49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally! *The* Bohemian Grove book I'd been hoping to find!, November 8, 2004
This review is from: Bohemian Grove: Cult Of Conspiracy (Paperback)
I was so delighted to find this book - a comprehensive history and study of the powerful and influential San Francisco Bohemian Club was long overdue! Since William Domhoff's "The Bohemian Grove and Other Retreats" has been out of print for 30 years, and other books have only skimmed the subject of the Bohemian Grove (maybe just a chapter or two), this book is nearly 450 pages on the subject - WOW! - Everything you Ever Wanted To Know About The Bohemian Grove (But Were Probably Afraid to Ask!).
Author Hanson provides a thorough history of the club, from it's humble founding in 1873 by a group of eminent newspapers writers such as Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce and Bret Harte, through the club's growth into a fashionable hangout for theatrical performers, musicians, artists, and movie stars in the early 20th century, to its current status of over 1500 members including some of the most powerful businessmen, politicians, and influential scholars, scientists and leaders on the planet.
Hanson manages to make this history a fascinating read (his style is not dry or too academic...that's refreshing!), and his writing style is careful to represent all sides of the ongoing debate fairly (so's that). Of course, there are still many unanswered questions floating around about what *really* goes on inside the Bohemian Grove, but Mike Hanson has done an excellent job in unraveling many of the secret mysteries, debunking a few conspiracy theories, while keeping his eye trained on the bigger picture...that the Bohemian Grove is only one key component in a much larger agenda that should concern all of us - WHO OWNS AMERICA? Well, this book names names - literally! - there's even a complete Bohemian Club membership list in the Appendix section.
Also included is a complete list of the various camps at the Grove, and a list of noteables who have been club members in the past reads like a "Who's Who in America" for the past 130 years! - everyone from Teddy Roosevelt and Jack London to Bobby Kennedy and Bill Clinton, plus famous entertainers like Will Rogers, Bing Crosby, Art Linkletter, Lowell Thomas, and yes, even California governor Arnold schwartenegger (who they say was "chosen" for the governorship at the Bohemian Grove!). Add to that every Republican president since Calvin Coolidge, right up to our current President George W. Bush, and his father and grandfather before him, and you've got one helluva story to tell.
The photos alone are incredible (how about Presidents Nixon, Reagan and Eisenhower all relaxing together at Owl's nest Camp?) and the author's own personal story of how he infiltrated Bohemian Grove is a real page-turner. I couldn't put this book down! Pretty amazing story - Mike Hanson and Alex Jones secretly snuck into the Bohemian Grove compund in July of 2000 and captured the super-secret occult fire ritual practiced by Bohemians called "The Cremation of Care" on hidden video cameras. The result of their effort was made into a documentary film called "Dark Secrets - Inside Bohemian Grove" and the rest of the story is inside the pages of this new book by Mr. Hanson.
"Bohemian Grove - Cult of Conspiracy" is an absolutely invaluable resource to any serious political and/or occult researcher. The author goes into great detail giving documentation, references and a selected bibliography for further reading on the subject, and adding a Preface to the book about Waco and an Epilogue about 9/11 was a nice touch. Very skillful, thought-provoking work. Everybody should read it!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An informative read, however not well edited!, November 14, 2010
This review is from: Bohemian Grove: Cult Of Conspiracy (Paperback)
Bohemian Grove - the secret retreat in North California's redwoods, where all the Big Names come together for an exclusive meeting, organized each July, with a ritual that goes back to ancient pagan traditions! "Bohemian Grove - Cult of Conspiracy" is the insider report of Mike Hanson, a cameraman who secretly infiltrated America's most infamous and most mysterious camp in July 2000. This is his story and, I must say, a very good and thrilling one. Hanson not only tells us the origins of "Bohemian Grove", he perfectly links it with the Freemasons, telling events and decisions that were made at the Grove (such as Manhattan Project) and with the personal stories. Critics, the media, authors, number one politicans as well as their prostitutes speak openly about their experiences at the Grove. Be sure that after reading this book, you will no longer believe in a conspiracy or in a fairytale, because everything has been proven by hard facts.
As much as I give credit to Hanson for his great research on "The Grove", he had better find a better publisher for that account. The editing is really bad - and considering I'm not even a native English speaker and notice lousy spelling mistakes and, every now and then, grammar mistakes, this should be telling! Many Latin words used in the books were spelt simply wrong. And there's one more research mistake: Hitler never studied art in "Leitz" - the author probably meant "Linz" (there is no town called Leitz), but in Vienna. In general, the book is not a literary masterpiece - way too many colloquial expressions, informal syntax, exclamation points and exaggerated spaces that makes the book look more sensational and therefore - every now and then - like the issue of a glossy magazine.
The chronological order in the book is somehow confusing. Why did the author have to jump around? He starts with the present day Bohemian Grove, then traces its history and philosophy, then jumps again to his own experience. The Waco incident is also described in the foreword which, I think, should have been placed in the afterword. Very often, Hanson says again what he has already said in previous chapters. In short: His research on the Grove is great, but the account is a personal story that has, unfortunately, not been proofread, edited and restructured properly to make it an even better and easier read for the reader!
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13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hmmmmmm., November 8, 2006
This review is from: Bohemian Grove: Cult Of Conspiracy (Paperback)
I wonder why the 2 negative reviewers only reviewed this book. Have they not read watched or used any other products on Amazon?
I wonder who they are and why they don't like the book.
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