The CIA's Greatest Hits (The Real Story Series)

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The CIA's Greatest Hits (The Real Story Series)
Mark Zepezauer | 2002-07-01 00:00:00 | Odonian Press | 95 | 20th Century

The CIA's many attempts to assassinate democracy are described in 42 brief chapters, each accompanied by a cartoon.

Reviews
A great primer for anyone unfamiliar with the activities of the CIA as an instrument of American foreign policy during and shortly after the Cold War era. The book features short, riveting accounts of CIA operations, many of which influenced the course of world history.
Reviews
I have used this book on numerous occassions for political science classes, journalistic research and studies on Latin America and the "middle east", as well as numerous de-bunking sessions with people who seem set in their denial of US involvement (direct and indirect) in toppling popularly elected regimes in the world. The sad truth is this is only the tip of the iceberg...



The short synopsis and easy access for any audience makes this book a must for anyone serious about having a detailed and informed discussion about US foreign policy both in the past and today.
Reviews
"The CIA's Greatest Hits" is small and it is thin- wonderful qualities in a book. Each page is barely larger than a 4"x 6" notecard, and there is an accompanying cartoon for each summary.



The 42 summaries of operations are each completed on two pages. I was surprised by the summary regarding the Jonestown Massacre. 1 had believed the disinformation.



The summaries range from the bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland to the Russian-Afghan war, which cost the US $5-6 billion.



If we have created an organization that assassinates heads of states and rigs elections around the world, how can we keep that rogue agency from pursuing those same activities domestically? The book concludes, "As long as the CIA exists, our government can break any law it chooses in the name of national security."



We supposedly perform these actions to prevent Communist takeovers, but we always end up installing brutal and ruthless thugs. For Americans, the most insulting aspect of the CIA is that our tax money is used to feed us disinformation.


Reviews
Mark Zepezauer took advantage, unlike many Americans, of the declassified CIA documents, and compacted complicated events into a single book. I got this book after doing years of research regarding the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Malcolm X. Especially Malcolm X, seeing that COINTELPRO (FBI documents) is all declassified now. Don't take Zepezauer's word for it, do your own research, your own thinking. But with the CIA admission concerning the removal of leaders like Lumumba, Mossedegh, Arbenz, Allende, Sukarno, the Pathet Loa Party and so forth, AND the installation os dictators like Suharto, Pinochet, Shah Phalevi, D'Aubassaun, and members of the Al-Quida in Afghanistan, it's hard to deny that the United States of America was, and still is, an imperialist country. And the only reason there leaders were either removed, or installed, was for the fortification of government-protected corporations in America.



-Anton Batey


Reviews
I read this book right after september 11th when I was curious about why someone might want to attack the United States. After reading this book all I can say is WOW! Still I had to admit that I was more than a little dubious about the claims this book makes. I spent several months doing research and was severely disappointed when it all checked out. The CIA's Greatest Hits is the short version of some of the sketchiest things we are never taught in school.



Thinking about this kind of stuff tends to make my guts and my intellect roll. In fact, it may be easier to call the book propaganda and lies so I wouldn't have to think about the consequences of our government killing all those people. If you accept it as truth (or just do the long hours of research like I did) you will probably start to ask some difficult questions about the way the government actually works and how it purports to work and why there is such a massive gulf between two.This book takes some of that pressure off by presenting the information with funny little graphics and a tongue in cheek style that allow you to keep reading instead of getting bogged down and depressed. You can even laugh out loud occasionally.



Zepezaur does a superb job here because the book appeals to wide range of people. Someone who is totally unfamiliar with politics could pick this up and finish in a couple nights of light reading. This book scores major points with me because it's easily approachable to those who don't have a strong backing in history, yet the battle hardened Chomskyite will no doubt find new info.



I do wish he had cited sources on the pages themselves instead of in an index. It just makes them easier to check out for people who think this book is full of lies.



I also just want to say that thought it was really funny when one reviewer said "Yes, the CIA has made mistakes" and another responded by saying "A decades-long pattern of murder and subterfuge does not equal an occasional mistake." Another reviewer said that the book was disrespectful...I think it's sad that "respect" means hiding the truth about egregious crimes.



After reading the book I ended up emailing Mark Zepezaur with a couple questions. He was extremely accommodating and super friendly. I also got to talk to him briefly during a book tour and he has been one of the more politically articulate people I have ever met.



If you liked this but felt that it was a little short or didn't present enough hard facts check out another (short) book called Addicted to War: Why the US can't Kick Militarism. Mark Zepezaur also did a similar comic series called "US History Backwards."

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