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REPORT FROM IRON MOUNTAIN: On the Possibility and Desirability of Peace
 
 
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REPORT FROM IRON MOUNTAIN: On the Possibility and Desirability of Peace (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Victor Navasky (Introduction)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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  Hardcover, May 5, 1996 -- $18.09 $6.25
  Paperback, June 15, 2008 $10.00 $8.14 $11.98

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From 1963 to 1966 the U.S. government assembled a team of prominent thinkers from all walks of life to determine what would happen if "peace broke out." The group, surprisingly but with unassailable logic, determined that war was necessary and desirable and that the government should do all it could to maintain the status quo. If peace became inevitable, the report suggested everything from creating an outer-space menace to setting up some new, socially acceptable form of slavery. The report was leaked in 1967 by a conference member harboring a guilty conscience, and it scandalized Washington.

Not.

The ultimate compliment for any form of political satire is to be taken seriously by the people it is skewering. On that scale Report from Iron Mountain, which has been a lightning rod for both Right and Left since its appearance, could hardly be more successful. The hoax, written in perfect think-tankese, captures the mix of Olympian detachment and awesome cynicism that has flowed out of Washington for much of the American Century. Lewin's book (and he really did write it) exposes the mindset that we can thank for Vietnam and so much else.

Report from Iron Mountain was bolstered, if not trumped, by reality--the Pentagon Papers and the Pax Americana, a Defense Department plan to take over Latin America, emerged soon after. But the book's enduring popularity, particularly among those who never got the joke (apparently Lewin had to sue to get right-wing groups convinced of the book's authenticity to stop printing and selling copies) suggests that the governmental worldview that Report from Iron Mountain lampoons--as well as the paranoia that that immorality unleashes in the citizenry--is very much with us. --Michael Gerber



From Kirkus Reviews

When this was first published in 1967, Kirkus's reviewer wrote, ``If it is a fraud, it is a clever one . . . if not, it is a chilling case for the necessity of war as policymakers see it . . . and will provide magnificent fodder for radicals et al.'' Well, this controversial volume did turn out to be a fraud (Lewin's fellow hoaxster Victor Navasky, in his introduction, prefers to call it a satire), and it did provide fodder for radicals--not radicals of the left, as expected, but radicals of the right. This supposedly censored government report, to the effect that the US economy is geared to war and thus peace would be disastrous, seems to feed the loony paranoia that infects the Liberty Lobby, the Michigan Militia, and their cohorts. So why is the Free Press reissuing it? Is it to keep the right-wingers from continuing their unlicensed reproduction of the text and earn royalties for those who deserve them? Is it an indulgent remembrance of youthful journalistic escapades past? (Navasky makes it clear he hasn't lost his puerile glee in putting one over on the New York Times). It's hard to know who will have the last laugh with this one. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Free Press (May 6, 1996)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 068482390X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0684823904
  • Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #509,702 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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More About the Author

Leonard C. Lewin
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
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 (10)
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 (1)
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 (4)
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
43 of 49 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
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,..."


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14 of 14 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
  
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...
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13 of 13 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!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars War is Peace
A satire, the premise of which is so sad and twisted that many believed it could be true. The 'Report from Iron Mountain'concludes that our society is dependent on never-ending... Read more
Published 1 month ago by richard from oz

5.0 out of 5 stars The Report From Iron Mountain
If you are concerned with the way our government is headed, if you are worried about communisim and socializm taking over in this country, and you are terrified that you are... Read more
Published 4 months ago by David L. Touchstone

1.0 out of 5 stars Hoax or not...whomever...
thinks that his book was funded by those who would profit from it, raise your hand
IF you buy the premise put forth by this book -and our national economic policy has been... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mark C.

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't ignore the man behind the curtain!
Since knowledge is power, you need to empower yourself by reading this 'report'. Awareness of past decisions made by previous US administrations is the key to understanding our... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Greenmachine

5.0 out of 5 stars The Art of War
Report from Iron Mountain should rank with Sun Tsu's classic book, of the subject title, as an essential read for those seeking an understanding of the basic forces underlying... Read more
Published 18 months ago by John P. Jones III

5.0 out of 5 stars NOT A HOAX
How do you protrect yourself(Author) and have damage control you call it a hoax in the end. Here is John Kenneth Galbraith(CFR insider) admitted to: Just read the section on using... Read more
Published 19 months ago by J. Kullman

3.0 out of 5 stars Hoax with some interesting points
So I finally got my hands on the infamous book that allegedly started the whole conspiracy theory movement. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Bart Weisser

5.0 out of 5 stars An Alleged Antimilitarist Hoax (Or is it?).
_Report From Iron Mountain: On the Possibility and Desirability of Peace_ first appeared in 1967 published by The Dial Press and claimed to be a government report compiled by... Read more
Published on May 16, 2007 by New Age of Barbarism

3.0 out of 5 stars Be Prepared if Peace Breaks Out
The Foreword tells of a "Special Study Group" that produced a Secret Report. It concluded that "peace is not in the best interest of a stable society". Read more
Published on November 9, 2003 by Acute Observer

5.0 out of 5 stars first read this in college, had to read again.
still a very good satire on "what if" from the past. reads very quickly.
Published on September 9, 2002 by L. Morgan

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