Customer Reviews

A G-Man's Journal: A Legendary Career Inside the FBI- FROM The Kennedy Assassination to the Oklahoma City Bombing

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Revell, in this co-authored book, believes in the philosophy "never say in 350 pages what you can say in 570."
The events are apparently purely chronological, and almost stream-of-consciousness. There's a lot of jumping from subject to subject, with little transition or unifying theme. While the book has a bibliography and index, it's lacking a glossary, which would be helpful for those of us who don't use acronyms like OSG, JSOC, CSG, and CISPES on a daily basis.
The book would be less cluttered if there wasn't a compulsion to include every incident in which Revell wished to claim credit, or rebut an allegation of misconduct against him. For instance, the liner notes claim that Revell "participated in ... the JFK assassination [investigation]." It turns out Revell wasn't even in the FBI at the time; he was a Marine who was liaison to FBI agents who were interviewing Marines who had known Oswald during Oswald's Marine service.
It is an interesting account of agent Revell's career, and FBI history and lore, mainly from within the FBI bureaucracy looking down, and contains some almost-hidden nuggets of insight on personalities and events you probably won't find elsewhere.
Read _No Heroes_ by Danny O. Coulson for a street agent perspective on many of the same events.

It is an informative novel which gives exciting insight into one of the most famous law enforcement agencies of America. Not only learning about the cases that Oliver Revell worked on, but knowing how others in the FBI, including J. Edgar Hoover, thought and said is purely fascinating. This is a must read to anyone interested in the FBI, law enforcement, or federal government agencies.

The controversy over the Helsinki matter was immediate and long running...no just unresolved. Revell's covering of it in his book is accurate...he is inaccurate on Thurman for one. Accuracy (and honesty) is like virginity - either you've got it or you don't.

Even though the threat was apparently circulated within some parts of the Department of State, it certainly did not receive widespread dissemination. - European papers showed it posted in Moscow and Karen Decker said - not anonymously, and on tape - that is was disseminated. "Widely" is relative - there were NO EUROPEAN STATE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES RETURNING TO THE US 3 DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS ON THE US FLAG CARRIER - res ipsi loquitor.

At the time I was was assigned to a major European Embassy, with among other things, responsibilty for Internatinal Terrorism and I did not learn of the Helsinki matter until the PA103 tragedy. Well the BKA gave those pictures to as many government and airline agencies as possible. So its an anonymous post vs Karen Decker on ABC - if true, not a good job why brag about it ? But somebody warned those embassy people and posted those warnings.

Immediately upon learning of the threat, a team of FBI and Finnish police were dispatched to conduct an extensive investigation to resolve the Helsinki call, which they did, and it was in no way connected to PA103. To suggest otherwise simply flys in the face of the facts. What facts ? The face saving newspaper accounts a week after the fact - Chris Revell's apparently simultaneous of rebooking and the Helsinki warnings are actions that speak louder than anything Buck Revell has to say.

Why anyone would think that the FBI and the many other agencies, both from the US and Europe, who investigated PA103 would ignore such a significant development is incomprehensible. - incromprehensible to anyone oblivious to Middle Eastern affairs, oil interests, or Iranian politics.

Conspircy theorists (a derisive rhetorical flourish ...anything involving more than a single individual can be referred to as "a conspiracy" - aimless) fail to accept that the investigation involved thousands of individuals from hundreds of agencies, all of whom were trying to solve the largest muder in American history. Hardly thousands except at the most trivial level; and interestingly neither the media nor Revell treat it as "the largest murder in American history" - although its true. But in fact it was a necessary payback for the ghastly Vincennes incident - which was an equally homicidal event. A dyed in wool patriot like Revell overlooks that.

These individuals were dedicated, professional and for the most part, apolitical.

According to Seymour Hersh "Revell can be a very political bureaucratic, for sure, and has been...." -- Revell's exchanges with Bruce Porter, comments on Louis Freeh, and on Sessions shows Revell is a political as you can get. The handling of Lockerbie was just doing the companies bidding (and if he used the inside information to save his kid along with the Embassy people he was only being human ...but if so it proves that on Dec 5-7, 1988 Revell did not think it was a "hoax" .... and he does not have what it takes to own up to that.)

They would not have been swayed to lower their standards by any administration or group. And I can assure you that there was never any pressure from any source on the investigators. -- facts trump everything, but circumstantial evidence and named, taped accounts, and published facts trump anonymous tipsters, not published, presenting no facts.

Oliver Revell wrote his memoires....or did he forget some of them ? Some things are clearly missing in his book.

Revell wrote to the readers of amazon.com personally "I will be pleased to respond to comments and questions regarding my book and career." Well, let us see how he responds to this:

"Are you happy that you saved your son from Pan Am 103, Ollie? Do you sometimes think about who was the unlucky guy or girl who took your son's seat and flew right into death that day the 21st of December 1988 ? Or do you still not bother today as you din't bother then ?"

Other crap that upset me on reading the reviews of his book was this phrase: "Women who read this book will find a true heroine in Revell's wife."

Perhaps it should have read: "Young airline passengers who read this book will find a true hero in Revell's son."!!!

Interesting for the first few chapters but after that I sense that the author reaches to take credit for some pretty incredible achievements. Mostly telling who did what to whom when and if you're not an insider, it won't matter.

In this breathtakingly fascinating book, Oliver "Buck" Revell, who rose to the hightst job in the FBI, gives what is perhaps the most insightful overview of America's war on crime, espionage and terrorism in the last 30 years. It is a story of legendary exploits and munerous encounters with the most hardened criminals and killers, a meteoric rise to the highest levels in the FBI from where for 11 years Revell spearheaded the reorganization and modernization of the Bureau, and directed all criminal and counter-intelligence operations. The unvarnished praise and criticism of the inner workings of the FBI make for both fascinating reading and provide a historical perspective for such controversial issues as congressional corruption (ABSCAM), the Martin Luther King investigation, the paranoia of Hoover's power, the Savings and Loan scandals, American involvement with the Shah of Iran, the PanAm bombing, the COINTELPRO (counter-intelligence program) and BRILAB (labor racketeering) investigations and Branch Davidians among others. The book covers the timespan from the Kennedy assassination to the Oklahoma City bombing. For 11 years, unde rtwo Directors, Revell served as Deputy Director in charge of the Investigations and Counterintelligence Divisions and as FBI representative on the National Security Council. Revell is one of the most highly decorated FBI agents. Revell's foremost accomplishment was in the reorgainzation of the FBI under Director Clarence Kelley, when he helped throw out what he calls "rediculously rigid rules" and slashed the hamstringing bureaucracy. He prioritized organized crime, counter-terrorism, drug trafficking and money laundering and forged ties with Interpol and leading police organizations around the world. A former Marine pilot, Revell describes one heart-breaking predicament when he flew the first helicopter mission searching for a kidnaped young girl, while his own son lay critically ill in the hospital. His superiors urged him to rush to his son's bedside, but, like on many other occasions, Revell asked his wife Sharon to handle the emergency and kept searcning until he found the girl's body in a Kansas field. Although Revell reveals how his career burdened his family life, it only tells in bits and pieces the story of how an extremely dedicated FBI wife had to cope. Revell praises Hoover for forging the premier law enforcement agency in the world while severely criticizing him for his arbitrary and capricious leadership in his latter years. He narrates what Hoover told him about John and Robert Kennedy's orders to bug Maritn Luther King for possible manipulation by Soviet intelligence. He praises Director William Webster for his probity, but laments the unethical stewardship of William Sessions as FBI Director. Revell reveals how upon becoming Director, Louis Freeh packed the uppermost echelons of the FBI with his cronies. Revell is highly critical of Louis Freeh" leadership of the FBI. Revell's epilog recommends a long range plan to reorganize and improve law enforcement in the U.S. He deplores the "dysfunctional montage of 140 Federal agencies functioning in spearate and often counterproductive spheres of responsibility." Revell calls for the creation of a Federal Department of Law Enforcement to coordinate Federal efforts to combat the new Evil Empire-international crime. This is a must read for anyone interested in how the FBI really works.

Buck Revell is not only an FBI legend, but one of the innovaters who reformed the FBI after the death of J.Edgar Hoover...a great read with new info about controversial cases that you will never hear on the evening news.

In today's world of media savvy, self-serving and self-gratifying public officials, it is refreshing to read the story of Buck Revell.In his book the notions of character, integrity, and adherence to the rule of law, abound in a lively and anecdotally rich insider's account of a career spanning four decades in the FBI. Revell led investigations into some of recent history's greatest scandals and calamities. From the Savings and Loan scandal, to the question of whether then Vice President Bush's political operatives wired Perot's phone lines, to the Pan Am Flight 103 explosion over Lockerbie, Scotland, to the home grown act of terror in Oklahoma City, A G-man's Journal takes you to the event, and provides an insiders account of the elements at work. While providing invaluable insight for professionals in the fields of investigation and intelligence, this book is an absolute must read for anyone facing ethical decisions under pressure. Anyone from a law enforcement officer to an attorney, to a journalist, to a politican should look to this memoir as evidence that character and integrity count, and are the true human underpinnings for a successful career in any field of public service. Jack Plaxe, Contributing Editor, Journal of Counterterrorism.

From cover to cover this wonderfully detailed account of Mr. Revell's tenure with the FBI left little doubt about this man's love for country and family. With intimate insight, not only into the workings of the bureau, but also into the price his family has paid for his years of service, Mr. Revell shares each event and opinion without flinching. A wonderfully candid account of an extraordinary career lived by an extraordinary American. Women who read this book will find a true heroine in Revell's wife, Sharon.

The controversy over the Helsinki matter was immediate and long running. Revell's covering of it in his book is accurate. Even though the threat was apparently circulated within some parts of the Department of State, it certainly did not receive widespread dissemination. At the time I was was assigned to a major European Embassy, with among other things, responsibilty for Internatinal Terrorism and I did not learn of the Helsinki matter until the PA103 tragedy.

Immediately upon learning of the threat, a team of FBI and Finnish police were dispatched to conduct an extensive investigation to resolve the Helsinki call, which they did, and it was in no way connected to PA103. To suggest otherwise simply flys in the face of the facts.

Why anyone would think that the FBI and the many other agencies, both from the US and Europe, who investigated PA103 would ignore such a significant development is incomprehensible. Revell, as is plain in his book, was not someone that could be manipulated.

Conspircy theorists fail to accept that the investigation involved thousands of individuals from hundreds of agencies, all of whom were trying to solve the largest muder in American history. These individuals were dedicated, professional and for the most part, apolitical. They would not have been swayed to lower their standards by any administration or group. And I can assure you that there was never any pressure from any source on the investigators.