Report from Iron Mountain: On The Possibility and Desirability of Peace [Unabridged] [Hardcover]

Leonard Lewin (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1967

The unwillingness of the special study group to publicize their findings is readily understandable..They concluded that lasting peace, while not theoretically impossible,is probably unobtainable. even if it could be achieved it would almost certainly not be in the best interests of a stable society to achieve it....

Product Details

• Hardcover: 109 pages
• Publisher: The Dial Press, Inc.; 1st, 2nd printing edition (1967)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001156Z70
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,743,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deviant but brilliant !!, April 1, 2006

By 

Rev4u "Rev" (PV, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Report from Iron Mountain on the Possibility and Desirability of Peace (Paperback)

Hoax or reality, this report sheds a clear light on the process of elitist thinking and planning. It did not only predict but planned our future. The present situation in the world is the greatest proof of the authenticity of this report.

It's a book worth reading. If you find it buy it...

77 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars it was LEAKED: LATER the later spin was that it was a "hoax", November 10, 2004

By 

Mark D. Whitaker (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: REPORT FROM IRON MOUNTAIN: On the Possibility and Desirability of Peace (Hardcover)

It's very real.

The foreword is only by Leonard Lewin. He is not the author. It was first published by the Dial Press, NY.

It is not a novel, but rather a report written by the members of a 15-man "Special Study Group" commissioned, they believe, by some governmental entity which wished to remain unknown. The report is addressed to that unknown requestor, the work of the group having been com­pleted after about two and a half years of labor. The members of the group knew that they had been care­fully screened and selected for the task, that they represented the highest levels of scholarship, experi­ence, and expertise in a wide range of the physical and social sciences, that they possessed years of service in business, government, and academe, and that among them they had access to a vast proportion of the country's resources in the social and physical science fields. The Special Study Group was clearly possessed of outstanding establishmentarian credentials.

The book comes to us because one of the members of the group, identified only as John Doe, approached Mr. Lewin several months after the com­pleted report had been submitted, and sought his help in getting the report commercially published, since he ("Doe") felt that the public had a right to be apprised of its existence, even though the group had previously agreed to keep it secret. Mr. Lewin, having agreed to serve in that capacity, wrote a foreword spelling out these circumstances and passing on what little he learned from "Doe" concerning the study's origin and its participants.

He further revealed his personal reaction to the conclusions of the report, conclusions which he said he does not share.

In Griffin's The Creature From Jekyll Island, he makes reference to The Report From Iron Moun­tain. I encourage you to read and absorb his inter­pretation, which has an emphasis somewhat different than this review. Griffin supplies evidence of the authenti­city of the Report by quoting the written assertion to that effect by Harvard's establishmentarian professor John Kenneth Galbraith, who admitted to participating in the study in at least a consultative capacity.

I would also like to borrow from Griffin's conclusions concerning the study's importance. He asks why this study differs from any other think tank effort, and then writes (p. 525): "The answer is that this one was commissioned and executed, not by ivory tower dreamers and theore­ticians, but by people who are in charge. It is the brainchild of the CFR....So many things that otherwise are incomprehensible suddenly become perfectly clear: foreign aid, wasteful spending, the destruction of American industry, a job corps, gun control, a national police force, the apparent demise of Soviet power, a UN army, disarmament, world bank, a world money, the surrender of national independence through treaties,..."

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nightmare for paranoids (is it REALLY fiction?)., August 21, 2000

By 

J T Kelly (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Report from Iron Mountain on the Possibility and Desirability of Peace (Paperback)

I originally encountered this book over 25 years ago (maybe earlier). I have continually referred it to particular friends over the interevening years. I just recently told a political affairs "junkie" about it. This report fascinated me way back then and has stayed with me through the years. I was rapt from start to finish and defy anyone to willingly abandon it in the middle. The answer to the question: "Is peace desirable?" would seem obvious. If there were any answer other than yes, what would be the justification? The end(?) of the cold war did not bring a breakout of peace. This exposition anticipated that peace could conceivably bring as many or more problems than war. Sound bizaare? The report makes it VERY plausible. Sweet dreams!