The CIA's Greatest Hits (The Real Story Series) [Paperback]

Mark Zepezauer (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Real Story Series | Publication Date: July 1, 2002

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

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Author/illustrator Mark Zepezauer’s previous books include Take the Rich Off Welfare, Boomerang! How Our Covert Wars Have Created Enemies Across the Middle East and Brought Terror to America, The Nixon Saga and the first edition of The CIA’s Greatest Hits. The former publisher of the Tucson Comic News, he lives in Tucson with his wife and two children.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 95 pages
• Publisher: Odonian Press (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878825305
• ISBN-13: 978-1878825308
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #869,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Introduction to Repression, October 26, 2000

By 

mrgrieves08 (tucson) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The CIA's Greatest Hits (The Real Story Series) (Paperback)

This is another important contribution to the ongoing critic of imperialist culture that many mistaking think ended at the start of the twentieth century. In the vein of Chomsky, Vidal and Jardine, "Real Story Series" pamphlets, Zepezauer gives a quick overview of, perhaps, one of the most dishonorable ongoing chapters of US history. This book is not meant to go into a detailed analysis' of CIA activities, but rather introduce the nefarious activities of this powerful agency to the public. Within this book one will be introduced to the CIA's involvement in the overthrow of democratic governments all over the world. From Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador and the repeted attempts to bring about the downfall of Castro in our hemisphere, to the Phillipines, Vietnam, Greece, and into Africa, the reader introduced to what could be called the most well financed terrorist organization in the world. This book is only an introduction, as I said, and if one is interested in a more in- depth look at the CIA, check out "Killing Hope" by William Blum. All in all this book is a very good place begin in any investigation of the CIA's activities, especially for those not familar with the subject.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zepezaur is Superb, May 30, 2005

By 

TitaniumDreads "http://blog.titaniumdreads.com" (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The CIA's Greatest Hits (The Real Story Series) (Paperback)

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."

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Imperialism? A thing of the past, huh?, January 9, 2006

By 

Anton Batey "[e-mail]" (Detroit, MI USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The CIA's Greatest Hits (The Real Story Series) (Paperback)

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