Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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93 of 100 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Skull and Bones Updated to Bush and Kerry, January 10, 2005
Antony Sutton in writing "America's Secret Establishment" two decades ago set in motion the analytical wherewithal for tracing its activities beyond his death. Sutton may be dead, but the important questions he raised about Skull and Bones and this secret society's impact on U.S. and world political and economic policies become more paramount with each passing year.
The 2004 presidential election was the first in history to pit two members of Yale University's super secretive Skull and Bones society against each other. In this case the word "against" may well prove to be a figure of speech. To quote the legendary British author Lewis Carroll, the 2004 race may well be proven historically to be, despite its feints and dodges in an effort to attain legitimacy, "a battle between Tweedledum and Tweedledee."
Some scrutinizing individuals, mindful of Sutton's work in this and other works indicating that often the left theoretically represented by the Democrats and the right theoretically represented by the Republicans are merely two wings of the same bird, representing the same establishment while going through the motions of seemingly democratic competition. These individuals were scoffed at in the same manner as those who were skeptical of the Warren Commission Report following its release, being denounced as "conspiracy buffs." The mainstream media denounces those who continue to pursue evidence of cheating in the 2004 presidential election in Ohio, Florida, New Mexico and elsewhere as "spreadsheet conspiracy theorists."
While belittling skeptics who wondered if democracy might well be seriously jeopardized by two Skull and Bones candidates vying for the presidency, it is insightful to note what occurred when Bush, seeking a four year extension after his highly controversial "victory" four years earlier against Al Gore by a one vote margin in the U.S. Supreme Court, was asked about Skull and Bones. "I can't say anything about that," Bush responded with a nervous expression in contrast to his widely reputed swaggering manner.
Sutton acknowledges that he had inside sources providing his information on Skull and Bones. An established element is that members are sworn to secrecy. The question should be asked: Does the vow of secrecy presumably taken by both Bush and Kerry supersede any implied covenant with the American people to operate on its behalf as part of what is labeled a democratic nation? Do Skull and Bones pledges of secrecy apply to the "new democracy" Bush and his neoconservative operatives led by Dick Cheney purport to be building in Iraq and throughout the Middle East?
Sutton's conclusions dovetail with those of other courageous authors seeking to pierce the Skull and Bones veil of secrecy. As Sutton notes, prospective pledges are contacted in their junior years and, if accepted, belong to the organization only one year at Yale as seniors.
Contrasting Skull and Bones with other fraternal organizations, Sutton points out the important distinction of obtaining pledges for only the final critical year at Yale, whereas fraternities are known for seeking pledges as freshmen. Sutton's point is well taken, that the reason for concentrating on seniors is the focus on their lives beyond Yale. As John Huston, playing a corrupt corporate magnate who controls Los Angeles in the 1974 film "Chinatown" replies in response to a question from private detective Jake Gittes, played by Jack Nicholson, as to why he is so power hungry when he is able to buy anything he could ever reasonably want: "The future, Mr. Gittes, the future!"
The future appears to have been well taken care of by the coalescing of Skull and Bones members. Sutton explains that the organization follows the dialectical line of reasoning of German philosopher Hegel, in which 1) thesis and 2) antithesis are ultimately integrated into 3) synthesis. He points out that this is what makes otherwise contradictory behavior explainable, such as major Wall Street brokerage firms such as Brown Brothers-Harriman, where George W. Bush's grandfather Prescott worked alongside famous Democratic Party name Averell Harriman as needed funds were supplied to both Hitler's Third Reich and Stalin's Soviet Union.
Follow Sutton's line of reasoning and fill in the blanks. It makes the seemingly politically incomprehensible emerge as highly plausible and chillingly prescient.
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40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A through academic look at a THE powerful and mysterious secret society, January 30, 2006
Sutton's book is a thorough academic treatment of America's most powerful and most mysterious secret society--the Order of Skull & Bones at Yale University. The book is very scientific in form--Sutton states hypotheses and then sets out to prove them with facts, some of drawn from secret membership lists, but most of them publicly available. Using this method, Sutton is "going to argue and present detailed precise evidence (including names, dates, and places) that the only reasonable explanation for recent history in the US is that there exists a conspiracy to use political power for ends which are inconsistent with the Constitution." Sutton's stance is that an order founded in 1832 has set out to conspire to control US policy for their own means, in an illegal, secret, conspiratorial manner.
Sutton reveals some fascinating information about the Order, such as the fact that 77% of all members are in law, education, business, finance, and industry, which are the key fields for control of society. The Church accounts for 2% of members. "Notably the areas of society least represented are those with the least ability to influence the structural direction of society. They may give dept and richness to society, but are not essential to its control and direction." Examples of such occupations include engineering, the arts, architecture, and agriculture.
Sutton's text is an exhaustive look at the membership rosters of the Skull & Bones. He goes above and beyond to tie members to US political events and the generations of influential members. Sutton does not delve into the scandalous secret rituals and the top-secret selection process for members; readers are referred to a sensationalist 1970's GQ magazine expose for such details.
The book concludes with a year-by-year membership roster, which was previously unheard of due to the oath members take to deny membership in the society at all costs. Sutton's text also includes a comprehensive index, as well as numerous visual aids in the form of hierarchical charts, a reprint of rare materials on the order, (limited) secret publications and logos, government memorandums, and more.
Sutton gets 5 stars for the resulting academic work, for his research, for his thorough methodology. As an armchair reader, this book is less than stellar, but then again, Sutton didn't set out to write a sensationalist Hollywood-style novel.
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45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Uncensored Examination of The Skull & Bones Order, August 19, 2003
Antony Sutton, rogue historian, has done a nice job examining the history, motives, and methods of the Skull & Bones Order. The Hegelian dialectic is seen as a chief method of their manipulation of society, and the presence of Skull members G.W. Bush & John Kerry on opposite sides of the 2004 election campaign would seem to support this contention. Sutton was apparently supplied with documentation of Order membership and some other aspects of Skull & Bones history. Some of his ideas are speculative, though it is clear that Sutton looks for the most logical explanation, no matter how unpleasant or politically incorrect that conclusion may be. Sutton died in the year this latest (2002) edition was published, and he has left a legacy of books that document the presence of establishment elite conspiratorial activity. This is an excellent book for those seeking a meaningful understanding of history and current events.
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