the language of regular people. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Conspiracies    2. Illuminati    3. Miscellanea    4. Occult Sciences    5. Occultism    6. Religion   

Reviews (2)

Baudrillard vs. Art = entertaining and informative
This is a fascinating collection of some of Baudrillard's most polemical writings on art. He freely admits in one of the interviews within that he is, by no means, an art expert. He doesn't appreciate it and he doesn't necessarily *like* it. He does respect traditional/classical art's beauty and importance. This positions him in an excellent place to offer remarkably disinterested observations. He's not partial to any one movement, any one school, or any one artist (with the possible exception of Andy Warhol) and he pulls no punches in his critique of the meaninglessness of contemporary art.
Baudrillard sees the Emperor naked again
Contemporary "art" endlessing pleasing itself with how "clever" it is - how "important" it is - how "valuable" it is. Baudrillard sees through it all and offers some great critiques. Again, to some he may seem the seer of the obvious but others put up great resistance to his ideas because it destroys their privileged, little cozy world. The film Zoolander does much the same thing with its hilarious send-up of the "fashion" world - the "Derelique" campaign, turning the "look" of homeless people into the latest haute-couture. The fashion world is a conspiracy and so is the contemporary art world. The commodification of the banal - the banal world turned into "brilliant" concepts by art stuporstars. I think Baudrillard would agree with Hansel in Zoolander when he says: "Derelique" my balls. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Politics    3. Art and society    4. Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations    5. Criticism    6. Moral and ethical aspects    7. Politics / Current Events    8. Propaganda in art    9. Art / Art & Politics    10. Theory of art   

Editorial Review

David Brock made his name (and big money) by trashing Anita Hill as "alittle bit nutty and a little bit slutty." But it was Brock's reporting that wasnutty and slutty, he confesses in the riveting memoir Read more

Reviews (352)

pseudo-conservatives
In his 1950 study of the authoritarian personality, Theodor Adorno constructed a political-psychological profile of people he called "pseudo-conservatives." These were people who called themselves conservatives but in truth adhered to political agendas that betrayed the ideals of individual freedom and free markets. Pseudo-conservatives were motivated by hate, fear, and power, not the desire to conserve or guarantee liberty. A few years later, the eminent historian Richard Hofstadter appropriated Adorno's term in describing what he called "the paranoid style in American politics."In Adorno and Hofstadter's day, this paranoid style of pseudo-conservativism was still in its embryonic state, personified by the rantings of Joseph McCarthy but still far from being the game plan for the Republican Party as a whole. David Brock's Blinded by the Right chronicles how this movement slithered its way into power long before anyone had heard of Karl Rove, whose name isn't even listed in the index.
Interesting mea culpa
After hearing about this book a great deal from many people, I finally had to give it a read.What I got was a mostly well written account about how Brock gave the neo-con movement exactly what they wanted in terms of what can only be called propaganda.Brock does a good job in exposing the oft-ridiculed "vast right-wing conspiracy".
There is a constitutional right to hate
This book is a terrible exposure of the powers behind the (extreme) right in the US, of their methods, of their foot-folk and their `morals'. Read more

Subjects:  1. 1946-    2. 1962-    3. 20th century    4. Adversaries    5. Biography    6. Biography & Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Brock, David,    9. Clinton, Bill,    10. Conservatism    11. Conspiracies    12. Government - U.S. Government    13. History    14. History & Theory - General    15. Journalists    16. Political    17. Politics / Current Events    18. United States    19. United States - 20th Century (1945 to 2000)    20. Biography & Autobiography / Political    21. Biography: general    22. Biography: political    23. Political leaders & leadership   

Editorial Review

Look out Robert Anton Wilson! Either David Icke is competing for the "Paranoid of the Decade" award or he knows something the rest of us don't. Icke reveals a sinister web connecting everything from the British royal family to major oil companies, to 33 of the last 40 U.S. presidents, in a global conspiracy masterminded by an interstellar brotherhood vying for planetary control through the manipulation of humanity's very way of life. Icke digs into every facet of contemporary society to expose the invisible horror lurking beneath the calm veneer of everyday life. In the process he gets downright offensive, knocking everything from Judaism to the Denver airport. Even if you can't swallow Icke's distasteful revelations or follow every step of his labyrinthine conspiracy theories, Read more

Reviews (184)

a smorgosbord of conspiracy theories
When I first read this book, I thought it was a hoax. Later, I realized that it was seriously meant. Since the book is completely insane, I find it hard to say anything objective about it. Yet, I will give it my best shot.
Invasion of the Lizard Men!
And its not even fiction!Ed Wood might have made a god-awful cult favorite movie out of this.And to think people realy buy it!At least, I got my copy at the library.And no, I did not read all this money-grubbing idiots' drivel.

Icke was right! Now in CNN News they are introducing microchip implants!
I thought it was all a hoax until recently CNN and the news introduced to the world the Verichip, a microchip that is implanted in people. One expert says subliminal messages can even be sent to the person via such technology.
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Subjects:  1. Conspiracies    2. Controversial Knowledge    3. General    4. International economic relations    5. International organization    6. Miscellanea    7. New Age    8. New Age / Body, Mind & Spirit    9. Political Freedom & Security - International Secur    10. Political Science    11. Unexplained Phenomena    12. Mind, body, spirit: disciplines & techniques    13. Political science & theory   

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Central Intelligence Agency    3. Conspiracies    4. Conspiracy & Scandal Investigations    5. History    6. History & Theory - General    7. History: American    8. Murder - General    9. Organized crime    10. Presidents & Heads of State    11. True Crime / Espionage    12. United States    13. United States - 20th Century    14. United States - 20th Century/60s    15. United States.    16. American history: postwar, from c 1945 -    17. Biography: historical    18. Biography: political    19. Controversial Knowledge & Mysteries    20. Crime & criminology    21. USA   

Reviews (8)

Great tract on Roman morals just before the fall of the Republic
The two tales in this were hugely influential historical essays more or less up to the early 20C; they served as models of moralistic writing as well as clear exposition in Latin. I remember studying both the content and writing style while (inexplicably) attempting to master Latin in college.
Sallust's works
Sallust was adept in the writing of history as these works attest.A reason not to read this work is if you are able to read it in the original Latin.A good primary source for those interested in this period of the Republic.
The more things change.........
The more things change, the more they stay the same.With Enron,Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - Rome    2. History - General History    3. Ancient Rome    4. European history: BCE to c 500 CE    5. History / Military / General    6. Other prose: classical, early & medieval   

Reviews (97)

LAMAR WALDRON'S ULTIMATE SACRIFICE REVIEWED BY JOHN CHUCKMAN