The Protocols of Zion (Paperback)

~ Victor E. Marsden (Translator)
Key Phrases: learned elders, King of the Jews

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

April 6, 2000

As some readers may be aware, a hoax e-mail has been circulating widely that falsely claims Amazon.com has favorably reviewed this book. This allegation is, of course, absolutely untrue. Nevertheless, this rumor has become so widespread on the Internet that it's already a recognized "urban legend," just like alligators living in the sewers. Amazon.com obviously does not endorse The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. This book is one of the most infamous, and tragically influential, examples of racist propaganda ever written. It may be useful to some as a tool in the teaching of the history of anti-Semitism, but it's unquestionably propaganda.

Does Amazon.com sell this book? Of course we do, along with millions of other titles. The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion is classified under "controversial knowledge" in our store, along with books about UFOs, demonic possession, and all manner of conspiracy theories. You can also find books in other sections of Amazon.com's online bookstore that analyze The Protocols' fraudulent origins and its tragic historical role in promoting anti-Semitism and Jewish persecution, including A Lie and a Libel: The History of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Should Amazon.com sell The Protocols and other controversial works? As a bookseller, Amazon.com strongly believes that providing open access to written speech, no matter how hateful or ugly, is one of the most important things we do. It's a service that the United States Constitution protects, and one that follows a long tradition of booksellers serving as guardians of free expression in our society.

Not all countries view these issues the same way. And one of our greatest challenges is to work cooperatively with other governments to respect their laws without compromising our core values of free expression and free exchange of information--values that the Internet embodies on a global scale.

Nevertheless, Amazon.com believes it is censorship not to sell certain books because we believe their message repugnant, and we would be rightly criticized if we did so. Therefore, we will continue to make this book and other controversial works available in the United States and everywhere else, except where they are prohibited by law.

Furthermore, because we strongly believe that the appropriate response to repugnant speech is not censorship, but more speech, we will continue to allow readers, authors, and publishers to express their views about the books and other products we offer on our Web site.

We hope we have eliminated any confusion surrounding this book. If you happened to be one of the many who received the infamous e-mail, we would appreciate it if you would pass this along to your friends. It is very hurtful to everyone at Amazon.com to be accused of racism.

Thank you for your consideration.

*****

Amazon.com, April 6, 2000 Review

Although it's a pernicious fraud, The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion has unfortunately had a widespread influence--all of it evil--on the history of the 20th century. It was exposed as a hoax in 1921, yet it has been used as a justification for the Holocaust and for innumerable pogroms in Russia and the Soviet Union.

The Protocols was supposedly written in 1897 from the minutes of 24 secret meetings between Jews and Freemasons in which they conspired to bring down Western civilization and jointly rule the world. In reality, it is nothing of the sort. In 1921, Philip Graves of the London Times revealed The Protocols to be a fraud, showing it to be based on a French satire aimed at Napoleon III. In a series of side-by-side extracts printed in the Times, Graves demonstrated that the forgers took long portions of the original text, titled Dialogues in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu, and simply replaced "France" with "Zion" and "The Emperor" with "We the Jews." Further investigations by the Russian historian Vladimir Burtsev revealed other sources for The Protocols, including a fantasy novel by Hermann Goedsche and, more darkly, the hand of the Russian secret police.

Sadly, despite its clearly fraudulent nature, The Protocols continues today to feed the fears of the credulous and to fan the flames of fanaticism and hate. --Perry M. Atterberry

From Amazon.com Please note that Amazon.com does not endorse the views expressed in this book or those in the publisher's book description below.

Amazon.com Review

A Message from the Anti-Defamation League
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, circulated by the Czarist secret police at the turn of the 20th century, is plainly and simply a plagiarized forgery. "The Protocols" has been a major weapon in the arsenals of anti-Semites around the world, republished and circulated by individuals, hate groups and governments to convince the gullible as well as the bigoted that Jews have schemed and plotted to take over the world.

Statement of Amazon.com April 6, 2000
As some readers may be aware, a hoax e-mail has been circulating widely that falsely claims Amazon.com has favorably reviewed this book. This allegation is, of course, absolutely untrue. Nevertheless, this rumor has become so widespread on the Internet that it's already a recognized "urban legend," just like alligators living in the sewers. Amazon.com obviously does not endorse The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. This book is one of the most infamous, and tragically influential, examples of racist propaganda ever written. It may be useful to some as a tool in the teaching of the history of anti-Semitism, but it's unquestionably propaganda.

Does Amazon.com sell this book? Of course we do, along with millions of other titles. The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion is classified under "controversial knowledge" in our store, along with books about UFOs, demonic possession, and all manner of conspiracy theories. You can also find books in other sections of Amazon.com's online bookstore that analyze The Protocols' fraudulent origins and its tragic historical role in promoting anti-Semitism and Jewish persecution, including A Lie and a Libel: The History of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

Should Amazon.com sell The Protocols and other controversial works? As a bookseller, Amazon.com strongly believes that providing open access to written speech, no matter how hateful or ugly, is one of the most important things we do. It's a service that the United States Constitution protects, and one that follows a long tradition of booksellers serving as guardians of free expression in our society.

Not all countries view these issues the same way. And one of our greatest challenges is to work cooperatively with other governments to respect their laws without compromising our core values of free expression and free exchange of information--values that the Internet embodies on a global scale.

Nevertheless, Amazon.com believes it is censorship not to sell certain books because we believe their message repugnant, and we would be rightly criticized if we did so. Therefore, we will continue to make this book and other controversial works available in the United States and everywhere else, except where they are prohibited by law.

Furthermore, because we strongly believe that the appropriate response to repugnant speech is not censorship, but more speech, we will continue to allow readers, authors, and publishers to express their views about the books and other products we offer on our Web site.

We hope we have eliminated any confusion surrounding this book. If you happened to be one of the many who received the infamous e-mail, we would appreciate it if you would pass this along to your friends. It is very hurtful to everyone at Amazon.com to be accused of racism.

Thank you for your consideration.

Amazon.com Review
Although it's a pernicious fraud, The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion has unfortunately had a widespread influence--all of it evil--on the history of the 20th century. It was exposed as a hoax in 1921, yet it has been used as a justification for the Holocaust and for innumerable pogroms in Russia and the Soviet Union.

The Protocols was supposedly written in 1897 from the minutes of 24 secret meetings between Jews and Freemasons in which they conspired to bring down Western civilization and jointly rule the world. In reality, it is nothing of the sort. In 1921, Philip Graves of the London Times revealed The Protocols to be a fraud, showing it to be based on a French satire aimed at Napoleon III. In a series of side-by-side extracts printed in the Times, Graves demonstrated that the forgers took long portions of the original text, titled Dialogues in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu, and simply replaced "France" with "Zion" and "The Emperor" with "We the Jews." Further investigations by the Russian historian Vladimir Burtsev revealed other sources for The Protocols, including a fantasy novel by Hermann Goedsche and, more darkly, the hand of the Russian secret police.

Sadly, despite its clearly fraudulent nature, The Protocols continues today to feed the fears of the credulous and to fan the flames of fanaticism and hate. --Perry M. Atterberry

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Legion for the Survival of Freedom
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0685175073
• ISBN-13: 978-0685175071
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,946,170 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

236 of 310 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Know what you are reading, December 12, 1999

By	DDDDDDD (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Protocols of Zion (Paperback)

Let us get a few facts straight: This book was forged by the Czarist secret police Ochrana beginning this century and published by a crazy priest, Sergius Nilus, in 1905 (just in time for the pogroms). It is a crude, anti-semitic rehash of an excellent 1864 book by Maurice Joly's "Les Dialogues aux Enfers" - a dialogue in Hell between Montesquieu and Machiavelli, in which Machiavelli explains to a horrified Montesquieu how a liberal democracy with all the trappings (separations of power, a free press, etc) can be subverted step by step into a despotic regime.</p> This was a not-so-veiled critique of the autocratic reign of Napoleon III. There is, alas, no English translation of this book, although there are French and German versions (that I know of). If you are the sort of troglodyte who believes in world-wide conspiracies, then any advice I may have for you is useless.</p> If you are not, and you are just curious about a book which has had such a profound impact, I'd cautiously recommend reading it - bearing in mind that these lies contributed more than any other single book to the slaughter of millions of Jews in this century.

107 of 145 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Protocols A Forgery Declare Columbia Univ & Russian Court, November 4, 1999

By	Stephen E Seadler (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Protocols of Zion (Paperback)

The following is provided as a public service to all who are concerned with the Protocols Affair. "As early as 1921, the English journalist Philip Graves exposed the similarity between the Protocols and a political satire by Maurice Joly, 'Dialogue aux enfers entre Machiavel et Montesquieu' (1864). Subsequent investigation showed the original document to be a forgery written by members of the Russian secret police." -The New Columbia Encyclopedia, Columbia University Press, New York and London, 1975, p. 2229. Additionally, in 1994, after an exhaustive year-long investigation, a Russian District Court in Moscow, Judge Ludmilla Belikova presiding, ruled that the Czarist-era 'Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion' was, in fact, a forgery and that its publication constituted an antisemitic act.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A better version is long past due, March 30, 2008

By	Adam "www.voiceofreasonreviews.com" (MA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (Hardcover)

First, I must commend Amazon for making this book available for purchase. I don't know too many other places I would have been able to acquire it. It's nice to see that bookstores are willing to offer any kind of work regardless of their controversial nature. However, I will say that I'm fairly surprised that this is the version that's being offered and kind of explains the statement Amazon issued about offering this particular text.

I am aware that this text has been proven to be a fraud, but in the actual printing of it I was expecting that to be definitively laid out for the reader. Unfortunately the authors and translators presenting the text appear to believe it. So, for those historically inclined, you may want to seek out some other supplementary texts that go into the history and the hoax of the document itself. You can't trust this version at face value because of the way it's presented. Books like "The Lie that Wouldn't Die" have more background on the history of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion". I have not read that text yet, but I do have it, so all in good time. There are multiple books published on the lie itself, that book is merely one that I happen to own. I will probably acquire various versions and review them individually, when I find the best copy I will update this review and present it here. Either way, from some other reviews I see, there are still people that support this so the question as to whether this is a hoax or not appears to still be out there for some people.

I first heard about this book when I was reading "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" because they had mentioned it originated in medieval times in Russia. Unfortunately reading this book didn't really back up that claim, so I will have to find that elsewhere in my research. The translator of this text reports that it was first published in 1897 in Russia from someone's private collection to be distributed amongst friends, but nothing about how it ended up in his private collection. So this global Jewish conspiracy concept wasn't widely published at first. After that more copies were published in the early 1900's that had wider distribution. The translator, Marsden, opens the book with quotes from well respected men, such as Henry Ford from 1921 saying that he thought the Protocol's fit the world. So, essentially adding weight to the assumption these "Protocols" were actually correct because learned and successful men acknowledged them.

The real pinnacle of this books renown was probably culminated when Hitler became influenced by it. He even references the book in "Mein Kampf" and later he also references Henry Ford as one of the few free men in the United States. I have no doubt it's because Hitler thought he supported the book. In fact a lot of people supported this as truth before it was proven to be a hoax. Of course there are still groups of people who say this is all factually true, but you get that with any conspiracy theory. I, on the other hand, will remain skeptical unless presented with definitive and hard evidence. A single "supposed" conversation of some elite Jews at the turn of the 20th century is not enough to persuade me.

Okay, on to the text itself. This is what you can term a "perfect conspiracy". In the sense that whatever you use it for it can support your beliefs. For example, if I were to say Hitler was actually in the employ of the Jews and only supporting them through his actions, I would be correct and supported by this document. If you read Protocol XII section 3, at the end it says "I beg you to note that among those making attacks upon us will also be organs established by us..." I could cry conspiracy of World War II to reestablish an Israeli state using this book. Just as you can use the allied response in the war to support the accuracy of this book. Usually when conspiracies enter this caliber something is quite wrong, any logical outlook should tell you that.

One thing that sort of drives me crazy about some of the accusations in this book and supported by others is the conspiracy theory that our financial institutions are controlled by the Jews. This seriously blows me away because when you look at banking and financial institutions there aren't enough that deem it as full global control. Goldman Sachs has roots in Jewish founding, but does J.P. Morgan? Not at all, J.P. Morgan's fortune was rooted through a man named George Peabody who has roots in a Puritan family. Last time I checked they were Christian. Likewise Bank of America has no tracings. I'd venture to say State Street Corporation doesn't have any, but I can't find out who founded that bank. And how about Softbank from Japan? Rothschild, one of the more famous financial institutions does have Jewish roots, but that doesn't mean a bank like BNP Paribas does. Or how about Icici Bank, the largest in India? The accusations just don't stack up. However, some might say the people were probably members of the Masons, which this book does list as one of their controlling elements. Unfortunately, I don't think it lends that much credence to the conspiracy because there are about a thousand other conspiracies involving the Masons that have nothing to do with this Jewish conspiracy as well.

Another part of this book that I found fairly annoying is that it looks like someone went in and added newer comments into the book. Like after a particular protocol section is being discussed we'll see a notation in parenthesis, probably the most annoying and disruptive way to add these notes, but they use these as proof of actions in the world. Specifically they are generated towards the United States as proof of that government under Zions control, no doubt. You'll see great comments like "Now we know the purpose of the Federal Reserve Bank Corporation". This note was found in a particular protocol about the control of money supply. I must confess that it doesn't appear this person really knows the history of the financial systems in the United States. One of the main reasons the Federal Reserve came about was because it wanted to alleviate any problems of there being a run on the banks like what happened in the Great Depression. Also it had to have special functions as we moved away from the Gold Standard. The commenter would have had more weight if he had placed this comment after the section on creating financial strife in the world. I have a very lengthy book on the functions of the Fed Reserve called "Secrets of the Temple" and I hope to learn more about its inner workings there. This financial function is also involved in many other conspiracy theories, but it holds far more weight when you talk about interest rate control and reactions to inflation. But this works in contradiction to the Protocols at times, because it states that Gold will be the method they control the world finances. The governments moving away from a gold standard must have put a little kink into that especially since Gold prices crashed in the 1980's and are just rising in the year 2000. Say what you want about this conspiracy theory, but it just doesn't hold water all the way through. Anyway, I found the added conspiratorial commentary fairly annoying. There's even one that states it was the reason JFK was assassinated. While I think there is some serious merit to the second gunman hypothesis, I really don't think the Jews were completely behind that.

On a historical level I definitely enjoyed reading this book and think it definitely has some serious merit for anyone interested in it. However, I would urge a better version, with more historical proof that this is not reality. Like all conspiracies some points fit the mold, but just because `A' and `B' go in conjunction doesn't always lead you to solution `F' with nothing in between. However, that's how most conspiracy theories work, there's a lot of faith you have to put into them because there is no supporting evidence, there are only assumptions and loose patterns to put the puzzle together. I sort of bear the tenet that people can believe whatever they want, but under that line you need to be able to put up with your beliefs being scrutinized by others. Needless to say this book did not turn me into a believer by the end.