Synopses & Reviews
A stirring work that offers a chilling glimpse into the negligence, greed, murder, and, at times, comical disorganization behind some of the CIAs most controversial secret operations, this book collects the first five issues of the zine. Summarizing the influence the CIA had in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.; the AIDS virus; the killing of Filiberto Ojeda Rios, a Puerto Rican independence movement leader; the Patriot Act; and the Iran-Contra affair, this forthright representation provides an behind the scenes look at the United States foreign and domestic policies. The radical claims presented are built on fact and posit an accessible alternative to mainstream histories that help to contextualize current events and the worldwide anti-American backlash.
Review
"Each issue focuses on a specific instance where the actions of America's Central Intelligence Agency have been so insane, negligent or selfish that the resulting effect has been death, whether on a grand scale or of specific individuals. These zines are very easy to read and yet lose no credibility, they simply lay out the facts in such a way that they are hard to ignore." —Last Hours
Review
"A chilling, well-detailed read about this large cover-up, free from a lot of the alarmist tint that has plagued a lot of other research in this vein." —Neufutur
Review
"A gift for summary that is astounding." —Xerography Debt
Review
"These guys have gone in and done a bunch of research and make reference to the released, original CIA documents from various subjects. If you've got a weird nephew, these books are the perfect introduction." —Right Where You Are Sitting Now
Review
"When presented with this kind of concrete information it is difficult to marginalize the writer as being a conspiracy theorist." —Zine Guide
Review
"Juicy and informative and very readable." —Aaron Cometbus, author, Add Toner and Despite Everything
Review
"Scary, depressing, and crammed with facts and numbers." —Punk Planet
Review
"The CIA Makes Science Fiction Look Unexciting . . . scares one silly, and rightly so." —David Macadam, The Oligarch Kings
Synopsis
These five case studies offer a chilling glimpse into the negligence, greed, murder, and at times comical disorganization behind some of the CIA's most controversial secret operations. Science fiction could not have invented the influence the CIA had in the assassination of Martin Luther King. Jr, the AIDS virus, the killing of the leader of the Puerto Rican independence movement, the PATRIOT act, and the Iran-Contra affair. Smith makes radical claims, but instead of coming across as a raving conspiracy theorist he uses facts to write a believable, accessible alternative to mainstream histories that helps readers to contextualize current events and the anti-American backlash
About the Author
Keith Rosson is an artist best known for album covers, gig posters, and underground books. He is the author of the zine Avow. He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Abner Smith is a researcher and writer. His work has been featured in Paranoia Magazine and Razorcake. He lives in Defiance, Ohio. Joe Biel is the founder of Microcosm Publishing and the creator of the documentary about the DIY music scene, If It Aint Cheap, It Aint Punk. He is the coauthor of 13 Years of Good Luck and the author of Bipedal, By Pedal!; all volumes of the CIA Makes Science Fiction Unexciting series; the Perfect Mix Tape Segue series; and You Can Work Any Hundred Hours a Week You Want (In Your Underwear)!! He lives in Portland, Oregon.
Joe Biel on PowellsBooks.Blog
It was Christmas Day, 2012. I sauntered into the checkout line of the downtown Powell's Books with a copy of
It's Okay to Be the Boss. I had struggled to find a book that spoke to my experience or at least didn't alienate me. When I reached the counter, the clerk looked at me, then looked at the book, then looked back at me...
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Joe Biel on PowellsBooks.Blog
As the founder of Microcosm Publishing, which I’ve owned for the past 23 years, my greatest joys have been explaining and debunking industry myths to devout readers. I frequently meet people in public or on a cross-country train whose idea of the book industry is broken and backwards. My favorite encounter was when I told two New Yorkers that I am a book publisher...
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