October Surprise: America's Hos

This book is a description of the ascertain that the Reagan-Bush campaign made a secret deal with Iran to delay the release of the American hostages until after the 1980 election in return for arms. This claim gained real credence when the hostages were actually released about 2 hours after the swearing in of Regan but gained further credibility with the on again off again weapon sales made to Iran in the preceding years. Someone that was involved in both the Carter and Regan administrations so you I tended to give him some credibility right from the start writes the book. I found the book very well documented, well laid out and readable. One chapter lists the fates of those involved in the deal. Overall it will hold your attention no matter what side of the political side you are on. For an interesting different view of this situation I would suggest reading the book "Crisis" by Hamilton Jordan. It covers the topic of the hostages from a different perspective.

The wealth of information from well-documented sources revealed in this book is overwhelming, and I believe that I would do great injustice to its potential impact if I were to summarize it here. Having just finished the book moments ago, I feel compelled to implore that all those who truly believe in democracy and responsible government read it as well. It will open your eyes to the way things really are, or at least make you question many of the assumed truths regarding our recent history.What makes the author's allegations even more convincing is the fact that he is not merely a conspiracy-theory nut trying to discredit the right-wing at all costs. Rather, he himself has played a central role in various administrations' dealings with the Middle East and can personally testify to many of the events that took place preceding the manipulation of the hostage crisis by Reagan's powerful and influential campaign team.I couldn't stop shaking my head as I read further and further into the book. The hypocrisy of the Reagan administration was simply appalling. You would have to be a die-hard Republican (unwilling to accept nor even hear of any hints of wrongdoing by Reagan) not to at least acknowledge that the allegations contained in this book warrant a thorough investigation.If you have already read the many nostalgic books on the Reagan administration, or bought videos about our supposed "one of the greatest Presidents", let me dare you to read this book with an open mind. You'll see that it's not only the "liberals" that commit all types of scandals, they just happen to not be as good as the Republicans at covering it up at the highest levels.

I haven't heard the audio book for "October Surprise," but I did read the hardbound book when it was first published. Perhaps the negative review from "M.P.T." of AudioFile can be explained by the book author's inability to reference virtually every sentence with footnoted sources as he did in the full, paper version. Failing that excuse, the blurb and referenced to a fault, and he used no information from his investigation that he did not have at least two or three unrelated sources for. Though Sick doesn't draw the conclusion in the book, he leaves enough clues for the reader to figure oseems typical of the disinformation reviews written by the small army of media-spinners who enjoy two paychecks--one from their unsuspecting publisher or TV/radio station, and one from a certain U.S. Government agency who wants to discourage the public from knowing about self-serving black bag operations. The fact is that Gary Sick's story is meticulously detailed ut that it was not Ronald Reagan, but likely another still-living former president who was behind the treasonous actions recorded here--someone who still has powerful friends to help quash the truth any time it tries to raise its head. Read or listen to this book, and then buy "Plausible Denial" written by Mark Lane to see what other high-profile shenanigans this same group has been up to. It will also explain just how much control these folks exert over the media to steer the public away from the truth. I very highly recommend both books.

Gary Sick, a former US Navy intelligence analyst who served on the National Security Council under Presidents Ford, Carter and Reagan, has written an incisive account of the double-dealing American-Iranian-Israeli weapons/petroleum co-dependency that has undermined democracy in the US and abroad for many decades. The right-wing and corporate media have responded to these allegations with the usual mix of denial, doubletalk and attempted character assassinations of those who dare to investigate and promulgate the facts. This conspiracy, whitewashed by a Senate investigation in 1992, highlights the necessity for American and global democracy to achieve a reasonable degree of regional self-reliance (eg: renewable energy, genuine arms control) rather than remaining addicted to multinational corporate welfare, Machiavellian pretenses of "free trade" and money-manipulated, superficial democracy.

Gary Sick, a former US Navy intelligence analyst who served on the National Security Council under Presidents Ford, Carter and Reagan, has written an incisive account of the double-dealing American-Iranian-Israeli weapons/petroleum co-dependency that has undermined democracy in the US and abroad for many decades. The right-wing and corporate media have responded to these allegations with the usual mix of denial, doubletalk and attempted character assassinations of those who dare to investigate and promulgate the facts. This conspiracy, whitewashed by a Senate investigation in 1992, highlights the necessity for American and global democracy to achieve a reasonable degree of regional self-reliance (eg: renewable energy, genuine arms control) rather than remaining addicted to multinational corporate welfare, Machiavellian pretenses of "free trade" and money-manipulated, superficial democracy.