Customer Reviews

Masters of Deceit

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book should be rquired reading for high school seniors and college students. It explains much of what has happened in this country over the past forty or fifty years ... in particular, it anticipated the tactics that were used during the Vietnam era, Iran-Contra, etc. These tactics continue to be used today.

Spooky how he nailed down what would happen. Very informative. Great history lesson you or your kids will not get through mainstream education.

I finally decided to read this book in light of current political events, particularly the fact that many anti-war protests are organized and funded by communist/marxist groups.

I was surprised by the relevance of this book given the nearly sixty years since the first printing. Had I read this in 1995, I might have been more inclined to pass it off as a ranting voice from the distant past, but the current love affair with Che Guevara in particular and marxist ideas in general at US colleges proves several of Hoover's main points.

However, Hoover spends more time exploring/explaining the tactics used by communists as they attempt to make socialism acceptable to Americans. He highlights the constant drone by the socialists/communists on the "evils" of capitalism. Moreover, Hoover points to the loss of personal responsibility and accountability as fundamental to accepting an ever more powerful central government that dictates and controls more of our daily lives.

Communists speak of "freedom from..." but never "freedom to...", and this is one of the most dehumanising elements in socialist societies.

The fact that communism/marxism is taught today at colleges and universities as a benign, more enlightened form of government without any reference to the horrors they brought on humanity should serve as a warning on just how masterly deceived many Americans have become.

I always thought the guy was a control freak, but it's interesting how much of this book has come true. A good one. Well worth the read.

I read this book over 30 years ago while in High School. While Hoover is credited as the author, some sources say that the book was ghost-written by Agent Fern Stukenbroeker, an FBI researcher on subversive groups employed in the Crime Records Division. While the organization and function of most subversive movements, Left and Right, are patterned after techniques honed to a sharp edge in the Soviet Union, the information in this book applies to more than merely Communism. Many of these same techniques were/are used yet today by the CIA/FBI/NSA, as well as radical progressive and ultra-conservative organizations in domestic and international disinformation and subversion campaigns.

Consider this book a primer into an education in the operation/administration of covert operations, concerning all facets of the political spectrum, and an insight into how attempts are made daily through the media to influence your thoughts and actions - in ways you would never expect, or otherwise recognize.

Fascinating to read the thoughts on Communism from decades back, some of which are still relevant.

Joe McCarthy did America a great disservice in the early 1950's when his tactics for rooting communists out of American government positions were sucessfully ridiculed by Leftist aiders and abetors in our nations media. While mcCarthy has subsequently been proven to have been correct ("Venona Secrets", "the Haunted Wood", "the Sword and the Shield"), his name has become something of a smear word for any Leftist wishing to lampoon conservative values.

In this book, J. Edgar Hoover discusses the history of the ins and outs of Communist Party operations in the united States. It is of no minor significance that Hoover has been smeared by the religious Left in order to dilute his very prescient message. By linking Hoover as a possible sexual partner to his companion Clyde tolson the Left has managed to make Hoover appear a dishonest hypocrite who flits about in a tutu in his private moments. However, none of this should dilute Hoover's realization of Communism as a clear and present danger to the United states.

We can see the appropriateness of his vision today as we witness the hypocrisy of the political correctness movement in academia, the Leftist bias in the major media, and the virulent environmental extremism astride the land. Hoover spoke to all of the precursors of these conditions because they were fundamentally neccessary for a socialist government to seize control of America's government and business apparatus.

It's unfortunate that we have forgotten Hoover's positive contributions. It would be a good thing to revive his legacy, warts and all, to study the type of material he discusses in this evocative book.

I found this brilliant book as a teenager and credit it for helping to develop my world view and political philosophy.

This book should be read by people NOW.
True, times have changed.
Even this author lost favor.
But the strategies used against us now
are the SAME, and he is warning us
about them, and how to help ourselves.

This Book by J Edgar Hoover in 1958 outlined exactly the process by which the American Government and cultural organizations would come under the thumb of socialist. This book has been proven to be extremely correct by recent events with our government and educational institutions. Poltical correctness prevents discussion of real problems and solving those problems. Recommend every one read!!!