Top Secret Tourism: Your Travel Guide to Germ Warfare Laboratories, Clandestine Aircraft Bases and Other Places in the United States You'r

As I read this book, I constantly had the theme from "The X-Files" running through my head. This book lists places in the US that are or have been significant "restricted-access" sites. Arranged alphabetically by state, each place has a several-page writeup as to the history of the place, how to find it, and also a description of the location. In most cases the sites are secure government or private facilities and visitors are not allowed. The list of sites includes places involved in testing of nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, military test sites, surveillance centers, continuity of government facilities, training grounds, etc. It is easy to speculate about all sorts of wild suspicions simply because we cannot get a look inside the perimeter. But in my opinion, most of these places are probably not doing anything nefarious or involving space aliens, etc. However, reading about all these locations one after another does impress one with the amount of covert information, control, and power being accumulated by the federal government which could easily be immune to public or constitutional oversight, and used improperly for criminal or tyrannical ends. On one hand, this is sobering. On the other, one might take comfort in knowing that the government has such extensive capacity to monitor potential threats to the country. It all depends on one's perspective and attitude toward the government. The sites are identified by icons on each state's map. I think it would have been helpful to have a "legend" page telling what each type of icon represents. After reading about all the sites, one can make a guess what the icons represent, but it would have been nice to state it explicitly. It would also have been interesting to have a one-page map of the whole US with all the sites' icons listed, and maybe a series maps of the US listing all of the icons by type on each page. I think it would also have been nice to have some biographical information about the author, and his credentials and background for compiling all this information. But perhaps with the amount of latent paranoia running through the book, it's understandable that this is omitted. I would have liked to have photos for each site, at least of the sign or approach road of the site, or a bird's eye view via public satellite, etc. The only entries that contain this type of illustration are the ones for Edwards Air Force Base in California and Area 51 in Nevada. Along with this, it may have been interesting to have included online URL's for any websites regarding these locations. As I read the book I often thought that the content of the book would make a great website with links to info about each site. Overall, I found the book very interesting. This would be the perfect gift for conspiracy theory buffs and/or those interested in UFO's, terrorism, espionage, etc. It would also make a handy source of inspiration for someone writing high-tech thriller or scie

This book is an outstanding guide to all the all-too-real top secret government-controlled spots in the United States, from underground bases, to nuclear testing sites, to creepy office buildings, to fortified areas built just to ensure "continuity of government" in case of an apocalypse. It's well-written (with only the almost expected typos and tics of a first edition by a smaller publisher to mar it), funny, sarcastic, and interesting. It features maps, good driving directions, and lots and lots of very strange and interesting information. It is NOT, as one of this book's more asinine reviewers has suggested, a handbook for terrorists full of privately obtained and otherwise unavailable information. Everything within its pages is from public files or from the author's own observations. For New Mexico alone, my home state, I learned a ton that I had never known before---the Air Force Base in my hometown of Albuquerque has the world's largest wooden object in the world (?!) and more nuclear weapons than any other place in the country, a hippie was caught living in ca ve right on the property of Los Alamos National Labs, the residual radioactive materials at one of New Mexico's underground nuclear tests are considered to be a dangerous collection point for such materials by terrorists, and the UFO that Lonnie Zamora allegedly saw in Socorro, NM a couple of decades ago could have been a moon-landing device prototype.... (I would have liked to have seen something on WIPP though, and all that hidden nuclear waste....) This was a great book. I'm glad I bought it, and I would recommend it to anyone---even to the guy who reviewed it here without actually reading it.

A funny, informative and thoroughly fascinating look at all the stuff we're not supposed to know about. Makes me want to get out the RV and see how close I can get to some of these places.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a nice summary of some of the strange activities our government has been involved in. I did not buy the book for travel but it's a fun read regardless. All the stuff in this book is public knowledge, so it doesn't break any security rules like one of the previous posts claimed.

Normally I would never seek out books about such topics but having enjoyed the originality of many other titles from the same publisher, I figured Top Secret Tourism wouldn't be some stereotypical conspiracy theory of sorts (they're all out to get us!). Having actually read this book it is anything but that. TST is highly informative and manages to do so in a manner that educates the total novice (like myself) while never talking over one's head; like assuming the reader is a nuclear physicist. I found Helms' style a joy to read, especially his sense of humor that manages to surface in each section: ("Since it would be illegal for the military to eavesdrop on civilian communications, this rumor is undoubtedly false"). The book is organized by states, with the "tourist spots" as subcategories. Each tourist spot is organized into sections ("What's There", "Key Facilities", "Secret Stuff", "Getting a Look Inside" ("No way in hell, forget it!"), "Unusual Facts", and "Getting There"- which has neat little road maps that are helpful enough to get you about as close as you desire. TST could even be used as a guide as to where NOT to go, or in choosing a home, to make sure you don't buy one next door to radioactive waste. For those expecting a book that "takes their side" politically, that's not what TST is about. Obviously the top secret community exists no matter who's in the Oval Office. Some of it's reassuring to know (that maybe we have the technology not to LOSE a nuclear war), some is scary (worker and civilian cancer deaths from chemical exposure that got brushed off as coincidence), but most of all highly informative and interesting (did you know those parrot-like Furby toys are banned at the NSA?). My only criticism would be the lack of pictures, but it becomes apparant why! Actually, after reading TST I realized maybe it's a good thing I paid cash at the bookstore, so "they" can't trace that I own it! Buy it before it gets banned by the nuts who think some pizza driver might actually use the info to sneak into a "continuity of government" facility 1000 feet underground or something. I'd like to see a Volume 2 someday, even though it would probably contain locations of "lesser importance". I didn't see my state listed and I do know of an abandoned military testing ground nearby that may or may not be of "top secret" interest.