Rearview Mirror: Looking Back at the FBI, the CIA and Other Tails (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "During his posting to Washington in the 1950s, British diplomat Kim Philby dealt with FBI and CIA agents in the course of his duties..." (more)
Key Phrases: black bag jobs, secret war, New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Former FBI "black bag man," William Turner lays the Kennedy assassinations at the foot of agencies of the U.S. government. Despite the conspiracy theories, this is a compelling first-person narrative on the practices of Hoover's FBI. --David Marshall Nissman, J.D.

From Publishers Weekly

William Turner (Hoover's FBI), a journalist and former FBI agent who has devoted his attention to U.S. domestic intelligence affairs for 50 years, revisits his biggest stories in Rearview Mirror: Looking Back at the FBI, the CIA and Other Tails, with a foreword by Oliver Stone. After 10 years in "the dark alleys of the intelligence agency underworld," says Turner, "I decided to decamp... on my own terms, petitioning for a congressional probe of Hoover's administration." Afterwards he became a senior editor at Ramparts magazine. His accounts of "The Untimely Death of RFK," "The Stealth War Against Cuba," "The FBI Propaganda Machine" and more obscure events are as riveting now as decades ago. Lush, sometimes sensational conspiracy theories abound in this compelling collection. B&w photos not seen by PW.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 318 pages
• Publisher: Penmarin Books; 1St Edition edition (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883955211
• ISBN-13: 978-1883955212
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #975,300 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Read, August 18, 2001

By	"mmnorth" (Dallas, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

I have no idea of William Turner's age, but would guess it to be at least 75. His new memoir, REARVIEW MIRROR, is a fascinating read on a life which spans his early years as an FBI wiretapper and black bagman (he makes clear the activities were illegal), his coverage of the JFK and RFK assassinations, the Garrison investigation and Shaw trial, his Ramparts investigations and his ultimate tour de force (with Hinckle) on the CIA and the Cubans, DEADLY SECRETS.

Had Turner completed his clear-eyed analysis of only one of these historical headliners he would have a secure place in contemporary history. That he was around for all of them (even providing, as a bonus, an excellent snapshot of contemporary Miami madness in his coverage of the Elian Gonzalez insanity) and renders them with reason AND that rarest of all sensibilities, a sense of humor, establishes him as one of our most colorful and intelligent observors of contemporary American clandestine culture.

Does Turner ALWAYS get it right? No. But he observes and writes with eyes wide open (he gives Garrison his due, and at the same time notes his many shortcomings). I wish his volume were footnoted, and a bibliography would be nice. But this is a memoir, seemingly precipitated and structured at least in part by Turner's own staggering FBI file, recently acquired. Proof once again that a good first person narrative (with supporting role by the FBI) is sometimes more startling and provocative than any novel or Hollywood Opus. When such a narrative also enlightens us on our own long-lost history, it is priceless.

Turner wears it well.

---"We won't object/ If he calls collect..."

18 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Operative as Journalist, June 4, 2001

By	Monique Tushingham (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

I woke up to-day with the clock radio - telling me that William Turner had the exclusive proof, that John Kennedy was killed by the CIA, because he might stop the war in Vietnam. As well as; the fact that, Bobby was killed because, if elected he would investigate the killing of his brother John.

For years I tried to work out why I was so deeply affected by John Kennedy's assasination. Was it really as superficial as, the fact that he was a young and good looking man and that he had a beautiful wife? But now, I know. He was a good person, who was going to do a 'good thing' and stop an escalation of stupidity, that for all 'intents and purposes' culminated in the present President - dumbed down and introspective.

So it's nearly official. Thanks William Turner - for the closure on a subject, that could not be convincing via an Oliver Stone film (i.e. You cannot cite a Hollywood movie as proof in a post-graduate thesis). Good work and at low price; a bargain basement read for an important subject.