Book Review: The Shadow Over Santa Susana by Adam Gorighty

Adam Gorightly, self-professed “crackpot historian” and former zine writer, does a Herculaneum task of assembling all of the shadowy theories and speculations about Charlie’s family (and why “Helter Skelter” went down—or seven different versions of it) into one cohesive and enjoyable tome. It’s all here, true crime and conspiracy buffs, all of the allegations, painstakingly researched (and footnoted), that the other Manson books only hinted at. Topics include: the Church of Satan, MK ULTRA and LSD mind control projects, S&M Celebs, snuff videos, the Son of Sam, the RFK hit, ONI, New Age messiahs, the Process Church, the Mob (was Charlie a hitman?), Race Wars, Kenneth Anger, Scientology, the Zodiac Killer, Rock Stars, a national murder cult, drug and kiddie porno rings, and more witchy teenage girls and speed-freak bikers that you can shake a buck knife at! It is not Mr. Gorightly’s intention to make you believe that Manson was a key figure in all of the purported criminal and satanic activities laid out in his book, but merely to inform the reader how much of a true crime icon Charlie Manson is to have writers and historians try to link this little twitchy piece of nothing to every sinister event in the sixties and beyond. Also included is a photo index of Manson family members and a list of contact information.

Book Review: Behold A Pale Horse by William Cooper

Author Bill Cooper was killed some years ago during a shootout with police officers. The incident occurred after a high-speed pursuit while the heavily armed Cooper was in the process of helping a friend kidnapped his son from the court appointed guardian, his divorced wife and the child’s mother. He is gone, the militia movement he had founded has ceased… all that is left is Behold A Pale Horse.

Cooper’s Magnum opus (500 pages of paranoia and hate) is considered by UFO/Conspiracy theorists to be off the wall and totally bat shit! One of the theories Cooper purports is that JFK was assassinated because he had planned to tell the American people about the existents of Grey Aliens! Another one of his gems: the secret government created UFO and aliens to create a space religion to control the masses.

This book toboggans at the speed of light down the slippery slope of cracked-pot accretions about the AIDs virus, the New World Order plot, secret alien technology, and any other sinister plotting that would turn up in a rerun of The X-Files. 100% discredited in its assumptions but Behold A Pale Horse is never boring – especially when read as a document from an unbalanced individual. Once this book was only available through conspiracy mail order bookstores, now you can buy it on Amazon.com.

Book Review: Conspiracies, Cover-Ups & Crimes by Jonathan Vankin

There is a saying among conspiracies buffs: "Cui bono?" The term was coined by Roman Senators before the birth of Christ to analyze the complex schemes and duplicities of posturing politicians and generals of the Empire. "Cui bono?"--- Italian for, "Who benefits?"

The year is 1963. JFK is traveling in a motorcade in Dallas. The stage is set and the cast includes: the Vice President, anti\ pro Castro Cubans, the mob, a lone Marxist, ONI, G2, CIA, FBI, three hoboes, and a man with a black umbrella. Shots ring out-- the curtain drops.

Why was President Kennedy assassinated? Was it because he was soft on Communism, or maybe because of his opposition to the Vietnam War? Who benefits most from the death of the President?

Do you believe in UFOs? If so, do you believe that the extraterrestrials are superior to humans? Did they visit earth throughout the centuries and influence world history? Did they create our religions? Are we just an alien breeding experiment?

If you believe so, who benefits from your line of thought? Can unseen powers create the belief of an alien overseer in order to keep the population in line?

A terrorist plot to bomb a US airliner is discovered by CIA agents. After further investigation, the agents discover the time and target. After notifying their superior, they are ordered to do nothing to prevent the bombing. December 21, 1988. Pan Am flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland. The incident fuels the rift between the Arab controlled Middle East and the West. Who benefited most from the bombing?

These are just a few examples of conspiracies covered in Mr. Vankins 's newest book, CONSPIRACIES, COVERUPS & CRIMES. Some other topics include: the truth about the Jonestown massacre, CIA drug deals, mind-controlled assassins, partnerships between the mob, big business and the Nazis, Votescam, presidential candidate Linden LaRouche, those men of mystery-the Free Masons, and much, much, more.

Who benefits from CONSPIRACIES, COVER-UPS & CRIMES? If you are curious about the shadowy goings-on in this big world of ours, the answer is ... you do!

Book Review: Operation Trojan Horse by John Keel

In May 1970, OPERATION TROJAN HORSE by John Keel was published by Putnam. While other authors of the day were trying to focus their attentions on UFO sightings in the skies, Keel alone widened his scope of investigation to include other unexplained phenomena in the American culture. Soon the others quickly began aping Keel's research.

"All over the world, hack writers sharpened their pencils, though, and stole from OTH as if the copyright laws did not exist. It became one of the most quoted and most plagiarized books in the field.", Keel wrote of his fellow colleagues.

So the question you might be asking yourself is: if this book is so important why didn't I hear of it? Well you can blame its rarity on Putnam publishing. In the early seventies the company decided to scale down it's UFO \ Occult division and focused more on adventure yarns and romance stories. So while Bantam was reprinting CHARIOTS OF THE GODS for the sixth time, OTH found it's way to the shelves of used book stores quickly to be snatched up by serious UFO researchers.

So what makes Keel's book so interesting? If I must sum it up to one thing it must be Keel's radical approach to viewing the unexplained such as UFOs, poltergeists, angels, and lake monsters as ultradimensional rather than extraterrestrial in origin. In other words, they're not from outer space but exist all around us - vibrating at different frequencies. And sometimes they cross over, or become part of our dimension.

Sometimes these occurrences became explained by the culture at the time as supernatural in origin. Here's an example: "Demonology is not just another crackpot-ology ... The manifestations and occurrences described in this imposing literature are similar, if not entirely identical, to the UFO phenomenon itself. Victims of demonomania (possession) suffer the very same medical and emotional symptoms as the UFO contactee." Keel also makes the same case for flying wheels and angels in the bible, voodoo, spiritualism, hauntings, and the occasional visit from a "man in black".

I would be remiss in my responsibilities as a book reviewer to insist that a UFO/Paranormal researcher should purchase a copy of John Keel's OPERATION TROJAN HORSE. The truth is that you should buy three copies; one for your personal library, the second to highlight, and the third to keep for the ages!