Not Intended As A Straightforward Conspiracy Theory Text...
I was one of the people involved (at the very end stages) with this book. I had a short while to look at it (in all its minuscule type-face) for the publisher as it was being prepared for print. I'm truly delighted that it has made its way into the big, wide world and appears to be doing so well. However, I would like to share what little inside information I have about the book and its intentions. I read that some are disapointed with the conspiracy theory element to the book. If I remember correctly, the author wasn't really focusing on providing a conspiracy theory account exactly. This is the story of one man's inadvertent involvement in a much larger and complex set of circumstances. It's a memoir on the surface, which is why he describes the breakdown of his marriage, his girlfriends, etc. If you read between the lines, though, you realize that he was witnessing history and this book is his heartfelt effort to recount what it was he experienced as a CIA insider.
If you're looking for a down-and-out conspiracy theory text, then you may or may not like this book. But if you take this book as you find it, without having too many preconceived notions about what secrets it should be giving away, you will probably really enjoy it!
Some info on the war against Cuba - one on JFK
This book is written in fine print which means that reading the book is like reading only the "legal notices" or disclaimers on a website. So if your eyesight isn't 20/20, forget it.
The info on the secret war against Cuba is good, but the idea of who killed the Kennedy bros. lack any kind of evidence.
I'm quite disappointed with this book.
A very important book despite its limitations
Captain Ayers is the primary researcher of the life and career of career CIA rambo David Morales. This alone makes The Zenith Secret a must read for anyone interested in understanding how the American republic was put to sleep in the postwar era by its patriots. The evidence re complicity of Senator Barry Goldwater is clearly presented; one may draw one's own conclusions. Googling "newcombat" and "bradley e. ayers" leads to a discussion of the book in the context of the current debate as to whether Morales and another CIA officer whom Ayers knew well -- Gordon Campbell -- were present in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles the evening that Robert Kennedy was murdered.
The Zenith Secret by Bradley Ayers - very good read
I am 2/3's the way thru Bradley Ayers' excellent book, "The Zenith Secret". Interesting in itself, its 2006 edition by VoxPop (voxpopnet.net) using a mainland Chinese book publishing company (probably cost-effective). A sign of the future for independent book publishing in America?
Bradley happened to be in a unique and pivotal point of the secret history that took place in the USA in the early to late 1960's, and his observations on the assassinations of the Kennedys and MLK was on the mark. His backgound as an Army officer and CIA operative in that period makes his viewpoints all the more believeable.
The book is well-written. He states that US commissioned officers in the Army are prohibited from keeping a diary, but he seems to have organized those events in detail that makes it apparent he has a outstanding memory or he perhaps secretly kept some his notes away from the authorities, for future reference.
This is perhaps explained in the paragraph on page 158:
"...Because I had nothing to work from, to reconstruct my account, it had to come from memory correlated to work with my accumulation of routine records, receipts, flight logs, letters and other personal documents that would helpt pin down times, places, people and events."
In any event, he has done a great service to the people of the US for his history of a dark age in our country. I rank his contributions in the JFK assassination genre right there on the level of what Col. Prouty has done, and I would not be surprised if the dear Colonel could have agreed with me on this assessment.
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A disappointing book
As others have noted, the size of the print is a problem, to the point that for me at least it was difficult, nearly painful, to read. If I weren't so interested in the topic I'd have never purchased the book due to the print size. It would have been better to cut some of the unnecessary verbage and increase the font.
I'm extremely puzzled by the author's identification of Gordon Campbell as the individual (from Veciana's description) drawn as Bishop for the HSCA. To my knowledge only one photo of Campbell exists, and it is the one the author refers to in his book--that appeared on the video that was available on the BBC in November 2006--if in fact that was Campbell. To me if that was Campbell, or if that person looked anything like the real Campbell, he doesn't look anything like the HSCA drawing of Bishop. Which makes me wonder about Ayers' other identifications.
Ultimately, the author really doesn't know any new details about the JFK case (although he may be correct about some of those involved), but his description of his involvement in the anti-Castro activities in the 1960s is worthwhile to those interested in every available tidbit about that, but be prepared to strain your eyes to be able to read about it.
I was looking forward to this book, but it disappoints, mainly due to the lack of any real evidence cited.
(8 reviews)
