The punishment which the wise suffer who refuse to take part in the government, is to live under the government of worse men.

— Plato         

Friday, September 19, 2003

• Dog-Eared: Recommended Reading

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There’s an old saying: “Just because I’m paranoid, doesn’t mean I’m not really being followed.” The authors of the works reviewed below know only too well the truth behind that statement. If you investigate these subjects with an open mind, you too may begin looking over your shoulder.

This is the red meat of DogSkinReport.com. Thousands of books are published every year, more than anyone can possibly read. What’s a poor pooch to do? The bowsers at DogSkinReport.com have now made your job easy, culling the greyhounds from the also-rans.

Virtually all of the following works fall into one of two categories:

  • Those written by actual participants in the deeds described, i.e., Philip Agee, Scott Barnes, Ari Ben-Menashe, Michael Levine, et al. They describe events in which they personally participated. While they have no need to back up events to which they themselves witnessed, in most cases they do provide additional documentation. Indeed, the supporting footnotes/references for these books often forms an appendix that may be as much as one third of the book in question.
  • Scholarly works compiled by journalists via traditional methods of scholarship, i.e. Alfred McCoy, Robert Parry, Gary Webb, et al. These books are often heavily documented via footnotes and references.

In all writing, it is left to readers, scholars and journalists to review the work and decide ultimate worth. The works here are singular in that their critics almost entirely ignore the actual words printed on the pages. Instead, these authors have been systematically attacked via innuendo and character assassination, often by proxy. The goal is to marginalize the scholarship, to characterize the authors as something other than “real Americans.” And most importantly, to hide the truth.

Rest assured, these authors are not fringe characters. Included below are books written by the following:

  • Conservatives (Vincent Bugliosi)
  • Ex-military people, including some highly decorated veterans (Russell S. Bowen, Bo Gritz, Al Martin, Fletcher Prouty)
  • Ex-police, FBI and/or DEA agents (Celerino Castillo, Michael Levine, William Turner)
  • Ex-intelligence agents (Philip Agee, Victor Marchetti, Ari Ben-Menashe, Ralph McGehee, Theodore Shackley)
  • Ex-civil servants (William Blum, Barbara Honegger, John Marks, Gary Sick, Rodney Stich)
  • Award-winning journalists, including those that have worked for mainstream organizations such as the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Newsweek, Time & 60 Minutes (Jonathan Beaty, Pete Brewen, Christopher Hitchens, Robert Parry, Gary Webb, Tim Weiner)
  • University professors (Alfred McCoy, Peter Dale Scott)

I would challenge anyone to prove that, unlike the subjects of their books and their critics, even a single author on this list has benefited in any substantial way from their book. Sadly, the vast majority have suffered because of their writing. If nothing else, that should be some indication of just where the truth lies.

Books are rated on the following scale:

One Boner image: A work of merit, but either due to reasons of style or content, does not quite measure up. Rest assured, this will still get the mainstream public’s panties in a twit, but is still mild stuff, compartively speaking. One Boner: A work of merit, but either due to reasons of style or content, does not quite measure up. Rest assured, this will still get the mainstream public’s panties in a twit, but is still mild stuff compared to those below.
Two Boner image: This is a work that breaks new ground, and quite possibly forced changes in the way the government either does business, or hides it. Two Boner: This is a book that breaks new ground, and quite possibly forced changes in the way the government either does business, or hides it.
Three Boner image: The coveted three boner is awarded to works that set a new standard for journalistic integrity, laying bare just how badly our government is humping us. Three Boner: The coveted three boner is awarded to works that set a new standard for journalistic integrity, laying bare just how badly our government is humping us.

Choose from the list of reviews below. All reviews are by Top Dog unless otherwise stated (NameBase is a fabulous resource for reviews, and some of these below are taken from that source). Clicking on the cover image or title will take you to Amazon.com, where you can either order a copy or read various readers’ reviews.

Book Reviews

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