Customer Reviews

Hostage to Khomeini

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If you have not read this book you do not really know much of importance about the origins of terrorism and how the seemingly endless conflicts in the Middle East came about. It did not start in 'Biblical times' as is often asserted but in colonial times--with the emphasis on British colonial manipulations.

At the time this book was written it was a ground-breaking look at how completely Middle East politics has been run as a British colonial plantation with dumb Americans chiming in as geopolitical scapegoats for several post-FDR decades. It rings true today more than 25 years later as the Dick Cheney beats the drums for a British-inspired tune entitled 'Nuke Iran.'

The history of these lands is so complex that his book are a welcome sigh of relief: he writes clearly and shows the origins of the going ons. Learning the whys and hows of the development of that history DEFINITIVELY make you re-evaluate your attitudes toward many figureheads. The massive crossover of disciplines (intellectuals of all fields) that shaped the ideological/political developments of these lands (and eventually of the modern world) are bewildering. Any reader will be amazed to find out the interests/implications of freemason societies, media and government agents that took active roles.

This is one of the worst attempts at non-fiction I've ever read. It is a completely ridiculous amalgamation of conspiracy theories that blames the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis in Tehran on a collusion of the Freemasons, the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations, the Carter administration, British Oligarchs, the Mossad, and many, many others. Lyndon LaRouche commissioned the writing of this book, and while I don't know much him, I suspect that many of the absurd views held by the author mirror LaRouche's. Also, the author worked at the Executive Intelligence Review so often cited in this 'book' (and I use the term loosely), which LaRouche founded and directs. EIR is presented as a serious news source, although I can't imagine it is anything other than a mouthpiece for his views.

Here's a representative sample of the tripe you can find in this book:

"So far, we have found that the "Islamic fundamentalist revolution" that seized power in February 1979 was instigated by British Petroleum, was given crucial assistance by a NATO general, forged a continuing alliance with the "Satan" government of the United States, and is heavily penetrated by the Israeli secret intelligence service. Now we answer the question: who is the Ayatollah Khomeini?"

For a superb book on the ACTUAL hostage crisis, read "Guests of the Ayatollah", by Mark Bowden. I wouldn't use this book to level a piano.