The Cointelpro Papers: Documents from the Fbi's Secret Wars Against Dissent in the United States (South End Press Classics Series, Volume, 8)

Book Description

Readers anxious about civil liberties under George W. Bush will find fodder for fears-and suggestions for activism-in The COINTELPRO Papers. Ward Churchill and Jim Vander Wall's expose of America's political police force, the FBI, reveals the steel fist undergirding "compassionate conservatism's" velvet glove. Using original FBI memos, the authors provide extensive analysis of the agency's treatment of the left, from the Communist Party in the 1950s to the Central America solidarity movement in the 1980s. The authors' new introduction posits likely trajectories for domestic repression.

Ward Churchill is author of From a Native Son. Jim Vander Wall is co-author of Agents of Repression: The FBI's Secret Wars Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement, with Ward Churchill.

Customer Reviews:

Wild Book, Strange Author.......2007-02-22

This is an interesting book by an even more interesting author. In fact, the actions of the author tend to make me doubt the whole idea of the book.

First the book. This is a reprint of a book first issued in 1990 that proports to show a whole series of documents obtained from the FBI. They show that the FBI went to great lengths, some of them illegal to seek evidence against, and bring scorn against numerous left wing organiztions such as the Communist Party, the Black Panthers, the American Indian Movement and others.

In addition to the reprinted portion of the book, Mr. Churchill has written a new preface that makes further allegations against the FBI, particularily in regard to Waco.

Now the author. Some reviews have indicated that he is a fake, having basically made up a lot of what he says. Without repeating all of the material here, Mr. Churchill claims (in this book) to be an Indian. The Indian tribes of which he claims to be amember say he is not. Disciplinary hearings against him at the University of Colorado have recommended his being terminated as a professor.

Do a search on Google and Wikipedia for more information and make up your own mind.

COINTELPRO papers review.......2007-01-10

This is a detailed review of available FBI documents relating to subversive and dissident groups as defined in the wake of the McCarren / Mccarthyism era and deemed a threat to the US interest. Alarming material shows how the FBI framed and planted "evidence" in order to control and destroy elements in a supposed free society. A good read for a political and intelligence analysts in the ever changing and modern world.

Very good but much is left out!.......2006-11-29

This book reproduces and analyzes cointelpro documents acquired through the FOIA. It is funny how the United States government expects its citizens to obey its laws but yet it goes out of its way to target, harass and persecute people who are not breaking any laws themselves. Which is made even worse when the government is often breaking the very laws they are supposed to uphold in the process.

There are individual chapters in this on black nationalist groups, socialist and communist groups, the American Indian Movement and other left wing oriented organizations. Another plus to The Cointelpro Papers is if you are involved in political activism this book can help you identify tactics that may be used against you or the group you are involved with.

The biggest fault this book has is Churchill is one of these leftists that believes in the psychotic delusion that the US Government is some sort of pro-white/white supremacist entity. Ha ha! Yeah thats why they have made MLK into some sort of holy figure, they have created affirmative action and allow mass immigration to displace white (and black) Americans in the work place. He also more or less ignores the illegal tactics employed against the KKK in the south where they sent a virtual army of FBI agents into southern states when the Klan was resisting integration. Undercover FBI agents were responsible for the murder of the pregnant wife of a Klansman named Kathy Ainsworth not to mention undercover agents perpetrated or instigated much of the violent acts attributed to the Klan. Why wasn't this brought up in this book?!?! While there were many wrongs committed against left wing and non-white political activists the fact that Churchill ignores what was done with the Klan, and in later years with militia groups, as well as white nationalist (and environmental) groups to this very day shows that Churchill has a blatant anti-white agenda and keeps what is a good book, from being great.

ministry of love.......2005-07-02

In The COINTELPRO Papers, Ward Churchill and Jim Vander Wall chronicle decades of disruptive and secretive attacks by the FBI on those with whom they do not feel ideologically aligned¡Xnamely, those who are a threat in any way to capitalism or to the current power structures within the United States and abroad. The authors contend that the FBI has launched seemingly countless attacks upon peaceful and law-abiding organizations and their members for no reason other than their philosophical deviance from the political mindset of the American status quo. The authors chronicle case after case after case of the FBI engaging in illegal and unsettling practices and activities in their ongoing efforts to discredit any organization or individual espousing radical or alternative socio-economic views.
Every allegation made by the authors is backed up by copies of original FBI documents and memos chronicling the activities of our nation¡¦s ¡§political police¡¨ in the words of the agents themselves, lest the authors should be accused of ridiculous and unfounded accusations (as conservative apologists and spinners of propaganda are so apt to maintain¡Xan issue addressed in the introduction to the text). The points argued in this book lend tremendous credibility to a radical elitist stance on American politics¡Xin that they shine light on the terrible extremes to which conservative authorities will go to eliminate any expression of political opposition.x
In this book, Churchill and Vander Wall focus heavily on the ¡§COINTELPRO¡¨ (COunterINTELligence PROgrams) operations launched both officially and unofficially against organizations such as the Communist Party, USA (CP, USA), Socialist Workers Party (SWP), the Puerto Rican Independence Movement, the Black Liberation Movement¡Xparticularly the Black Panther Party (BPP), the ¡§New Left¡¨¡Xparticularly the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the American Indian Movement (AIM). The authors focus special attention on the tactics utilized by the FBI during their official COINTELPRO era, which was from the mid-1950¡¦s to 1971, and demonstrate that regardless of whether or not the acronym is still in use, the FBI has never abandoned those tactics¡Xif anything, their COINTELPRO-style tactics have only escalated over the years.
And what are COINTELPRO-style tactics exactly? The most frequently used of those tactics (officially authorized, documented, and bragged about by J. Edgar Hoover himself as well as many other FBI agents throughout the history of the bureau) include the intensification of confusion and dissatisfaction amongst members of targeted organizations through the use of disinformation campaigns (often launched through the cooperation of ¡§friendly¡¨ media, ¡§anonymous¡¨ letters, and the circulation and anonymous mailing of FBI generated political cartoons and fliers purporting to have been generated by members of whichever organizations the bureau sought to divide), the hiring and training of ¡§provocateurs¡¨¡Xpeople hired by the bureau to join targeted organizations and encourage division amongst members through the raising and exaggeration of controversial issues, and to inspire violence on the part of members in response to harassment campaigns launched by the FBI against them¡Xin many documented cases actual acts of terrorism were conceived of by the FBI and the plans for such acts as bombings and assassinations were brought by the provocateurs to those members of an organization they felt were most prone to violence¡Xall of this in an effort to generate fear of such organizations in the hearts of the status quo.
Also amongst the tactics frequently indulged in by the FBI are ¡§frame-ups¡¨¡Xmany officially admitted, documented, and declassified and readily available for study through the Freedom of Information Act¡Xin which Federal agents conspired to imprison targeted individuals through the use of falsified evidence and perjured testimony, as well as (one of their more disturbing techniques) efforts to pit violent organizations against peaceful organizations in the hopes that the violent would neutralize the peaceful. One example (of many presented in the book) is that of the FBI attempting to pit the Mafia against the Communist Party, USA through anonymous letters and plays upon newspaper articles, contending that the communists intended to get the ¡§thugs¡¨ out of their unions and clean up the sweatshops which the Mafia was known for running. The bureau hoped that the Mafia would put out ¡§hits¡¨ on key leaders of the Communist Party, and in one memo makes favorable references to the fact that since their campaign started communist offices had suffered bombings, a ¡§typical hoodlum technique.¡¨
A truly ¡§successful¡¨ example of this same technique as utilized against the Black Panther Party (who were overwhelmingly peaceful despite many efforts by the bureau to inspire them to violence) is that of the FBI sending an anonymous letter, attributed to the Panthers, to the violence prone United Slaves. The letter ¡§revealed¡¨ a fictional plot by the BPP to assassinate US head Ron Karenga. On January 17, 1969, that letter bore fruit in the form of the shooting deaths of two BPP leaders by three members of the US in a classroom at UCLA. The great ¡§success¡¨ of this letter is that with it the FBI was able to pit two Black Liberation organizations against each other, thus neutralizing their effective pursuits of their own causes while significantly weakening the efforts of the others: the winners¡Xthe FBI and the status quo, the losers¡XBlack Liberation as a whole.
Also, not entirely uncommon behavior on part of the FBI is the effort to push targeted individuals to take their own lives through blackmail. One particularly disturbing, though unsuccessful, example of this is the case of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. After utilizing mass-media propaganda campaigns pertaining to Dr. King¡¦s supposed ¡§communist influences¡¨ and sexual proclivities, as well as a harassment campaign by the IRS, FBI audio technician John Matter compiled an audio tape of Dr. King allegedly engaged in ¡§orgiastic¡¨ trysts with prostitutes. The FBI then mailed this tape to Dr. King along with an anonymous letter ¡§informing King that the audio material would be released to the media unless he committed suicide prior to bestowal of the Nobel Prize.¡¨ They had hoped that in the wake of all the stress and under the fear of such press Dr. King would follow the advice and take his own life. He didn¡¦t, and the tape was subsequently rejected by Benjamin Bradlee of Newsweek. Perhaps it was too flimsy and too poor in taste for even ¡§friendly¡¨ media.
The authors also fly through case after case of ¡§punitive prosecution¡¨ orchestrated by the FBI against targeted individuals¡Xthe point of the prosecution having never been to even imprison, only to keep those they viewed as threats preoccupied with their own legal struggles. During many FBI sweeps in which some of those punitively prosecuted were arrested, it was not uncommon for the agents to completely trash the offices and equipment belonging to the organizations for which those people worked. In one raid on Black Panther offices, police even ¡§destroyed bulk food the Panthers were distributing free to ghetto children.¡¨
In their operations against organizations such as SDS and AIM, the FBI utilized all of the same aforementioned tactics¡Xeven after 1971, the year in which COINTELPRO had been officially terminated. The cases chronicled and the supporting FBI documents are downright overwhelming, alarming, and sickening. I¡¦ll leave the descriptions of such cases to the authors, who (unfortunately) maintain that even they have hardly scratched the surface in exposing the conservative terrorism perpetrated by the FBI on the American people.
In the concluding chapter of this book, Churchill and Vander Wall illustrate the advent of the word ¡§terrorism¡¨ and its use since 1972 to justify ongoing COINTELPRO efforts on the part of the FBI, though the acronym has been dropped the tactics and the secrecy are all still in place. Though the FBI is no longer fighting ¡§communism¡¨ and has instead found a new enemy in ¡§terrorism,¡¨ the American people are no safer now from their dishonesty and oppressive tactics than they have been since the official formation of
COINTELPRO. As an American, who hears the word ¡§terror¡¨ thrown around by politicians and law enforcement officers on a daily basis, and who has unfortunately found himself aware of such alarming facts as ¡§at present, the U.S. enjoys the dubious distinction of having a greater proportion of its population incarcerated than any western industrialized country,¡¨ I do have to wonder how exactly we¡¦re going to spread ¡§freedom and democracy¡¨ to the rest of the world when history reveals we¡¦ve always been afraid of freedom and democracy here.
The facts and quotes about the modern day prison system in this country and its expanding usage of sensory deprivation techniques designed to cause the psychological breakdown of political detainees sounded so Orwellian that I¡¦m sure even George Orwell would be shocked. In the FBI we¡¦ve found our ¡§Thought Police¡¨ and in our prison system we¡¦ve found our ¡§Ministry of Love.¡¨ And in our own hearts, it seems, we¡¦re too terrified to react. Perhaps Big Brother is already watching us all.

Sometimes Desert Is Better Than the Meal.......2003-05-06

Ward Churchil and Jim Vander Wall have done an outstanding and meticulous job in assembling and explaining the FBI's secret war on dissent in America, no wonder America is plagued with criminals, the supposed "good guys" are all out on black bag jobs committing their own crimes!!

Since it is a well known historical fact that J. Edgar Hoover, America's semen stained supercop, was blackmailed by the mafia into silence, it stands to reason that he would need a new enemy to focus the attention of the American people. What better enemy than home grown political dissenters who would destroy the genteel American order--white men first.

The book focuses upon the FBI's most notorious episodes--the COINTELPRO efforts against the Communist Party USA, Socialist Workers Party, the New Left, the American Indian Movement and the Black Panthers as demonstrative proof of the Bureau's efforts to undermine and destroy the constitutional rights of all Americans.

It is, for me, the concluding chapter that ties everything together and offers some real life solutions to the peristent cancer that is the FBI. From 1956 to the "offical end" of COINTELPRO in 1971, the FBI committed:

* 2,218 separate actions.

*2,305 admitted warrantless telephone taps.

*697 "bugs against domestic political targets."

*57,486 CIA mail intercepts.

"During the various Congressional committee investigations, the Bureau carefully hid the facts of its involvement in the 1969 Hampton-Clark assassinations. Simultaneously, it was covering up its criminal witholding of exculpatory evidence in the murder trial of LA Panther leader Geronimo Pratt." page 303.

At the end, the authors offer the inescapable conclusion that priority number one is for the left to develop a strategy to come to grips with the FBI and the escalating power of "law enforcement" as well as the implications and consequences of the merging of the U.S. military and the domestic law enforcement appartus.

Customer Reviews:

Seems radical? It is. Think this can't happen in the US? Think again........2007-03-29

This little pamphlet is an absolutely indispensable primer on covert government repression for activists in the US and abroad.

Glick lays out a meticulously documented capsule history of systematic US government repression against activist groups since the 1920s, with particular focus on the 1960s. Drawing on the government's own documents as well as activist's accounts, Glick shows how the FBI and local police forces used a wide range of tactics from spying to harassment, disruption, false arrest, and cold-blooded murder to divide, demoralize, terrorize, immobilize, and behead the social movements of the 1960s.

But above and beyond this eye-opening and outrageous account, Glick offers concrete, specific, and practical advice for activist groups that will face these same vicious and unrelenting government attacks as the struggle for freedom and justice continues.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough to those who, as Ashanti Alston put it, "care, and dare" enough to challenge the powers-that-be.

Seems Radical.......2007-02-08

To be perfectly honest i felt like this book asserted some pretty over-generalized claims and failed to use any specific hard evidence to back them up. With a lack of support for such ideas, it was hard to find much of the text believable. I stopped reading pretty early into it because it was just hard to see how this book was even 50% valid. Currently I am researching a thesis on COINTELPRO and its disruption tactics. I understand that much of the FBI's actions can be so invading its hard not to be disillusioned, however I don't believe that justifies pointing every finger we can find at the government without looking at direct facts.

Armed With Information.......2006-03-07

This is an excellent peek into the counter-culture movement in the United States. Its a bit dated now, but the basic principles still apply. The main point is how to resist government monitoring and harassment, such as the infamous COINTELPRO operations of the 1960s. The book gives John Q. Public a glimpse into the modus operandi of the average radical group, be it left or right of the political spectrum. It gives great detail on how people can defeat intelligence-gathering and other official interference.

I bought this book on the mistaken notion that it was a guide for the concerned citizen to combat radical groups in American society. After reading, I've discovered its exactly that; It just happens to be written from the opposite perspective. War At Home is a good guide from which a pro-American individual or group can develop countermeasures to the radical/fringe/hate groups in our midst. That's not what the author intended, but as the book so eloquently demonstrates, information is a weapon.

Well done and important.......2002-01-09

Whether you are a social activist or a person interested in hisory and current events this short book is an important read. It's a little known fact that the federal government, when it is not funding terrorists like Osama bin Laden, uses millions of tax payer dollars each year to surveil, harass, and disrupt legitimate First Ammendment activities of groups it disapproves of here in the United States. Glick documents these activities (often referred to as COINTELPRO for the FBI program of the same name) and gives human rights, peace, civil rights and environmental groups (the most frequent targets) an undertanding of how these anti-democratic operations work and how to indentify and counteract them. As one of the founding fathers said: "The price of Liberty is eternal vigilance" and this is an important work in that grand tradition.

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Evolving Military Justice

Manufacturer: US Naval Institute Press
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Binding: Hardcover

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Military Justice in America: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, 1775-1980

ASIN: 1557502927

Book Description

For decades, debate has raged over whether the military justice system is foremost a tool to preserve discipline within the armed forces or a means of dispensing justice on a par with civilian criminal justice systems. From the dawn of American military law in 1775 through World War II, the answer was obvious: military justice was primarily a tool commanders used to maintain discipline. In 1950, however, Congress enacted the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Through amendments over the past half century, the American military justice system has evolved into what it is today: not quite a mirror image of the civilian federal criminal justice system, but vastly more fair than in the days of drumhead courts and the lash, according to the authors, both practicing attorneys and former military officers.

Their book scrutinizes the current military justice system, identifying its strengths and weaknesses and pointing the way toward further improvements. Included are essays written about the American military justice system over the past decade by such notable authorities as Sam Nunn, former Senator from Georgia; Andrew S. Effron, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces; and Brig. Gen. Jerry S.T. Pitzul, Judge Advocate General of the Canadian Forces. Some defend military justice, while others are critical. The book then shifts its focus overseas to compare the U.S. system with those of several other common law countries. Designed to provoke thought about military justice among military justice practitioners and military line officers alike, the book is introduced with an essay by William K. Suter, Clerk of the U.S. Supreme court.

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Great Read

Fun to read

Federal Offense

Federal Offense
Robert Hardin
Manufacturer: PublishAmerica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Imperfect Crimes

ASIN: 1424109345

Book Description

David Armstrong, a successful San Francisco Bay area criminal attorney, is retained by California's senior U.S. senator to defend her half-brother-a hobo and disabled Vietnam War veteran-against charges of murder and drug racketeering. David and his longtime investigator are convinced their new client is being framed, and they cross the country in search of information that might clear him. In the ensuing federal trial, during which David and the senator begin a romance, David has to combat the underhanded techniques of both the F.B.I. and the prosecutors before the truth finally comes out. Or does it?

Customer Reviews:

Great Read.......2006-04-30

Federal Offense is a tightly plotted courtroom mystery with fully realized characters, told by a witty and profound protagonist. I also learned more about the law than I have from any other novelist.

Fun to read.......2006-04-07

Robert Hardin sets a quick pace for this fun to read courtroom drama. Real life events are seamlessly woven into fiction. The story takes the reader from Los Angeles to San Francisco to Puerto Vallarta in the pursuit of justice-with room for doubt and questioning of motives and practices of attorney David Armstrong. I eagerly await the next Hardin novel.

Federal Offense.......2006-03-09

I am a former literary agent and I found Robert Hardin's Federal Offense a great read. Set in the San Francisco Bay Area, it is a courtroom thriller with a taut plot that allows digression in a romantic subplot with wonderful descriptions of flying, sailing, and eating. The main character is a criminal attorney who continues to believe in the system even though his current client is the most reprehensible client he's ever defended. I look forward to the sequel.

Michael Harrison

Impeachable Offenses: A Documentary History from 1787 to the Present

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Funny: I thought only customers wrote customer reviews

Impeachable Offenses: A Documentary History from 1787 to the Present
Emily Field Van Tassel , Paul Finkelstein , and Paul Finkelman
Manufacturer: Congressional Quarterly Books
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1568024797

Book Description

New from Congressional Quarterly Books, Impeachable Offenses presents the historical proceedings and precedents for impeachments in the US, leading up to the current investigation of President Clinton. Now readers can really understand what the Constitution says about impeachment and how its terms have been applied throughout our history.

Impeachable Offenses is the only book on the topic that includes the major primary sources for evaluation of what has and has not constituted an impeachable offense, including the documents on the investigation of President Clinton as they bear on impeachment.

In an easy-to-read style packed with fascinating detail, Impeachable Offenses explores the frequency and reasons impeachment articles have and have not emerged from House investigations in the past 200 years, allowing readers to form their own conclusions on the current case based on the historical record.

From the impeachment proceedings against Senator William Blount in 1797 to the case against President Clinton in 1998, each case is set in the historical context of its time. The authors provide analysis, trace the evolution of impeachment, and outline the Senate's trial procedures. No other book offers such comprehensive coverage; no other book is as up-to-date.

Impeachable Offenses includes the historical detail and documents on each of the 16 times articles of impeachment have been drawn up, plus the outcome of those investigations that did not lead to impeachment. Impeachable Offenses also includes the entire catalog of potentially impeachable offenses in the Starr Report, the impeachment-related clauses from the Constitution, and a discussion of the Senate's trial procedures.

Customer Reviews:

Funny: I thought only customers wrote customer reviews.......2003-11-26

and not employees of the publisher.

Spying on America: The FBI's Domestic Counterintelligence Program

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Spying on America: The FBI's Domestic Counterintelligence Program
James Kirkpatrick Davis
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0275934071

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"COINTELPRO." An acronym for "Counterintelligence Program", this is the code name the FBI gave to the secret operations aimed at five major social and political protest groups--the Communist party, the Socialist Workers Party, the Ku Klux Klan, black nationalist hate groups, and the New Left movement. Spying on America, the first book to chronicle all five of the operations, tells the story of how the FBI, from 1956 until COINTELPRO's exposure in 1971, expanded its domestic surveillance programs and increasingly employed questionable, even unlawful, methods in an effort to disrupt what amounts to virtually our entire social and political protest movement. Violations of citizens' constitutional rights were rampant, and the secret operations actually resulted in a number of deaths. At the time, neither the public nor the news media knew anything about COINTELPRO. In vivid detail, Spying on America demonstrates that the system of checks and balances designed to prevent such occurrences was simply not functioning--until an illegal act uncovered the secret activities. The book opens with the daring raid of a Media, Pennsylvania FBI office by a group that adeptly used its booty--about 1,000 classified documents--to make COINTELPRO operations public. The burglars, who called themselves the Citizen's Commission to Investigate the FBI, used sophisticated methods (the FBI never caught up with them), releasing copies of incriminating documents to the media at carefully timed intervals. Spying on America draws on newspaper and magazine articles, interviews with many of the people involved, and FBI memos to trace the historical beginnings and operating methods of COINTELPRO efforts against each of the five targeted groups. In vivid detail, the author re-creates the reactions of the bureau--including the subsequent policy changes--as well as the response of the news media and the resulting shift in public attitudes toward the FBI. Finally, Davis looks at the possibility of similar operations in the future. In the context of our current, heightened state of socio-political awareness, it is difficult to comprehend how so many unlawful deeds could have been committed without the public's knowledge. Spying on America makes us aware of how easily such activities can occur--and in doing so, helps us prevent them from happening again.

In Bad Company: America's Terrorist Underground

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Mr. Cop has it all wrong
From a cops' perspective
Outstanding
Essential reading for students of domestic terrorism
Weak case for OKC bombing connection

In Bad Company: America's Terrorist Underground
Mark S. Hamm
Manufacturer: Northeastern
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1555534929

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The dramatic sieges at Randy Weaver's cabin in Ruby Ridge, Idaho, and the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, combined with the FBI's reluctance to admit wrongdoing in those tragic confrontations, fueled a virulent hatred of the federal government that unified previously isolated voices within the extreme radical right movement. As a result, the scores of clandestine paramilitary cells that flourished in the aftermath of Ruby Ridge and Waco formed a loosely knit underground network with a shared goal to violently overthrow the U.S. government.

This gripping volume explores one of the most dangerous of those phantom cells-the Aryan Republican Army (ARA). Based on trial transcripts, interviews, a secret diary, newspaper accounts, and ethnographic research, Mark S. Hamm provides a compelling history of the ARA, its organizers, and the revolutionary group's significance in supporting acts of domestic terrorism, including its previously unrecognized role in Timothy McVeigh's devastating bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. He interweaves his narrative with a penetrating discussion of why people like McVeigh and the ARA members turn hatred into terrorist actions.

Hamm centers his riveting account of the ARA on the troubled life histories of founders Peter Kevin McGregor Langan and Richard "Wild Bill" Guthrie, as well as on profiles of the foot soldiers in the movement. He explores the similar social, cultural, and personal forces that attracted these men to the White Supremacy movement and Christian Identity, a theology that gives the blessing of God to the racist cause, and that drove them on a criminal path to terrorism. Drawing historical parallels with the motives and tactics of Jesse James and his gang's crime spree, Hamm focuses on how Langan and his paramilitary gang committed a string of professionally executed armed bank robberies to finance the overthrow of the federal government through such terrorist attacks as train derailments, assassinations, and bombings.

Hamm concludes this absorbing yet disconcerting journey through America's underground terrorist conspiracy by challenging the government's assertion that Timothy McVeigh acted as a lone wolf in the Oklahoma City bombing. Instead, he offers startling new evidence that connects McVeigh to the Aryan Republican Army.

Customer Reviews:

Mr. Cop has it all wrong.......2004-03-22

Think there wasn't a conspiracy and government cover up in the OKC bombing? I suggest you get 'Secrets Worth Dying For' as soon as it comes out on paperback. I have read the electronic copy from 1stbooks.com and have found it to be the most convincing and ironically credible book regarding the bombing yet. And I say ironically because it is penned by two of McVeigh's prison buddies. He spilled all to them and the story he told them jives SO closely with the known evidence that it's almost SCAREY. Scarey to know that there are rougue organizations in our government that would go THAT far to discredit and destroy the right wing militia movement. Langan was used in this effort BY McVeigh, who was quite obviously a government operative. Guthrie was also used as was Strassmeir. If you think there was not government assistance in this bombing you are sadly naive-you need to take a look at the evidence and the witnesses as well as Cary Gagan's PROOF that he contacted authorities regarding the plan to bomb the Murrah in the months before the bombing. He was ignored, yet no ATF workers showed up for work on April 19,1995. Like I said, read Hammer's book-it is going to blow this case WIDE OPEN.

From a cops' perspective.......2003-02-19

I have not yet completed the book but find it factually interesting. One of the previous reviews faulted the author as attempting to convince the reader that a group of 6 ARA members could elude capture and the reviewer felt this was unlikely. Having arrested one of the ARA members and knowing several of the others (I went to high school with several of them and one lived down the street when I was growing up), I can say his facts are pretty accurate. Guthrie evaded capture for years. There are strong ties with several of these individuals to McVeigh. I disagree with any Government coverup theories and strongly disagree with the author's theories on "macho" militarism regarding the FBI and HRT. After arresting one of the individuals 10 years ago, I was able to look through the ARA garbage he carried with him. The book does give the reader an insight into this dangerous movement. From a "home boy" perspective, the book is interesting.

Outstanding.......2002-08-10

This book is the best, most factual book I have read about the far right conspiracy in America and those who denigrate it must have some sort of ax to grind. Hamm not only backs up his theories concerning John Doe in the Oklahoma City bombing, the photos he presents are indisputable. With all we know of the FBI's incompetence following the 9-11 attack, they can only be complemented for jailing all of these guys, although they didn't seem to know why they were doing it and many of the conspirators are ready to walk out of prison today. If you don't believe this is true, check the book reviews on a book written by one of their own,
Richard K. Hoskins, Vigilantes of Christendom.

Essential reading for students of domestic terrorism.......2002-04-12

In Bad Company: America's Terrorist Underground by Mark S. Hamm (Professor of Criminology, Indiana State University) is a timely, ground breaking, seminal work of impressive scholarship and expertise. Professor Hamm carefuly and meticulously presents an informative survey of one of the most important and potentially lethal American clandestine paramilitary underground organizations -- The Aryan Republican Army (ARA). This was the group associated with Timothy McVeigh and embraces a violent neo-Nazi subculture that compels domestic terrorist activities and attacks against their fellow Americans. In Bad Company presents a complete history of the ARA, including the troubled life histories of its founders, profiles of "foot soldiers" in the movement, the role of the White Supremacy movement and Christian identity in support of a range of criminal acts ranging from tax evasion to assassination. In Bad Company is essential reading for students of domestic terrorism and is as timely as today's newspaper headlines.

Weak case for OKC bombing connection.......2002-01-27

When Hamm sticks to telling the story of Pete Langan and his Aryan Republican Army cohorts, he does a passable job. His sometimes huge jumps in logic to connect Tim McVeigh to the ARA muddy the book. Hamm does not make as strong a case as he thinks when trying to convince a reader that McVeigh was tied to these guys. Hamm's thesis is that McVeigh was a "slash-and-burn" terrorist who didn't have the skill, patience or brains to plan a big project on his own (in his previous "Apocalypse," he makes the case that McVeigh was also a drug addict). Yet the guy sat silently and patiently for six years in prison and went to his death without opening his mouth while Langan told Hamm his story and Richard Guthrie chose prison suicide over time in the slammer. For a not-too-bright "slash-and-burn" criminal, McVeigh did pretty well keeping his mouth shut and being patient. A lot of the connections Hamm makes seem not too well grounded in fact. For example, he discusses a letter he received from McVeigh's Death Row pal David Hammer in reply to one Hamm sent to McVeigh about a robbery mentioned in the book. McVeigh supposedly tells Hammer to write back with the names of guys from the ARA, thereby proving to Hamm that McVeigh is acquainted with these guys. The content of the letter and any follow-up with Hammer or McVeigh then die in their tracks. There's not a lot of good reporting here, just a lot of theories.

Break-Ins, Death Threats and the FBI : The Covert War Against the Central America Movement

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Break-Ins, Death Threats and the FBI : The Covert War Against the Central America Movement
Ross Gelbspan
Manufacturer: South End Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Advancing the Federal Research Agenda on Violence Against Women

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Advancing the Federal Research Agenda on Violence Against Women

Manufacturer: National Academy Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0309091098

Domestic Violence: From a Private Matter to a Federal Offense

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Domestic Violence: From a Private Matter to a Federal Offense
Finkleman Paul
Manufacturer: Garland Publishing, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UF558C

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