Product Description

Customer Reviews (23)

Excellent Book
I've read roughly half the book so far and it is a great read.The book arrived in excellent condition with fast shipping.The story is amazing and just reinforces the idea that our government is willing to setup false flag events in order to fulfill and agenda.

Eye opening book
I read this book after watching an interview with Col Marvin on a history channel documentary special.Col Marvin is a hero for sharing his experiences with readers.His role in the expansion of the Vietnam War and the aftermath provides a window into the functioning of the US government and its policies.I look forward to reading Marvin's next book and learning more about his life story.Often times truth is stranger than fiction.

Marvin riding on John McCarthy's coat-tails again
I wonder how John McCarthy feels about Dan Marvin using his (McCarthy's) experiences in Vietnam and thereafter to rationalize Marvin's controversial claims (see the video).

McCarthy's words of six years ago* (see below) are almost prescient:

"It is my desire that you not include my name or the circumstances of my personal predicament...or the circumstances under which these occurred in your own personal writings of your own adventures in Vietnam."

As far as this book is concerned: caveat emptor.

Allan Eaglesham

*Lifted from
http://www.jfklancerforum.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=3&topic_id=2975&mesg_id=2975&listing_type=search

-------------------------------------------------

From: John McCarthy
To: marvin@trineday.com
Cc: ray kohlman ; larry odaniel
Sent: Monday, August 19, 2002 1:10 PM
Subject: Erroneous Online Assertions


Ltc Dan Marvin

Dear Dan,

This email will confirm our conversation by phone last evening, August 18, 2002.

I was utterly astounded to read an internet posting at:

http://expendableelite.com/

In an article attributed to you titled; "The Unconventional Warrior, by LTC Dangerous Dan Marvin, Part Three - Orders to Kill, dated August 16, 2002, in paragraph five, line 7, you wrote the following sentence:

"This fact, coupled with similar information that fellow Green Beret Captain John McCarthy told me of a failed CIA/Miami Mafia "Hit" on JFK in Florida during the President's visit there prior to his fatal trip to Dallas, confirmed the conspiracy in my mind."

When I questioned the veracity of your sentence and its attribution to me you said you had a memo of record on the matter and immediately began reading your memo. No where in your memo is the word or phrase, "CIA /Miami Mafia "Hit"." I have never used this name and phrase in any conversation with you or anyone else. I find your rendition of our 1995 conversation to be whole cloth fabrication. Your fabrication places me as a prognosticator for the events in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. I would certainly hope that the remainder of your conclusions in your manuscript stand the test of time with respect to accuracy. Your interpretation of our 1995 conversation posted on August 16, 2002, gives new meaning to the name "Dangerous Dan" Marvin.

Then you immediately started reading from an online document reference an NSC meeting in June of 1966 in which LBJ directs the CIA and State Department to cease and desist all support for Khmer Serei operations in Cambodia. This document is from the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Tx, and is available on line. It is incomprehensible to me how you wish to justify your mis-characterization of your online posting of August 16, 2002, with this document.

I demand an immediate correction, removal and clarification of the above mentioned August 16, 2002, posting on www.expendableelite.com and any other .com posting, periodical, and other promotional means for your soon to be published book. It is my desire that you not include my name or the circumstances of my personal predicament with respect to any pending litigation I have before the US Courts or the circumstances under which these occurred in your own personal writings of your own adventures in Vietnam. However, if you choose to quote from the public record with respect to my personal dealings with various agencies of the US Government, I strongly suggest that you and your publisher/editor check with my attorney as to pending civil action in those areas.

You are aware, I'm sure, that your August 16, 2002 posting has made it to numerous Special Forces Web sites. One of these sent the above referenced article to me.

You are now on Notice, that if the above corrections are not made, a civil action for libel will be filed against you and your publisher. It is also my desire that you not use my name in the promotion of your book.

A copy of this email is being sent to my attorney, , Esq. I strongly suggest that any and all further correspondence to me be sent to Mr. ---- at his office at: --------

I would also advise you to inform any prospective publisher/editor of your manuscript of this Demand Letter. By law, you are required to do so.

Sincerely,

John J McCarthy

Saying "NO" to a False Flag Operation
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RC0438YG67B0Q Expendable Elite: One Soldier's Journey into Covert Warfare

Marvin's book is well-written and detailed. What he reveals is typical CIA maneuvering from that era. I do not understand why the Special Forces Association attacked him. All they did was draw attention to the book.

Of Course the Contents are Reliable and True
I finished reading Lt. Colonel Daniel Marvin's book Expendable Elite recently.I'm flabbergasted by the criticism some have voiced regarding their mistaken opinion that most of what he writes about is fabrication.
I'm not a military person and don't have a background in military affairs, but I don't need that experience to conclude unequivocally that this book is truthful, accurate, and real.First of all, I lived through
the debacle of the Johnson Whitehouse and the despicable way in which he attempted to manipulate public opinion during the Vietnam War.Secondly,
he and all of his associates and aides knew how important it was for our military forces to attack the enemy in their staging grounds in Cambodia. Of course, we didn't do that effectively and that in itself was a major reason why we lost the war but never lost a battle.Thirdly, logic is all one needs to understand to know that the depiction of events, details, military actions, humanitarian gestures, and so much more in this book could never have been fabricated.And then, too, how about the court trial and the unanimous deciscion in favor of the lieutenant colonel and his publisher.Was the court's decision a fabrication too?
Nonsense!What you will read in this book is what happened to a very loyal, conscientious, honorable, and brave soldier.What history has already said and will continue to report about Johnson and Westmoreland is that they were bumbling idiots.Lastly, do any of you really believe that the United States government, regardless of which party is in power at the moment, is immune from covert assasination attempts and the inevitable coverups which follow them whether they are successful or not?
If you do, you are living in a world of fantasy.Our government leaders
are human beings who are just as susceptible to intrigue, duplicity, and illegal actions as any other political leaders.It's generations far in the future who will, maybe, find out what really happened in Korea, in Vietname, in Cambodia, in Iraq, and so on...

On a positive note, I found this book to be extremely information, detailed, and heart-warming.The book is informative on more than one level.First, I remember the controversy about whether or not the U. S. military should or should not enter Cambodian territory.I also remember that the Johnson Whitehouse tried very hard to make everyone believe that the U. S. forces would never do such a thing.Your explanation of how critical it was to attack and silence the VC forces in their protected staging areas was eey-opening.On another level, the interaction you had with that CIA agent was more than informative; it was darn right frightening.I've only heard of stories about our government attacking its own troops or getting other forces (Vietname forces in this case) to attack us.I don't think I ever believed it was true.Well, there is no doubt in my mind now!On a third level, this book was informative because I had not knowledge of the Hoa Hao people and their culture.Also, I didn't know that our special forces did so much humanitarian work: construction projects, hospital and medical assistance, etc...

The book is detailed in a positive sense.It describes the military engagements, the meetings with the Vietnam major, the humanitarian projects, the various outposts and military strategies, the daily routine of the special forces, and the plans for military success.Specific details about the men under your command are also given.How in the world they could have decided to turn against you is beyond my understanding.I know you explained what you believe caused them to do so, but I just don't understand the decision to defame you.Loyalty is a man's honor.These men had served you and their mission and their country well, but their honor sure didn't withstand the test of time and politcal pressure.

I mentioned that the book was heart-warming because I was impressed with how loving and caring the Hoa Hao group of people were toward you personally and toward the efforts of lyour men to assist them.

I would consider it an honor to shake your hand Dan.That will probably never happen since I'm way out here in CA, so, as a substitute, please accept my personal thanks and praise for your service, commitment, courage, and determination to do what was right for your men, our country, the Hoa Hao people, and me, a fellow citizen of the greatest country on Earth.

... Read more

Product Description
The secret history of how a government agency succeeded in infiltrating the Mafia and the French Connection, but was brought down by the CIA and FBI when it began uncovering the Establishment's ties to organized crime.Voted Outstanding Academic Title in 2004 by Choice.

The Strength of the Wolf is the first complete history of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), which existed from 1930 until its wrenching termination in 1968. The most successful federal law enforcement agency ever, the FBN was populated by some of the most amazing characters in American history, many of whom the author interviewed for this book. Working as undercover agents and with mercenary informers around the globe, these freewheeling "case making" agents penetrated the Mafia and the French connection, breaking all the rules in the process, and uncovering the Establishment's ties to organized crime. Targeted by the FBI and the CIA, the case-makers were, ironically, victims of their own fabulous success in hunting down society's predators. An incredible, never-before-told story, The Strength of the Wolf provides a new, exciting, and revealing look at an important chapter in American history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great information
This book is packed with great information. It is, however, very sloppy. As someone familiar with Kennedy assassination literature, the chapter referring to the FBN's various connections to the Big Hit is particularly telling (there is a crazy part on CIA Agent Desmond Fitzgerald that is loaded with implication and woefully inadequate in context that was just irresponsible). Valentine hops around incoherently and speculatively, overshadowing some of the great stories he's found. That said, I would say those great stories are worth it. I've read it twice, developed a deep skepticism and still enjoyed the book.

exceptional
I basically bought this book because my Uncle is in it. His name was William A. Carrozo. It was misspelled in the book. However, he recently passed away on March 11, 2009.

Critical historical context for the War on Drugs
Given how much money this country spends to fight drug dealers and to lock up drug dealers & users both, I am amazed how little I hear people question the War on Drugs.

This book provides the historical framework critical to understand this, with the War on Drugs beginning as an attempt to provide what equates to trade protection to the pharmaceutical companies (who competed with the real thing of the day, opium/heroin), and how later racism led to marijuana users being targeted as well (Black Americans in Harlem and Latinos in the SW and California), and of course the violence fueled by the cocaine/crack trade made it a national buzzword.

It is a crime that this assault on our own citizens continues today - one would think that after the dismal failure of Prohibition that we would have learned our lesson.

Hopefully this book can start raising a consciousness to question it, at the very least more public debate (without the hysteria) is long overdue.

Important but little known history
Based on exhaustive research and interviews, this detailed and extensively footnoted history of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics is both a fine reference work for scholars, and an eye-opening, exciting narrative for the general reader. The book itself is the highest quality, made to last for generations, and includes a section of rare photographs, and an appendix consisting of a rogue's gallery from the FBN's files. The FBN, headed by Harry J. Anslinger, was the precursor agency to today's DEA. The War on Drugs that has been waged for years now, with a price is no object mentality, is now being reconsidered by more and more people as either an ill-considered mistake, or perhaps even as a Big Government/Big Brother monkey on the public's fiscal back. The War has surely not stopped the supply of drugs, and if you have ever thought that it was never intended to, but wondered why that was so, The Strength of The Wolf, will provide some answers. There are many books about drug enforcement (or lack thereof) in the recent past, but this work is unique in that it looks at what might be called the dawn of drug enforcement. ... Read more

Product Description
Some of the first concepts children learn about are those connected to holidays and traditions. Each book in the series gives young readers an opportunity to look at calendars and to appreciate the preparation for and the significance of key holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Easter. ... Read more

Product Description

In 1967 a young Air Force photojournalist volunteers for a temporary duty mission in the Philippines, but finds himself in Laos, caught in the secret and deadly intrigues of CIA drug smugglers. During the mission he learns the true meaning of good and evil, while nearly losing his life in the process. A crescendo of action and awakening, TDY exposes the US Government's complicity in international drug smuggling. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

only the paranoid survive
1.
TDY = "Temporary Duty".
2.
Work of fiction.
3.
Contact author by mailto:redspruce@douglasvalentine.com
4.
Before you enlist go to objector.org and see consequences.
5.
Douglas Valentine has a new title forthcoming in 2004-May;
ISBN: 1858945681
"THE STRENGTH OF THE WOLF:
The Secret History of America's War on Drugs" (nonfiction).
6.
In J Heller's "Catch-22", Yossarian identifies the enemy as
ANYONE LIKELY TO GET HIM KILLED.
7.
Jst because you're paranoid doesn't mean that they're NOT
out to get you...
8.
I rated this book 4 stars rather than 5 because the subject is
war-related, and therefore unappetizing; otherwise, the work
"TDY" is a good read.

Fantastic Read but partly fiction
This book was a great read.I didn't want to put it down.Valentine really knows how to keep you in suspense.The only problem I had was that I doubted some of his research and he tended to go off on conspiracy theories.But then you have to remember Valentine was interviewed on Oct 17 2001 for a South African Muslim Radio show.This happened after the many tragic deaths due to Anthrax and after the Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.The interviewer ask Valentine if the CIA could responsible for sending Anthranx to American People.Valentine said "CIA happens to be the prime suspect in all these incidences, and the CIA may have a very good reason for sending, and I don't know that it is doing it, but hypothetically speaking, it may well be that the CIA sent the Anthrax letters to the individuals in the US simply to perpetuate the hysteria in the US."When I read that, much of "TDY" suddenly lost credibility.Other than that it reads ok.

You won't be able to put it down
Doug Valentine has really impressed me with his writing.The story itself is very spellbinding if you are at all interested in military covert operations. But not as important as the superb was the tale is unwoven.

Before going to bed I made the mistake of thinking I could just read the first chapter... I could not put the book down until I finished at 5:00 am. And after the gut wrenching toll on my emotions,I was thanking myself to be alive after what I just went through. The attention to detail gave me, and everyone I have lent the book to, the same reaction.You felt you were right there in the moment.I don't give this review lightly, it is that riveting!

The story is based on a real incident somewhere in Southeast Asia. No need to give the plot away, but if you want to hear the author discuss this book. An archived interview is posted at Black Op Radio.

This is the kind of book that you will want to lend to a friend the minute you finish the last page.

I doubt you will ever volunteer for any kind of 'temporary duty' after reading this.

I highly recommend this book.

Len Osanic osanic@prouty.org ... Read more

Product Description
In this extraordinary story of World War II, the author's father, who enlisted in the army at age 16, describes the experiences that would affect the course of his life. Douglas Valentine tells of his capture by the Japanese in the fetid jungle of New Guinea, as well as his internment with Australian and British prisoners-of-war in the Hotel Tacloban — a place where no mercy was shown or expected, and from which few came home alive. A celebration of camaraderie and a testament to "the soldier's faith", this is a story of murder, mutiny and an incredible military cover-up. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Hotel Tacloban - not even good fiction
The Hotel Tacloban
I began to become a bit suspicious even as I read the Preface, but read the book because I have an interest in Prisoner-of-War camps.The events leading up to the rescue of Doug Valentine, Sr. didn't do much to calm those suspicions and neither did the epilogue.Because of this unease, I decided to do a bit of research on the camp (it, apparently, never existed) and on Doug Valentine, Jr., the real author of the book (I'd say novel).He is a virulent hater of the Army, the Vietnam War, Senator John McCain, etc.Now, one could suppose that this is because of the "mistreatment" of his father by the Army following his supposed rescue from Tacloban, except the camp never existed, according to any records I have uncovered. While I agree, as a 33-year veteran of the Army, that the Army is capable of agregious behavior, at times,there is simply no support for the story that Douglas Valentine, Jr. has woven.If it were non-fiction, it would be worth the read, but as a piece of fiction, it is not. One of his main themes is the "class system"(officers versus enlisted personnel) in the Army during World War II and now.While, again, I will admit that a few bad apples certainly existed and exist, this was and is the exception and not the rule.Perhaps someone can tell me what Douglas Valentine, Jr. has against the Army (or perhaps officers) that forced him and continues to force him to react so viciously.

Very interesting.
Since this was a true story of what happened in World War II, I learned lot of our history in that war.Good buy if anyone is a history buff like me.

An Insult to Genuine ex-POWs
Until recently, I thought that this book could be safely ignored as a pathetic, misleading blot on the broad canvas of POW history.

As other reviewers have noted, the Publisher (Angus & Robertson) has added a disclaimer that, "...it has not been possible to prove that the events did occur".Actually, A&R only added this inadequate note (in small type) after an eminent Australian history professor warned them that the book was packed with historical errors and was undoubtedly fiction.

However, right now in 2008, one can see many Internet sites where Douglas Valentine is still presenting his Tacloban fiction as if it was history.Even more worryingly, these websites are being used to vilify the record of a genuine Prisoner of War, presidential candidate John McCain. In response, I'd like Amazon readers to be clear on how much of "Hotel Tacloban" they should accept as historical truth.The answer is ZERO percent.

I'm an Australian.I've worked in the Philippines and personally hiked in the battlefields of New Guinea that Valentine purports to describe.I've researched extensively on POW history and I've also had an academic article published in the USA describing the detection of historical fraud.I'm very familiar with the archival material that can be used to check works such as "Hotel Tacloban".

Other reviewers are correct that this book "reads well".- Yes, exactly like polished fictional prose, not oral history! The landscapes described in Northern Papua are quite wrong.The grassy and swampy coastal plains are portrayed as "mountains" with "rainforest". The vicious siege of the Japanese at Bunain November 1942 is described as some sort of minor patrol action.Valentine obviously didn't bother to properly read the history books that he lists in his bibliography, which accurately describe this country and these battles, where the Australian Army and the US Army fought and died.Valentine's laxity is disrespectful in itself.

Valentine describes his father walking for "days" after captivity (but the Japanese pocket was only a few hundred yards deep!) and then being calmly loaded into a Japanese freighter.No Japanese freighters were anywhere near the Buna siege area in November 1942.The Allies dominated the sky.So every aspect of the purported capture and evacuation of Valentine's father is quite impossible.

It just doesn't ring true that Valentine or his father have ever set foot in Papua.(At one point Valentine lets slip that his father's record says he was in the 375th Harbor Craft Company.This unit actually departed the USA in 1944 and briefly transited through Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea before moving to - surprise, surprise - Tacloban in the Philippines, after the US Leyte landings.In 1944, Valentine Snr. would have been at the legal enlistment age of 18, rather than Valentine's implausible "16" in 1942.(The photo of Valentine's dad on the paperback cover of "Hotel Tacloban" shows him in front of a 1944-pattern US tent, but looking fit and still in possession of the front teeth that the Japanese had supposedly knocked out!)

More dire narrative problems emerge when the book re-locates to the purported Tacloban POW camp in the Philippines and its "interesting" Australian occupants. Unfortunately for Valentine, The Australian War Memorial clearly states that no Australian POWs were held in the Philippines!The names of Valentine's key characters *cannot* be found in Australia's Veterans Affairs database. The US NARA database also shows no released US POW named "Douglas VALENTINE", and no US military POWs liberated anywhere on the island of Leyte.There is no evidence that Valentine Snr. ever experienced captivity in the hands of the Japanese at all.

The depictions of the Australians in the POW camp are laughably divorced from reality. Valentine certainly has never lived with any Australians.Instead we get ridiculous sheep-shagging caricatures! The dialogue sounds wrong.The nicknames sound wrong.The descriptions of life in Australia sound dead wrong.

There is no "Major R. L. Cumyns" (Valentine's murder victim) buried in any Commonwealth war grave anywhere in the world, let alone the Philippines.If Valentine was going to make up a key character name like this, then he shouldn't have chosen one that's so easy to disprove!(And Cumyns sounds like a caricature straight out of the movie "Bridge on the River Kwai".)

Valentine's description of the POW camp itself is also hokey - the local geography sounds wrong; he gets the wet season five months out in timing; and the buildings are too small, with the wrong construction for a former Philippine Army camp.Also, in contrast to every other POW memoir that I've ever read, "Hotel Tacloban" almost ignores the captors, the Japanese.There is no mention of Japanese-language commands or essential camp procedures such as bowing, which were life-and-death matters for POWs.It's pathetic that Valentine couldn't make a better job of creating a fictional POW camp, when his bibliography lists six excellent POW memoirs.He simply can't have read them..

And don't get me started on "The Enforcer" and his devilish five-minute torture sessions! (On the positive side, the wild inaccuracies of this book at least show that Valentine is not a plagiarist!)

Finally, some choice quotes from Douglas Valentine himself:

"... when I write, it is too hard to write the truth..."Frontispiece quotation page xv.

" ...Fooling an audience into believing the most preposterous, the most blatant of fictions, through an elaborate fabrication of plausible half-truths and downright deceptions, was a Digger's highest level of achievement..."p39.

"... at the risk of being called anti-Asiatic or racist by enlightened people, I must confess that for many years I secretly wished that more bombs had been dropped on Japan..."p69.

Absolute FICTION
As an historian who had devoted some 15,000 hours researching and documention the Pacific POWs, I can say, unequivacably, the the story is PURE fiction.
Valentine conflates numerous actual events to this make believe story about a POW. No record exists, any where, that his father was on such a patrol, that such a POW camp existed or that any of the named POWs existed.

It is a good "yarn" but don't ever call it history. It demeans tha valor and honor of thousand of American and allied POWS who suffered and died for your freedom. To even infer it is true is disgraceful

Better than I thought it would be
Looking at other Amazon reviews this book has reviews from very good to very bad. I was expecting to be somewhere in the middle but it turned out to be quite a bit better than I expected. I would say it is worth reading if you come across it. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

Valentine tells it all
After "The Strength of the Wolf" Valentine exposes in "Strength of the Pack" how the USA Government became the greatest narcotic dealing organisation of the world. There are only some interisting details missing which Rufus Katzer will reveal soon in his work "The Mallorca Trust".

Global murder and mayhem - your tax dollars at work
I'd heard many times that the CIA was involved in drug trafficking, but I had no idea how pervasive or systematic its involvement had been until I read The Strength of the Pack.Valentine's work, based on in-depth interviews with former FBN, BNDD and DEA officers, ranks alongside that of Gabriel Kolko as an indictment of our government's consistent failure to develop coherent, overarching goals for its foreign policy and the tragic and destabilizing effects for people and societies all over the world.Instead we have two agencies, the CIA and the DEA, falling over each other like Keystone Cops, arresting each others' agents and then being forced to release them, spending billions of dollars of the public's money on turf wars, and sowing murder and mayhem all over the planet.As a resident of Florida, I was particularly interested in the leading role of the CIA's Cuban exile allies in the development of Latin America as a new source for the drug industry after the loss of Vietnam put a dent in the CIA's operations in South East Asia.The shift from heroin to cocaine as the CIA and its agents' product of choice was a consequence of this geographic shift.One can't help wondering to what extent the present US war in Afghanistan and the reemergence of its heroin industry under US occupation is driven by the CIA's loss of control over most of Latin America during the past decade and its consequent need to develop new patterns of supply and demand in the global drugs trade.

Excellent read
I'm a retired DEA Agent and this guy know what he's talking about except that I think that he is wrong in stating that the CIA has infiltrated the DEA.Otherwise, I think that he's got things right.

A Fascinating and Stunning Read!
The hidden and secret history of this nation's so-called War on Drugs and its warriors has been waiting quite some time to be told; we are now very fortunate to have historian Douglas Valentine's two-volume set of books that provide a well-documented and robust narrative of the various government agencies that evolved into the current DEA. Valentine's first book, The Strength of the Wolf, provides us with a stunningly documented and detailed volume about the old Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN). The book is replete with a slew of startling facts about the FBN's connections to the CIA and the FBN's intelligence related overseas operations.Indeed, Valentine's first book was quite helpful to a section of my book just out on Dr. Frank Olson's murder, A TERRIBLE MISTAKE: The Murder of Frank Olson and the CIA's Secret Cold War Experiments.Valentine did a superb job in his first book revealing the CIA's ties to the FBN. At points, both agencies seem to merge into one and to perform as one. That the two agencies performed as one and so closely shared objectives says a lot about the overalll objectives of intelligence gathering. Valentine's excellent newer book, Strength of the Pack, moves readers into current years and delivers a cornucopia of startling and long-secret data and information that throws considerable light on the mockery of the efforts of the U.S. to rid itself of the curse of drugs. After reading Valentine's latest excellent book one does not have to contemplate very long to understand why illicit drugs will continue to flood our nation and little will be done about it. Anyone concerned about this problem, and wanting to learn about how the so-called 'War on Drugs' really operates, should read both of Valentine's very important titles. ... Read more

Product Description
In 1968, Gary Mitchell enlisted in the army and was sent to Vietnam, where he caught the eye of his superiors, who found that he excelled at long-distance shooting-a discovery that set him on the path to a new identity as a sniper.

During his time in Vietnam, American intelligence agents "borrowed" him from his Army unit and used him to carry out planned assassinations most likely as part of the covert Phoenix Program. But this is not just the story of a man at war; it's also about the war within the man, because the memories of his sniper missions followed him home-and nearly destroyed him. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

a snipers journey
Gary's book about his experiences in combat are the real thing. He shows how anyone can be effected by the terrors of combat no matter there background or experience. I know several other people suffering from the same things Gary suffered from. A good read; you do not want to put it down.

The journey continues for all of us
I read Gary Mitchell's book in amazement and awe during the first part and in tears during the second part. As Claude Thomas says in "At Hell's Gate" we all have our Vietnams. I am a retired veteran with 21 years of service and I have no doubt that Mitchell was selected as an expendable sniper as he described. My experience of the military has lead me to believe that the Army has the worst attitude towards its enlisted men.Throw in the CIA along with someone's wild concept of an assanation scheme and we get Operation Phoenix. I intend to do more research on my own but the military in general, and the Army in particular, treats its enlisted men as cannon fodder. I've seen it.

I was attracted to the book for the very reason that it explored the aftermath of a young soldier's wartime experience, something most people don't care about. What happens to the young men when they are cut loose? Mitchell explains it. Back in those days you were left on your own and considered a criminal by a large segment of the population, like my father and several other vets I know. The two part approach makes a lot of sense and you know he wants to help others because there is a good appendix that contains more PTSD info.

The PTSD angle is particularly germane today. The most stressful occurrences in a man's life are the death of someone close the loss of a job. PTSD accumulates and Mitchell does an excellent job of describing it. I would recommend this book highly, along with Victor Frankl's "Mans Search for Meaning."

Great work . . . of fiction
Like others have said, this book doesn't pass the "b.s." test.

The book starts off suspiciously with the canned "emotionally-scarred-soldier-struggling-with-PTSD-years-later" scene we've all seen in the movies, then very quickly devolves from the improbable to, by around p. 85, the absolutely unbelievable. Never being told you're actually in sniper school?Getting orders to take out two people with similar identifying facial scars?Conveniently having absolutely no records to support your story? Being sent to execute Buddhist monks by . . . a Buddhist monk?Come on.

Even when viewed as a work of fiction, the writing comes off as cliched and repetitive.After reading the phrases "I realized then that I was expendable" and "I knew I was never getting out alive" approximately 100 times apiece, you too will wish you had saved your money.

It just got real
It takes a special brand of courage to operate as a sniper in combat - but Gary Mitchell displayed greater courage in telling his story. This book is absorbing and is the first 'real' portrayal of post traumatic stress syndrome that I have read. Every war produces many unsung heroes - Gary Mitchell is one of them.

A Supposed Non-Fiction: Long On PTSD, Short On Facts
In "A Sniper's Journey" Gary Mitchell (with Michael Hirsh) lays out a supposed story about a small-town Texas youngster, new to the Army, who is pulled into the Phoenix covert program as a sniper in Viet Nam. In fairness, the reviewer is far more familiar with the Marine's program, but this overall story simply did not seem to ring true to a real sniper's techniques and mental processes from that long-ago time.

Possibly as much as a third of the book deals with Mitchell's domestic problems with his wives and for filler, outlined a primer on PTSD. All this was "part of his journey" I suppose, but of marginal interest to outsiders.

We should thank Mr. Mitchell for his 24-year service to our country, but in respect for the fine Army snipers, the great Carlos Hathcock and other 'Corps "One Shot-One Kill" shooters from the past, I cannot recommend this book. ... Read more

Product Description
When some whim of Fate brings together such ill-assorted people as Major Desmond Okewood, Maurice Strangwise, Arthur Mackwayte, his daughter Barbara, and Nur-el-Din at a London music hall, the strings of complicated intrigue are woven together, which the reader will spend sleepless nights striving to unravel.

Just what the Star of Poland has to do with a scheme that involves the Secret Services of France and Germany, and what personal motivations — not admitted even to himself — prevent Desmond Okewood from obeying his Chief's instructions are mysteries which defy a simple solution. ... Read more

Product Description
A practical and reliable diagnostic tool that has emergedover the past twenty-five years, kinesiology is the study of themechanics of bodily motion, especially muscle movements and theirrelationship to our body systems. Viewing the body as a balanced triadof structure, chemistry, and mentality, applied kinesiology gaugesmuscle response to pinpoint underlying physical problems. Within 30minutes, a competent kinesiologist can evaluate bodily functions andprovide a readout on the workings of the glands, organs, lymphaticsystem, circulatory and nervous systems, circulation, and muscle-bonestructure.

Applied Kinesiology demonstrates how this technique can be ofpractical use for everyone. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Fascinating
This is a fascinating & highly educational book. It is not too complicated though very detailed; a novice can understand. The book is "too cool".

A very well written book by Tom & Carole and an underrated topic of health
The previous review said more than I can rightfully
say here but I will ad that Tom's show, Midas Report-
True Health is very good as well. Check it out at:
9.985 mhz or 9.970 mhz shortwave one, Mondays and
Wednesdays, 3-4 p.m., WWCR, Nashvegas, TN.

Excellent practical work
I used this book to get a better background in applied kinesiology principles to help me with my research into the body mechanics and kinesiology of the martial arts. I am a karate, kung fu, and kali/escrima teacher who has developed some ideas especially about punching and kicking techniques, so I thought I'd make a few comments on that, as this book was very helpful in discussing current theory and practice and helping me to sharpen my own ideas on the subject, especially in regard to the analysis of rapid-fire punching techniques.

There are several mechanisms that need to be discussed. The first thing is that rapid-fire punching requires instantaneously unloading the intrafusal muscle spindles by the use of contralateral inhibition of flexor-extensor pairs. This is a well-understood spinal cord reflex, and just means that muscle viscosity and normal muscle-tension dynamics are inhibited and optimized. In terms of the neural pathways, this is mediated by two nerve tracts, the neospinalthalamic and the paleospinalthalamic tracts, or the alpha and gamma motor efferent systems, respectively. But basically, in muscle kinesiology circles, this is known as a "plyometric jerk," and is one way that basketball players use to jump higher.

The second thing is that after the first punch, there are released massive shaking forces which propagate through the various musculo-skeletal systems in a quasi-resonant fashion which can be used to facilitate the acceleration and launch of the next punch in the sequence. These, as you might expect, are very difficult dynamics to control, being nonlinear in their behavior, but it is possible to re-sequence the muscles involved in such a punching series to take advantage of them. I have had some success in setting up "standing waves" to take advantage of this phenomenon. Standing wave may not be quite right, from a neuromuscular control standpoint, as it is perhaps more like stochastic resonance, since it can be shown that the muscle fibers use a process known as recruitment which is quite statistical mechanical in nature.

Third, the overall muscle mechanics of such a sequence must use a massive, avalanche-like, pulse-oriented "starting focus" to launch the technique, after which it essentially goes "ballistic" for most of the trajectory of the punch, until final termination when normal "ending focus" is applied. From a practical standpoint, this means the punches are bouncing off the endpoints of the punch, which are strongly focused, but with nothing much in the way of tension in-between. This method also eliminates the wasteful, continuous power-utilization curve that most even very experienced black belts use when they punch. This is okay for a one or two punch combo, but not for much beyond that, because this method of coordinating the muscles will impede the necessary fast switching constants that the nervous pathways require to make this work. The neural pathways involved in this are known as the alpha and gamma-motor efferent systems, and their workings are well understood by neurobiologists.

good overview of what to expect from applied kinesiology
This book is designed to give readers an introduction to muscle testing used in health assessment and treatment.It is written for the patient rather than as a guide for practitioners, and thus focuses mainly on what treatments are like, what they can accomplish, and what can be expected from these approaches.This book is useful for its intended purpose, but doesn't provide a clear understanding of the science behind kinesiology or ways of developing skills as a practitioner to make therapeutic use of this.

Diagnosis of the human body.
I found yhis book very informative, it gives interesting accounts on every part of the body by recognising responses in the muscles. It gives plain explanations and easy guidedlines to follow, this would assist a student tobe able to recognise step by step and help them to recieve messages abouthealthy or unhealthy parts of the body.' It would also help them to form anopinion as how to help the patient and follow thru with medication in erbeltherepies and also make the patient aware of the bodies functions. Thisbook has been thouroughly written with thought, and easy to read andunderstand without getting very technical. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Douglas Valentine, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 692 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Product Description
“The Yellow Streak” is a classic, thrilling mystery/espionage tale of steadily growing tension from author Valentine Williams (a.k.a. Douglas Valentine). ... Read more