Category: American History

The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles and Their Secret World War- Stephen Kinzer

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the_brothersOn July 26, 1947, President Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act, establish a new intelligence agency to gather information deemed critical to the protection of the United States from foreign threats.  The new agency is known as the Central Intelligence Agency and its initial members are former members of the Office of Strategic Services which had been discontinued following the allied Victory in World War II.   As the Cold War heated up with the Soviet Union and new leaders came to light in several continents, the members of the new agency felt a surging sense to act preemptively to what was perceived to be direct threats to the safety and stability of the western hemisphere.  Among the large number of those afraid of Communist infiltration and the end of U.S. business interest were two brothers who controlled an overwhelming majority of power over U.S. foreign policy whose names today are largely unknown to the younger generation.  John Foster and Allen Welsh Dulles, the former Secretary of State and Director of the C.I.A., remain controversial and pivotal figures in 20th century American history.  In this expose about their time in high posts within the U.S. government, author Stephen Kinzer reveals the dark side of the U.S. government as two brothers used the White House, military and Central Intelligence Agency to advance their financial agenda across several continents resulting in the overthrow of governments, assassination of foreign leaders and financial exploitation of smaller nations caught in the grip of U.S. occupation.

Many years have passed since the Dulles brothers controlled the foreign policy of the U.S. government but the effects of their policies were felt and are being felt even today.   Following World War II, many nations began to seek a different course after witnessing and in other cases, learning of the atrocities in Nazi controlled Germany and in parts of China occupied by the Japanese Army.   The Soviet Union, seeking to expand its influence and domain, began to offer to support smaller nations looking to break the shackles of colonialism and implement an independent government. This new form of free thought combined with the looming threat to business interest and monetary gains would result in some of the darkest moments in the history of U.S. foreign policy.  Some of these actions would forever tarnish the reputation of the C.I.A. and even today in 2016, more information once classified is coming to light revealing the true nature of business of the once mysterious agency.

One month after the assassination of John. F. Kennedy, former president Harry S. Truman penned an article including a strong advisory that the nation needed to watch the actions of the C.I.A.  Since its inception, the agency had grown to become a government in itself and as Stephen Kinzer shows, the collaboration between two brothers in positions of power, had deadly implication for those determined to be enemies of the United States. Patrice Lumumba, Mohammed Mossadegh,  Jacobo Arbenz and Fidel Castro are only a few of the many figures that became targets of the Dulles’ vengeance.   Kinzer’s research brings the past alive and takes us right into the lion’s den to bear witness to the process in which the plots unfolded and the course of history was change.  And similarly as author David Talbot also points out in ‘The Devil’s Chessboard‘, the agency at its height, was unstoppable committing illegal and treasonous acts.  The programs known as Operation Paperclip, Operation Sunrise, MK Ultra and ZR/Rifle have opened the public’s eyes to the deadly and mind-boggling programs initiated by the agency in under the tutelage of Allen Dulles himself as both an operative of the C.I.A. and as its director.  And many of these actions came with the blessing and encouragement from Foster as Secretary of State to President Eisenhower.

Today, the Dulles’ brothers are nothing more than relics of history to most. Foster died on May 24, 1959 and Allen on January 29, 1969.  And aside from Washington Dulles International Airport,  their names have been forgotten by most.  But as Stephen Kinzer reminds us in this excellent inside look into their lives and actions, there was a time in United States history when the two of them controlled U.S. foreign policy and waged their own secret world war.

“Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan” President John F. Kennedy, April, 1961

ISBN-10: 1250053129
ISBN-13: 978-1250053121

Blood On The Moon: The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln-Edward Steers, Jr.

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20180602_234541On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth changed the course of United History.  The murder of Abraham Lincoln marked the first time a sitting U.S. President had been slain by an assassin.  Tragically, Lincoln would not be the last to be assassinated.  John F. Kennedy would meet his tragic fate on the streets of Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.   Lincoln’s murder has become fodder for conspiracy theorist intent on proving that a web of deceit surrounded Lincoln paving the way for the tyrannical Booth to execute his plan.  But just how much of a conspiracy was there? And did it involve members of the Confederacy?  Was Edward Stanton complicit in pulling back Lincoln’s security detail?  And was Mary Surratt rightfully convicted? Edward Steers, through painstaking research answers those questions and more in what is the definitive examination of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

By all accounts, the general consensus is that John Wilkes Booth committed the murder and then jumped to the stage breaking a bone in his left leg in the process.  His declaration of “Sic semper tyrannis” remains some of the most remembered and chilling words ever recorded in American history.  Nearly two weeks later he was shot and killed by Sgt. Boston Corbett in a barn at the Garrett farmhouse.  Nearly four years would pass before Booth’s body was returned to his family for internment at Green Mount Cemetery Baltimore, MD, where it continues to rest today.  But with any famous murder, rumors, suspicion and misinformation arise leading to false conclusions and even more unanswered questions.  Drawing on statements by those with first hand knowledge of the crime as a witness or subsequent participant and government documents, Steers has masterfully reconstructed the events leading up to the murder, the night itself and the aftermath that followed.  And what is revealed, may change the way you look at an event that had a profound impact on a nation and helped shape the modern-day United States.

The facts of the murder and grisly details are scenery for those seeking gory bits of information.  But the key to viewing Lincoln’s murder lies in the reasons behind the venom that consumed Booth and his conspirators.  The Civil War in all of its ugliness, serves a predicate for the murder and in this book we are shown the treasonous acts carried out by members of the Confederacy as the Union neared closer to forcing it into submission.  Lincoln, the Republican star,is seen by many in the south as a deadly threat to the system of slave labor.  He forever changed the course of America with the emancipation of slaves, striking a severe blow to the southern way of life.  However, sympathetic supporters could be found throughout the country even in the north and it is among these groups of individuals that Booth is able to form his nexus of assassins.  And had the full plan been carried out, perhaps Steers would have been forced to write even more about the events of that night.

Many years have passed since Abraham Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth took their last breaths.  Their secrets went with them to the grave with each having never written a full autobiography.  The two had never met  before that night yet they are joined in death from a critical moment in time which remains with us today.  While the possibility of more unknown accomplices does exist, Steers has put to rest many unfounded rumors that serve to detract from the true story.  And doing so, he has given us a gift in the form of a book that does the most efficient job of telling us what happened on that tragic night.  It is often said that hindsight is always 20/20. In this case, it’s not only 20/20 but beyond crystal clear.

ISBN-10: 0813191513
ISBN-13: 978-0813191515

The New Jim Crow-Michelle Alexander

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974In the 240 years that the United States has been in existence, the feats and accomplishments of this nation have been nothing short of history changing and in some case earth shattering.  As one of the world’s superpowers, the United States continues to be a prime destination for immigrants all over the world looking for a new opportunity in the land of the free and home of the brave.  And while the public face of the country touts freedom, liberty and justice for all, there’s a much darker side to the country  rarely seen by many of the people wishing to immigrate to America an those who currently live in the nation.  Incarceration rates have been on the rise in the United States since the start of the 1980s. And shockingly, the United States continues to incarcerate people at a higher rate than any other country on earth.  The rates show no sign of slowing down or even declining and as a result, more prisons are being constructed and more Americans of all backgrounds are entering prison cells than ever before.

I vividly remember as a kid in the 1980s, the government’s commencement of the war on drugs.  Television commercials, posters, documentaries and news broadcasts regularly reminded us of the dangers of narcotic use.  Nancy Regan famously reminded us to just say no.  In 2016, the  war on drug continues, but its success and consequences remain the topic of fierce debate.   While the primary focus of the war may have been the elimination of illegal drugs, there was a heavy price to be paid by those on the wrong end of the campaign. The laws passed as a result of the anti-drug campaign have resulted in some the harshest prison sentences in the world for drug use.  Young African-American and Latino make up the majority of all drug convictions pursuant to those same laws and the system of mass incarceration has appropriately been called by Michelle Alexander in this phenomenal book, the ‘New Jim Crow’.  While the Jim Crow laws that cast a dark cloud on the United States were struck down many decades ago,  the systematic incarceration and ostracism that convicted men and women find themselves in, is some ways equally as dangerous as the former system of legal segregation.  Those who do enter the system, often find that they carry a stigma for life as a felon and sometimes never fully re-integrate into society thus becoming the unwanted and living with the shame and neglect as many minorities did during the violent and regretful Jim Crow era.

Alexander has done a masterful job of bringing to light what could be considered an epidemic in American culture.  The fallout from the war on drugs and high incarceration rates among Black and Latino youths, has resulted in the continuation of the destructive cycles in the ghettos across America that were responsible for their lifestyle from the beginning.  Thoroughly researched and thought-provoking, her investigative report challenges us to re-examine our own opinions about convicted felons and drug use. She also forces us to considered the economic benefits from the incarceration of millions of Americans and the financial black hole that has resulted from the war on drugs.  Her reporting is shocking and infuriating for it reveals many dark secrets about the American penal system and the American attitude to crime and punishment. And as someone who was raised in an environment that produced many young men and women who have fallen victim to the new Jim Crow, this book is a brutal reminder of the life long consequences of a life in the street and the cost of the mistake for many Americans that are otherwise productive members of society.

This book should be required reading in homes and classrooms across America in the effort to prevent young men and women from entering a life long system of discrimination and oppression. Michelle Alexander has done a great service to the citizens of this nation who are unaware or unwilling to face our fear of topics of race, prison, poverty and politics.  Only then, can we begin to dismantle the new system of Jim Crow and successfully rehabilitate those in the penal system and help end the decades long poverty that has plagued neighborhoods all across America.

ISBN-10: 1595586431
ISBN-13: 978-1595586438

Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy-M. Stanton Evans

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97084356_com-blacklisted-by-history-the-untold-story-of-senatorOn May 2, 1957, Joseph Raymond “Joe” McCarthy dies at the age of 48 in Bethesda, Maryland from the effects of acute hepatitis.  The late Senator from the state of Wisconsin is famously remembered for his campaign to extricate employees from positions within the United States government suspected of being members of the American communist party, under the direction of the Soviet Union.  During his campaign and for many years following his death, McCarthy was viewed as being  paranoid about communism, intent on ruining the lives and reputations of honorary citizens and a self-destructive force who died in part due his own personal demons.  One of the beautiful things about history is the ability to look back and re-examine events in the quest to find out what really happened.   More than 50 years after his death, McCarthy’s name is still mentioned in conversation and used as the end of jokes about anyone who is suspected of being overly concerned about any type of foreign influence on the domestic policies of the United States.  But just who was the real Joseph McCarthy? And was he the out of control hunter of communist who attacked his targets at all costs?

M. Stanton Evans answers these questions and more in this definitive look into the life and actions of the late Senator.  Painstakingly researched, Evans’ account is both eye-opening and sobering for it reveals the true Joseph McCarthy and his beliefs regarding communist ideology in American society and the espionage that had been occurring throughout the U.S. government by agents of the Soviet Union.  Through Evans’ research, a new picture of McCarthy emerges that is in stark contrast from the historically jaded image that we’ve come to recognize.   A new McCarthy is seen, as man who through patriotic beliefs, leads a crusade against what was then a threat to the national security of the United States.  Targeted by enemies in the State Department and the Truman administration, a war was unleashed to discredit McCarthy at all costs.   Fabrications, missing evidence and evasive testimony would serve as the foundation for endless attacks upon his credibility and beliefs.   The Watkins committee and its final result remain the darkest time in McCarthy’s life next to his untimely death.

Evan’s account is a masterpiece of investigative and contains a full roster of some of the most remembered names in history, many of them making an appearance in the book.   He was hated by some and loved  by others, but his name and crusades remain a critical part in U.S. history.  Judgment is often passed quickly upon him, but most fail to see the true Joseph McCarthy and the patriotic battle he waged against an enemy within.   The most tragic part of his story, is that it took decades for his vindication to take place.  We now know that not only was he right about his beliefs but the hunt for Soviet moles within the U.S. government continued for decades after his death and would reach its culmination under the direction of the mysterious CIA Chief of Counterintelligence, James J. Angleton.  Harry Truman once remarked that the only truth is the history we do not yet know.  Truer words have never been spoken.  For the real story on the crusade of Joseph McCarthy, this is it.

ISBN-10: 1400081068
ISBN-13: 978-1400081066

The Brother: The Untold Story of the Rosenberg Case-Sam Roberts

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index1June 19, 1953- Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York.  The couple had been convicted in espionage based on the testimony of Ethel’s younger brother, David Greenglass.  The execution is the first time a woman is punished by death since the civil war era.   The Rosenberg case has been the subject of intent debate for over 60 years with supporters and critics sticking to their respective positions.   Because all of the major figures from that case and era deceased, the full truth about what really happened may never be known.  However, Sam Roberts has put together this incredible book about the Rosenberg and Greenglass families and the connections to the NKGB, the Soviet intelligence apparatus.  It is primarily the story of David Greenglass and his relationship with Julius Rosenberg, who in turn had forged connections with other important scientist and blue-collar individuals also passing along military secrets to the Soviet Union.

One of the biggest questions about the case is how could David and Ruth testify in the manner in which they did, knowing it could send Julius and Ethel to the electric chair?  By meticulously researching the history of both families, the official transcripts from the courts and even interviewing David himself,  we are able to get a more complete picture of how their mission collapsed and why David and Ruth gave the statements they did.  Their actions force us to examine our relationships with siblings and even ask ourselves if we could give testimony that would mean death for our brother or sister.   The trial and conviction of Julius and Ethel allows us to travel back and time to the McCarthy era when almost anyone who displayed either left-wing tendencies or empathy towards the Soviet Union, was branded as a communist.  The communist paranoia and hunt for moles, destroyed countless lives and careers and nearly crippled the Central Intelligence Agency before director William Colby in 1974, moved to remove the Chief of Counterintelligence, James J. Angleton.

The Rosenberg case will forever remain a critical part of American history and cause many of us to ask whether they deserved death and just how honest were David and Ruth in their statements.  And had the defense known about the many inconsistencies in both David and Ruth’s account, would Julius and Ethel had been spared?  Some may argue that at this point in time, it no longer matters and for today’s generation, the Rosenbergs are nothing more than relics in a mostly forgotten time in American history.  But for students of history and believers in patriotism and democracy, this book is an invaluable insight into one of the biggest cases of the 20th century.

ISBN-10: 1476747385
ISBN-13: 978-1476747385

Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years -David Talbot

On By Genyc79In American History2 Comments

BrothersThe administration of John F. Kennedy continues to draw fascination and examination more than 50 years after his assassination.  The young president and his brother had  envisioned a new America full of social change, changes in foreign policy and economic reformation.  The murders of John and Robert Kennedy permanently changed the course of American history.  Following their deaths, the Vietnam War, Watergate, Iraq and many other regrettable events would damage America’s reputation abroad.  David Talbot, author of ‘The Devil’s Chessboard’, brings to us this New York Times Bestseller about the relationship between Jack and Robert Kennedy, the obstacles the new administration faced and the aftermath of that fateful trip to Dallas.

Camelot is the word most often used to describe the Kennedy administration, and its usage only grew after Kennedy’s death.  His administration is still subject to fierce criticism and debate often dividing people between either for or against its actions from 1961-1963.  But from all accounts, it was an eccentric mix of young intellectuals, fanatical military advisers, intelligence agents and law enforcement agencies, some of whom proved to be deadly enemies.  Talbot’s masterpiece reveals an administration at war with itself in which the new young president was forced to fight battles on several fronts, each one testing his patience, wisdom and foresight.

The election of John F. Kennedy sparked hope in the minds of thousands of Americans.  Social upheaval and the resolution of conflict without weapons at war were attractive to many voters.   Racial conflict marred with segregation, horrific violence, communist paranoia, religious division and memories of World War II helped fuel a decade that is one of the most violent in the history of this country.   Talbot takes us on a journey investigating what really happened during those times and how dangerously close Kennedy came to losing control of his own government and being provoked into launching nuclear weapons at the Soviet Union.  He also faced the threat of losing control of the Senate, at the time filled with conservative Republicans determined to protect supremacist views and the power hold of the conservative right.   In this torrid environment, two brothers bonded together walking a tight line in the process.

I’ve heard more than one person that things were never the same after Dallas.  The official story to this day is the conclusion reached by the Warren Commission.  However, over the past 50 years, pubic faith in the report has decreased exponentially.   An increase in assassination books and documentaries has caused many to take another look at what is often called the crime of the century.   Following JFK’s murder, Talbot continues along the trail following the life of the night watchman himself, Bobby.  His descent into depression, resurgence to public service and entry in the presidential race is one of the most fascinating political stories in the history of this nation.  But his assassination in 1968,  served as a sense of complete loss to those still mourning JFK and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s deaths while clinging to a shred of faith in state of the country.   There are many dark moments in the book and through Talbot we painfully relive each one. But what results in the end, is an invaluable account of an era that helped defined the modern day United States of America.

ISBN-10: 0743269195
ISBN-13: 978-0743269193

 

Molehunt: The Secret Search for Traitors That Shattered the CIA -David Wise

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molehuntdavidwise-1a_smallMay 11, 1987 -James Jesus Angleton, the former chief of counterintelligence in the Central Intelligence Agency, dies at the age of 87 from the effects of advanced stage lung cancer.  The legendary officer, who at one time also worked for the Office of Strategic Services, had been living out his final years quietly at his home in suburban Washington, D.C.  In 1974 he was relieved of his command by then director William Colby after 19 years of service.  His termination came on the heels of the search for moles within the CIA, a search that nearly destroyed the agency and was headed by Angleton.

David Wise presents to us his investigative report of the mole hunt, the lives and careers destroyed and the near implosion of the CIA.  The Cold War escalated tensions between the United States and Soviet Union with each side engaging in covert espionage operations to gather classified information and military secrets.   Agents, double agents and defectors kept the suspense high as they moved between the two  nations causing panic and hysteria as the CIA, KGB and British MI6 searched for moles threatening to bring about the downfall of several intelligence agencies. Angleton, by all accounts, was a strange, fascinating and mysterious individual.  Firmly convinced that a Soviet mole was within the CIA after the “defection” of Anatoly Golitsin, he and his subordinates began a crusade to rid the agency of moles and in the process, almost caused intelligence  recruitment and operations to come to a grinding halt.  Wise covers the operation and its many victims in extensive detail revealing the paranoia that spread rapidly as high level operatives found themselves cast under a web of suspicion.  Many officers resigned from the agency once their reputations were questioned and others were simply let go.  Years after both Angleton and Colby had left the agency, the Mole Relief Act (Public Law 96-450) was passed, providing compensation to some former employees wrongly targeted under Angleton’s relentless search for moles.

The CIA remains one of America’s most secretive agencies and the Freedom of Information Act has provided significant amounts of documents once previously classified that reveal the true nature of the operations in place during the Cold War and the hunt for Soviet moles which to this day, remains a dark period in the history of the Central Intelligence Agency.

ISBN-10: 0394585143
ISBN-13: 978-0394585147

 

The Devil’s Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA and the Rise of America’s Secret Government-David Talbot

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920x920July 26, 1947- President Harry S. Truman signs into law the National Security Act, establishing the formation of an intelligence agency dedicated to serving the president.  The end result is the formation of the Central Intelligence Agency.  Later in life, Truman came to regret the law as the CIA grew beyond his original intentions into an unaccountable, dangerous and highly suspicious agency seemingly under the control of no one.  Stories of operatives such as Allen Dulles, Bill Harvey,  Richard Helms, David Atlee Phillips, Cord Meyer, Jr. and James Jesus Angleton are both endless and legendary.  But what was really going on within the CIA and what was the true nature of its relationship with the White House? David Talbot presents to us his investigative report into the dark side of the CIA and the secret government within the United States.

January 29, 1969-Allen W. Dulles dies at the age of 75 of complications from pneumonia in Washington, D.C.   Dying with him is an unknown number of secrets of the U.S. intelligence apparatus.  The former director of the CIA, former intelligence operative of the OSS and member of the Warren Commission, was relieved of his post by President Kennedy following the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion in April, 1961.  Kennedy and Dulles continued to maintain a strained relationship that would never fully heal.  Although officially relieved of duty, Dulles continued to engage in intelligence operations and keep close contact with top members of the CIA.  And nearly fifty years after his death, his name evokes both admiration and fear.  However, as more information comes to light about the dark operations of the agency he lead, the more we are exposed to the dark side of Allen W. Dulles and his older brother and former Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles.

In March, 1945, the Allied forces in conjunction with the OSS, conducted Operation Sunrise, the black operation that obtained the freedom of several high-ranking Nazis including Karl Wolff.   Dulles, at the time working for the OSS, spearheaded the campaign which was done secretly under the radar of the oval office.  This mission would be one of many in Dulles’ career that could have caused international turmoil and embarrassment.   Operation Sunrise was followed by equally as controversial programs such as Operation Paperclip,  ZR/RIFLE and MK/ULTRA the agency’s attempt at a real life Manchurian Candidate.  All of the details are included in this book and the full story is beyond shocking.

The agency faced its biggest challenge under the Kennedy Administration.  Kennedy, convinced that he was unable to trust information provided by the CIA, vowed to shatter the agency and placed the control of covert operations under the control of the military.  Following his assassination, the policy was reversed, authorizing covert operations in domestic and international affairs resulting in disastrous foreign policy which culminated with the Vietnam War.  Dulles wouldn’t live to see the war’s end, but his agency’s role in the conflict is still the topic of debate.  Talbot’s account of the strained relationship between the Kennedys and the CIA reveals an administration at war with its own intelligence community and one that ended violently in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.  Many of the figures in the book are now deceased, but the book reveals a very disturbing part of U.S. history that continues to haunt this nation and forces us to ask ourselves what power truly is and who really wields it?   And just how much do we know about the intelligence community and what their objectives are? Additionally, the book a critical asset to JFK assassination researchers and those who desire to know the truth about what happened in Dealey Plaza.

ISBN-10: 0062276174
ISBN-13: 978-0062276179

 

 

 

War Is A Racket-Smedley Darlington Butler

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ButlerWar is an experience that forever changes a person.  I can’t think of any person that I know who returned from active combat without any long-lasting effects.  My uncle, who served in Vietnam, is adverse to the loud explosions from the firecrackers on the 4th of July to this day.  Many veterans have become outspoken critics of war and have written numerous books and given speeches, the famous of which that comes to mind is Ron Kovic, portrayed brilliantly by Tom Cruise in Oliver Stone’s ‘Born On The Fourth Of July’.

Years before Kovic fought in Vietnam becoming a paraplegic in the process, there was another former marine who became an outspoken critic of war.  Smedley Butler, at the time the most decorated soldier in United States history, wrote this short but eye-opening book about the financial aspect of war and  the benefits that are obtained by few behind the scenes.  I forewarn the reader that the author is very frank in his beliefs about the true motives of war.   For those that are overly patriotic, this book will rattle the nerves and will be dismissed as the rantings of a lunatic and bitter former soldier.  But for those who have an open mind and are not blind to the horrors and financial gains of war, this book will resonate with long-held beliefs that war is hell.  And while I do believe that some conflicts this country has engaged in were justified and necessary, there’s still a very dark side to war that most people would rather not know about.

ASIN: B00P8OEFFY