The Octopus: Secret Government and the Death of Danny Casolaro [Paperback]

Kenn Thomas (Author), Jim Keith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2003

The primary conspiracy of the late 20th century.

Product Details

• Paperback: 237 pages
• Publisher: Feral House; Revised edition (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0922915911
• ISBN-13: 978-0922915910
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #407,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kenn Thomas works as a conspiracy writer, a parapolitical researcher, university library archivist, and showrunner for Steamshovel Press, a parapolitical conspiracy cyber presence and magazine. He has written books on the Inslaw affair, co-authoring The Octopus with the late Jim Keith, and on Fred Crisman and the Maury Island Incident.

Thomas has authored over a dozen books on various conspiracy topics. The latest is JFK & UFO, about the possibility that 1947 UFO witness Fred Crisman was connected to the assassination of John F. Kennedy; and The Octopus: Secret Government and the Death of Danny Casolaro, about theInslaw affair. In 2004, Feral House published a new edition of The Octopus, extending the suggestion of connections to the post-9/11 world and al-Qaeda. Feral House also recently published the new book, fully titled JFK & UFO: Military-Industrial Conspiracy and Cover-Up from Maury Island to Dallas.[1]

Thomas calls his research interest "parapolitics," the study of conspiracies of all colors -- from alien abductions and the Illuminati, to the John F. Kennedy assassination and the September 11, 2001 attacks. The New Yorker called his work "on the cutting edge" of conspiracy. His name has become a proverb for a conspiracy theorist; enough so that a baseball almanac described the sport as involving "enough fishy behavior to keep Kenn Thomas swarming for years."[2]

Thomas lectures extensively. He has appeared at Conspiracy Con in San Francisco many years; the Disinfo Con and Media Monotone conferences in New York,; the Crash Retrieval Conference in Las Vegas; the International UFO Conference in Laughlin; the FortFest and Beyond Knowledge conferences in London; even on a Caribbean cruise ship. Most recently he appeared at the Alternative Research Community conference in Bath, England and the All I Want Is The Truth conference in Atlanta, Georgia.



In addition to JFK & UFO, Thomas' writing currently also appears The Casebook on the Men In Black (published by AUP) and Round Trip To Hell In A Flying Saucer (published by Global Communications). His web site, steamshovelpress.com, also makes available a new PDF book entitled Popular Parapolitics and a DVD of his appearance with psychedelic philosopher Timothy Leary, called Cafe Chaos.


1. http://feralhouse.com/jfk-ufo/
2. Baseball Prospectus by Joseph S. Sheehan and Chris Kahrl.
3. Conspiracy Con: Video & Audio:
http://www.conspiracycon.com/audiotapes.html
4. Steamshovel Press: Appearances:
http://www.steamshovelpress.com/appearances1.html
^ Conspiracy Con: Speakers:
http://www.conspiracycon.com/speakers.html

External links

Steamshovel Press (official site): steamshovelpress.com

Kenn Thomas Profile in St. Louis Magazine:
http://www.stlmag.com/St-Louis-Magazine/August-2008/Stalking-the-Octopus/

Nov.22 appearance on Coast To Coast:
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2009/11/22

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Vitally Important Read for Citizens Worldwide, February 3, 2004

By 

Richard M. Smith II "rmsi" (Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Octopus: Secret Government and the Death of Danny Casolaro (Paperback)

This delves into Danny Casolaro's investigation of the U.S. Justice Department's apparent crooked dealings with Inslaw, the software company that developed the spy software, PROMIS, for Justice under an agreement in which Inslaw apparently retained all proprietary rights to PROMIS. Justice reneged on paying Inslaw, yet PROMIS turned up illegally at other government agencies and foreign governments. This opened a Pandoras Box involving what Sir Winston Churchill called the High Cabal and Casolaro dubbed the Octopus; a handful of arrogant self-appointed aristocrats who are determined to force upon mankind the New World Order that madmen like Adolf Hitler and George H.W. Bush have raved about for centuries; a world government controlled by these elitists; one without constitutional rights. These murderous zealots stop at nothing to achieve their objectives. Aside from very few inaccuracies (like the time of George deMohrenschildt's death) this is well researched and written.

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Frightening Indictment, April 7, 2004

By 

Acharya S (Truth, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Octopus: Secret Government and the Death of Danny Casolaro (Paperback)

Kenn and Jim's magnum opus. (RIP, beloved friend to humankind.) This book is as scary as they come, and stranger than fiction. As a conspiracy writer, I found myself shaking while reading it. THEY are real, and THEY can do and have done horrifying things. The Octopus is the Matrix vivified.

This book is especially important for anyone who still naively believes "there are no conspiracies." The word "conspiracy" means "to breathe together." Only two people are needed to make a conspiracy, and this book will leave you breathless.

Danny Casolaro is a heroic figure who bravely and, perhaps, foolhardily attempted to foil the Octopus, whose tendons reach into the most intimate parts of all our lives. He should never be forgotten. Thank goodness for the valiant likes of Kenn Thomas and Jim Keith for telling his story. Movie studios should be clamoring for this highly untold story - but they are no doubt part of the Octopus. Danny, Kenn and Jim should be lauded for their audacity and courage in bringing forth this treacherous tale of murder and mayhem. Such valor is akin to that of Gary Webb in his expose of CIA drug-dealing.

Carry on, fellow warriors for truth.

Acharya S; Archaeologist, Historian, Mythologist, Linguist; Member, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Greece; Associate Director, Institute for Historical Accuracy; Director, Center of the Research and Study of Theology; Author, "The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold"

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How many coincidences does it take to prove a conspiracy?, May 31, 2006

By 

K. D. Kelly "home and away wrecker" (sf, ca) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Octopus: Secret Government and the Death of Danny Casolaro (Paperback)

If you learn nothing else after reading this book, at least take home the following: striking a nerve in the government is a surefire way to make an exit the way it's done in Shakespeare: all the characters are surrounded by pools of blood and no longer breathing. In fact, while reading "The Octopus," I felt the act of turning each page was putting me more and more in danger, especially given that the original author of "Octopus," Danny Casolaro, died suspiciously while compiling notes for the book -- the coroner ruled his death suicide but when the family sought their own investigation, they found his body had already been illegally embalmed. And an editor for this book based on Casolaro's notes, Jim Keith, died suspiciously as well -- on the operating table during routine knee surgery, with a rare bacteria working through his system.

Forget "The Da Vinci Code." "The Octopus" is more gripping, less contrived and, perhaps most importantly, actually well-written. And for the conspiracy curious who are merely dipping their toes in the kiddie pool, where else to dabble in such accusations as JFK was popped off by his driver, Oliver North started the drug trade in Colombia, cattle mutilations are blamed on UFOs but are part of biological warfare experiments, and the eight people who pull the strings in this world (the tentacles of The Octopus) began their conquest through a simple act of revenge? This is the kind of book, that were -- god-fearing Puritan-hicks forbid -- it to be discussed on CNN, people would burn CNN to the ground, which is why CNN will never seriously discuss the ideas in this book.

Casolaro, whose starting point is research into a computer programming husband-and-wife team who had software stolen by the government, builds a very strong case that our government indeed operates in the shadows and has a penchant for toying with people's lives. Octopus is a quick, jaw-dropping read that acts as a good starting point to paranoia. The only argument I have, like another reviewer below, is that the editors never convincingly approach the Octopus eight who are argued to control all the governments of the world. That accusation, unlike the rest of the book, comes off sounding like the far-flung conspiracies that give this kind of research a bad name.