American Conspiracies: Lies, Lies, and More Dirty Lies that the Government Tells Us

This book is a sound sampler of conspiracies most of which relate to our National Security State as established beginning in 1947, with clinching further developments occurring in the 1953-55 period following the profound rearrangement of the CIA under Dulles. Eisenhower was never short on second thoughts, long before his famous Farewell Address.

Jesse Ventura clearly articulates why these events are the epistemological keys to unlocking the myriad closed doors of our current state of may-as-well-be-state-run media driven society, and the garrison state for which it dissembles.

Dick Russell is one of the finest researchers in National Security State history that we have. His The Man Who Knew too Much, is nothing short of an epic tale of Cold War America and beyond. Never have I read a work so meticulously documented in Cold War history that also happens to move more electrically than any work of fiction. TMWKTM is a book that many have misunderstood, wanting instead some sort of reductive naming of trigge-pullers, instead of a structural investigation of what power really meant in Cold War America.

In American Cosnpiracies Russell puts his abudant expereience to good use, winnowing abundant chaff from wheat. The depth and breadth of his more than thirty years scholarship is absolutely necessary given all the disinformation about these topics.

Without any doubt the next book that readers of this book should read, however, is the most important work of Cold War History published in 42 years. That book is JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters by James W. Douss[[ASIN:1570757550 JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters]]
Former CIA agent Ray McGovern mentioned this as the most important new book on the JFK assassination in his absolutely necessary article which was published in December 2009 entitled "Are President's Afraid of the CIA" In that article-- and another which preceded it earlier last December and which is equally must reading-- McGovern described how former President Harry S. Truman was censored by the Washington Post and later cajoled by Warren Commission member Allen Dulles for making writing an incredibly strong editorial condemning the CIA for becoming, in effect, a policy making, rather than a policy implementing organization.

I agree with McGovern that JFK and the Unspeakable is the single most important book on the Assassination by a long shot.

And so does Daniel Ellsberg, of Pentagon Papers Fame. This is what Ellsberg has to say about Douglass book:

Douglass presents, brilliantly, an unfamiliar yet thoroughly convincing account of a series of
creditable decisions of John F. Kennedy-- at odds with his initial Cold War Stance-- that
earned him the secret distrust and hatred of hard-liners among the Joint Chiefs of Staff
and the CIA"

Now Daniel Ellsberg knows a thing or two about the CIA and its very own CIA policies in Vietnam. With a recommendation like that from someone of his vast importance in our entire Cold War historiography, it is fair to ask why has this book not received a single review in the Corporate Media.

It has also received rave reviews from the likes of former top aid to McGeorge Bundy in the JFK White House Macus Raskin, Princeton University professor Richard Falk and numerous other academics. But not a review anywhere in the corporate press.

Could it be related to the fact that JFK and the Unspeakable places primary responsibility on the CIA?

The scholarship in Unspeakable is unassailable and nimble. Each chapter has between six hundred and over nine-hundred footnotes. That's right I said each chapter. These footnotes are from top academic sources.

So much work has been done by subsidized disinformation writers to dig a moat around the JFK Assassination in order to trivialize it and cut it off from the threads of Cold War history that run through it in myriad ways. This book bridges that moat. Most left readers of hired JFK bashers such as Noam Chomsky will be very very surprised at what the latest academic histories are saying re: the question of whether JFK was getting out of Vietnam:Yes. I am a person on the left, and I am so often amazed at how little those on the left actually know about US foreign policy of1960-63 period. FOr them there is no JCS and CIA. Its just the President and his little handmaids. Funny how Newsweek and Chomsky seem to agree on only two things, and they are the very things that could win the largest audiences: JFK and 9/11. Sad how virtually all of the scholarship from the best academic history publishers in America such as Harvard and the University of California Press all contradict the Chomsky-Newseek view, but are little known because they pass unreviewed into the blind night of press-pooled America.

JFK and the Unspeakable is the single most important book of Cold War history since the publication of Gabriel Kolko's groundbreaking reinterpretation, The Politics of War, was published in 1968. There is no more important book on earth for the future of the United States than this one.

American Conspiracies shows the benefit of Dick Russell's years of experience and his ability to see beyond the superficial who dunnit to the much more important why done it. This book helps us build a bridge from the spineless media of today back to reality, as in 1975, when The NYT almost every day featured front page revelations on the CIA that today would only be ridiculed by the likes of Olbermann and his completely discredited buddy, who was the author of a book called Case Closed a while back. Today no scholars go near that book with a ten foot pole. Is there a quid pro quo going on in American "liberal" journalism.

If one researches the history of Encounter Magazine, the CIA fake-left disinformation magazine from the Cold War years, this suggestion might not seem so outlandish. The history of Encounter-- as is discussed in such excellent books as The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World Of Arts and Letters by Frances Saunders and The Mighty Wurlitzer (See my review on Amazon) show that often these so called left-shows can paradoxically serve rightist ends because they reinforce common assumptions with the legitimizing stamp of "reason". Often, one learns, a more honest stamp would read "Timorous Conformity."

I really enjoyed the Jesse Ventura's conspiracy tv program and simply couldnt get enough. My wife bought the book American Conspiracies for me today and I cannot put the book down. The book has many other topics beyond the tv show such as the jfk and rfk conspiracies and quite a bit more.

Excellent research, everything said, is documented. This man wrote nothing from " the top of his head " he did painstaking homework, before he sat down to actually write this book.
I mentioned his name and book to a friend who remarked:" This guy has no credibilty at all..." I told her I begged to differ.
This man has shown more courage and brains, than just about anyone I can think of. ^ 5 Jesse !
A disturbing read, if one was naive before, and uninformed.
Awesome, read.. painstakingly detailed, not an " easy" read !

This book is best read with an open mind while temporarily suspending one's disbelief.

This book can be too easily dismissed by those who fear truth.

"Waking up" to what's going on in the world is a process.

Why" Because the most difficult loss of all is the loss of illusion.

Better, though, that we face the facts than cover our eyes like children then say "It's dark in here."

The world owes a huge debt of gratitude to JV for standing up for truth and speaking it loudly and persistently.

Don't just take Ventura's word on any of this, do your own research. I didn't find any inaccurate statements or exaggerations in the book.
It's a quick read and well worth the price. American's need to stop fighting each other and start demanding answers and accountability from the government.

I think this book is very interesting with some great theories and facts. However, I wasn't 100% convinced on some of the chapters and points of view; especially the hypnosis theories, it just seemed a little out there, not to say it wasn't possible but it seemed like a stretch. I do beleive that there was some form of conspiracy in each of the situations, but Jesse MAY be off or wrong with some of his theories. I was convinced on some of his thories, but not all. Also, some of the stuff he mentions is common knowledge and not a lie or a secret. None the less, his perspective and theories are interesting, and I give him a lot of credit for expressing his point of view.

An earlier review said this book does not list malefactor's names. Not true. The book does list names but to learn them you have to read the 14 Chapters not just the summaries at the end of each chapter.

I gave the book three stars because the conspiracies it deals with are all well known and there is nothing new here. To its credit the book contains suggested further readings that though modest in number are up-to-date as of the time this book was published. The detail is in the suggested readings.

I admit it; I am a card-carrying conspiracist. I have encountered in various books over at least the last two decades virtually all of the material that Ventura examines in this book and all that he has written makes perfect sense to me. I admit again though, not hearing about the Manchurian Candidate theory about the assassination of Robert Kennedy and that other hugely weird event at Jonestown. The idea that joins all of these events is the simple idea that they seem so reasonable to me; that must be why I believe in conspiracies to begin with because all of these assassinations fall into the basket of ideas that say, "These so called conspiracies are simply what would happen given the amount of money floating around and given rich, powerful people who accept the premise that the end justifies the means". Once you have a believable reason for somebody doing something then it easily follows that people will act on their belief. I think Ventura does just that admirably in his dissection of the various acts in this book. Chapter 13, The Wall Street Conspiracy, is (for a non-intellectual like myself) numbingly complicated but again perfectly sensible given the extreme amounts of money involved and the strength of the American Dream whereby anybody can be more well-off than they've ever dreamed (another conspiracy-convince the population that they can strive to have it all).

Ventura explains, even complex economic issues like the Meltdown, extremely well by giving the reader much information surrounding the particular event, enough information to, at least to me, see the logic of his thesis. I repeat, I was struck by his presentation because he explained events,that lesser thinkers deride as silliness, in terms that seem so logical. Hugely evil events that, when taken in the context of the perpetrators, seem perfectly logical. They are certainly not numbingly far-fetched like many of the naysayers would have us believe.

So many pieces of the American historical puzzle fit into place perfectly after reading American Conspiracies; it is a book that draws back the establishment's curtain regarding how the American world is run in today's century and by comparison, the rest of the contemporary world.

This is ridiculous, how can any objective person reading this book not like what Governor Ventura compiled? This book is filled to the brim with government documents that are for the most part of curiosity for any living American. Remember Ventura was the Governor of Minnesota, despite his past of wrestling fame. Ventura was also a Navy Seal and served this country. So where do all these one star people come from, perhaps decoys, or trolls?

This isn't Governor Ventura's thesis on American corruption; this is merely a collection of documents that suggest a darker side to America the beautiful. Documents like Operation Northwoods isn't an opinion, it's a fact! Did the American government want to stage and provoke the invasion of Cuba through false attacks and sabotage? Yes.

Is Gorvernor Ventura making up the Tuskegee syphilis study up? Read it for yourself. The problem is most will not read the documents in this book or simply chose to ignore them.

The failed Bay-of-Pigs were CIA agents trained a number of Cuban defectors lead to Operation Northwoods. You see history is funny that it repeats itself. Today we have the CIA training rebels in Libya in what seems like the Bay-of-Pig part 2. The question is what other secret operations will the U.S. concoct in order to outst Libyian leader Gaddafi? But I digress.

The point of reading the documents Governor Ventura provides will only help you in understanding what's going on today.

Bring back Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura!

I just finished reading this book and I believe Mr. Ventura has made some excellent points in some of the chapters however in others he tends to blame the Bush administration for all the wrongs in government but greatly minimizes the wrongs of the Obama administration that is continuing the wrongs of the Bush administration. Quickly, I found chapters 1-10 quite interesting especially his points concerning the Kennedy assasination and the victimization of Nixon but after that chapters 11-14 are spent demonizing the Bush administrations without any criticism of the Obama administration for continuing these wrongs, for instance, the Patriot Act, and all the executive orders putting into place the potential for martial law. Why doesn't Ventura attack Obama for continuing this policy? Why doesn't he attack Obama for continuing the wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and, potentially Yemen. As a matter of fact Ventura in his introduction stated he refuses to address the conspiracy theory of Obama's elegibility to serve as president. He says he won't touch the issue. There is plenty of evidence out there to raise questions of Obama being a natural born citizen. Why doesn't Ventura want the truth revealed on this issue? Ventura seems to approve Obama health care yet he doesn't see that it is really not a program of health but a program of control. Ventura is against microchipping but this is what obama health care will eventually do. He is too light on Obama and too strong against Bush which make the book appear to me that he does have a bias in favor of Obama in a general sense. Finally, I was strongly offended by Ventura's innuendo in chapter 8 concerning the Jonestown Massacre brainwashing cult as being the same as Christ being the founder of Christianity. Christ did not begin a brainwashing cult. This appears to be anti Christian in my eyes. All in all, Ventura appears to want truth for some issues but clearly shows bias in others. He appears in part, to only be interested in part truth not complete truth.