One thing you can say about Jesse the Body: he’s not boring. Neither is his new book (co-authored by Dick Russell): American Conspiracies: Lies, Lies, and More Dirty Lies that the Government Tells Us. This book, a follow-on to Ventura’s surprisingly successful–and often surprisingly good–truTV series, Conspiracy Theory. That series, recently renewed for another season, marked the first time popular conspiracy theories had been presented on a national network for what they say, not simply as objects for debunking.
American Conspiracies:...
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The new book is something of a primer to those new to conspiracy theories, predictably delving into the assassinations of Lincoln, King, the Kennedys, along with the September 11 attacks, and also some slightly more esoteric theories involving the assassination of Malcolm X, the Watergate affair, and the allegedly “stolen” elections of 2000 and 2004. Each is presented in some depth, sufficient in most cases for the initiate, but space doesn’t exist in one volume to satisfy any true devotee of any one of these theories.
I found interesting observations in each of the chapters, but some of the most fascinating portions had to do with areas where Ventura indulged his ego by including anecdotes from his own experience.
One of the most fascinating of these occurs in the middle of the chapter on the John Kennedy assassination, where Ventura recounts a visit to Cuba while governor of Minnesota and a private meeting with Fidel Castro. I had not realized that anyone had ever actually asked Castro point blank if he was involved in that crime, but Ventura claims he did. Castro, of course, denied it without qualification, and assured Ventura that he believed there was a conspiracy and that it was hatched by “persons within the United States,” without mentioning any names.
May 12, 2010
