The irony in all of this was that BC was not, in fact, a reader. His mother was. Or rather had been, since she'd died almost two years ago. Widowed before she turned thirty, the pious Mrs. Querrey had divided the rest of her life between two great comforts: the church, which she attended every morning (Reformed Calvinist, a modern version of the French Huguenot tradition from which she was descended), and the novel, which she read every afternoon, evening, and often all through the night. A serious Protestant, Mrs. Querrey had preferred edifying or educational texts (hence Faulkner and Hemingway, though she would have agreed with Freddie Pyle's a.s.sertion that there had been no novels worthy of the name since the Second World War). Because her son didn't share her interests (in either the church or literature), Mrs. Querrey recounted the plots of everything she read in lieu of dinner conversation. BC did his best to tune her out with a criminology textbook or forensic handbook or even just a newspaper (where, after all, you learned about the real world, rather than a fantasyland someone had made up to prove a point), but long before Hoover began forcing him to read them, he had come to regard the novel as did Cid Hamete Benengeli, aka Mr. Eggplant, the fictional author of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote Don Quixote: they made you crazy. Just look at his mother, after all. And of course Freddie Pyle.

1. The Warren Commission. Officially the President's Commission on the a.s.sa.s.sination of President Kennedy but better known by the name of its chairman, Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren. The commission was created by Lyndon Johnson on November 29, 1963, to investigate John F. Kennedy's death and concluded just under a year later that Lee Harvey Oswald planned and carried out the shooting with no outside a.s.sistance. One of the commission's lawyers, Arlen Specter, the future senator from Pennsylvania, is credited with the commission's most controversial finding, the "magic bullet" theory, which postulated that the second of the three bullets Lee Harvey Oswald fired from the sixth floor Book Depository window was responsible for all of the wounds to both President Kennedy and Governor Connolly save for Kennedy's head trauma. The Warren Commission. Officially the President's Commission on the a.s.sa.s.sination of President Kennedy but better known by the name of its chairman, Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren. The commission was created by Lyndon Johnson on November 29, 1963, to investigate John F. Kennedy's death and concluded just under a year later that Lee Harvey Oswald planned and carried out the shooting with no outside a.s.sistance. One of the commission's lawyers, Arlen Specter, the future senator from Pennsylvania, is credited with the commission's most controversial finding, the "magic bullet" theory, which postulated that the second of the three bullets Lee Harvey Oswald fired from the sixth floor Book Depository window was responsible for all of the wounds to both President Kennedy and Governor Connolly save for Kennedy's head trauma.

2. The Monroe Doctrine. One of the defining concepts of U.S. foreign policy, the Monroe Doctrine declared that any attempts by European powers to colonize or exert undue influence in the New World would be viewed as acts of aggression toward the United States. A logical (if equally self-aggrandizing) corollary to Manifest Destiny, the Monroe Doctrine was largely symbolic when it was first articulated, but as the United States became a world economic and military power, the doctrine came to be seen as one of the cornerstones of American strength. While Europe and Asia squabbled over slivers of territory and resources, the United States was free to concentrate on growing the largest economy the world had ever seen. Eventually, as military and transport technology shrank the world, the doctrine was more and more frequently put to the test. Among other things, it was The Monroe Doctrine. One of the defining concepts of U.S. foreign policy, the Monroe Doctrine declared that any attempts by European powers to colonize or exert undue influence in the New World would be viewed as acts of aggression toward the United States. A logical (if equally self-aggrandizing) corollary to Manifest Destiny, the Monroe Doctrine was largely symbolic when it was first articulated, but as the United States became a world economic and military power, the doctrine came to be seen as one of the cornerstones of American strength. While Europe and Asia squabbled over slivers of territory and resources, the United States was free to concentrate on growing the largest economy the world had ever seen. Eventually, as military and transport technology shrank the world, the doctrine was more and more frequently put to the test. Among other things, it was jus ad bellum jus ad bellum behind Theodore Roosevelt's 1898 invasion of Cuba, which set in motion a chain of events that led to Fidel Castro's revolution, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and several rumored conspiracies to a.s.sa.s.sinate John F. Kennedy. behind Theodore Roosevelt's 1898 invasion of Cuba, which set in motion a chain of events that led to Fidel Castro's revolution, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and several rumored conspiracies to a.s.sa.s.sinate John F. Kennedy.

3. Sam "Momo" Giancana. The leader of the so-called Chicago Outfit from 1957. Rumors about his influence on American politics abound, from the disputed claim that he gave Chicago to Jack Kennedy in the 1960 election, thus securing him Illinois' Electoral College votes as well as the presidency, to the much more solid allegation that he was paid large amounts of money by CIA to a.s.sa.s.sinate Fidel Castro. Despite all of this (or perhaps because of it), Giancana was also one of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy's biggest targets during his relentless prosecution of organized crime in the early sixties. Giancana, feeling that quid pro quo had been violated, articulated on numerous occasions his desire to kill the elder Kennedy in order to get rid of the younger: the reasoning went that if you killed Bobby Kennedy, then his crusade against organized crime would become a kind of holy quest on the part of both his older brother and the American people; but if you killed Jack, then LBJ would end up in the Oval Office. Johnson's dislike of the Kennedys was well known, and it was a.s.sumed that once he became president, Bobby would be relieved of his post-which is, in fact, what happened. In 1975, Giancana was scheduled to testify to a Senate committee about connections between organized crime and the Kennedy a.s.sa.s.sination when someone broke into his home and shot him seven times in the head. Sam "Momo" Giancana. The leader of the so-called Chicago Outfit from 1957. Rumors about his influence on American politics abound, from the disputed claim that he gave Chicago to Jack Kennedy in the 1960 election, thus securing him Illinois' Electoral College votes as well as the presidency, to the much more solid allegation that he was paid large amounts of money by CIA to a.s.sa.s.sinate Fidel Castro. Despite all of this (or perhaps because of it), Giancana was also one of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy's biggest targets during his relentless prosecution of organized crime in the early sixties. Giancana, feeling that quid pro quo had been violated, articulated on numerous occasions his desire to kill the elder Kennedy in order to get rid of the younger: the reasoning went that if you killed Bobby Kennedy, then his crusade against organized crime would become a kind of holy quest on the part of both his older brother and the American people; but if you killed Jack, then LBJ would end up in the Oval Office. Johnson's dislike of the Kennedys was well known, and it was a.s.sumed that once he became president, Bobby would be relieved of his post-which is, in fact, what happened. In 1975, Giancana was scheduled to testify to a Senate committee about connections between organized crime and the Kennedy a.s.sa.s.sination when someone broke into his home and shot him seven times in the head.

4. J. Edgar Hoover. The founding director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hoover held the post for more than forty years, until he died in office in 1972. When Hoover took over the Bureau, it had about 650 employees; by the time he died, it had more than 7,000. Hoover's reputation as a vigilant crime fighter and anti-Communist was tainted by a host of rumors and allegations, including the claim that he was a h.o.m.os.e.xual, had African American ancestry, and kept secret files on a wide variety of American politicians, businessmen, and celebrities in order to ensure that he stayed in power. When he died, thousands of pages of his files were shredded by his secretary, Helen Gandy, before the truth or falsehood of the latter claim could be substantiated. J. Edgar Hoover. The founding director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hoover held the post for more than forty years, until he died in office in 1972. When Hoover took over the Bureau, it had about 650 employees; by the time he died, it had more than 7,000. Hoover's reputation as a vigilant crime fighter and anti-Communist was tainted by a host of rumors and allegations, including the claim that he was a h.o.m.os.e.xual, had African American ancestry, and kept secret files on a wide variety of American politicians, businessmen, and celebrities in order to ensure that he stayed in power. When he died, thousands of pages of his files were shredded by his secretary, Helen Gandy, before the truth or falsehood of the latter claim could be substantiated.

5. The Myth of Orpheus. Orpheus is well-known today as the singer who journeyed to h.e.l.l to recover his dead wife, only to lose her at the last minute when he turned to look at her. Equally important in the ancient world, however, was what Orpheus did afterward: as the only mortal to have seen h.e.l.l, Orpheus became the object of a potent "mystery cult" that claimed special knowledge about what happened to the human soul after the body died, and ways to secure advantages in the afterlife. Orphic legends have persisted and have been intermittently attractive to various spiritual and philosophical groups, including many of the so-called gurus of the sixties, that believe salvation is attained not through grace but through revelation. The Myth of Orpheus. Orpheus is well-known today as the singer who journeyed to h.e.l.l to recover his dead wife, only to lose her at the last minute when he turned to look at her. Equally important in the ancient world, however, was what Orpheus did afterward: as the only mortal to have seen h.e.l.l, Orpheus became the object of a potent "mystery cult" that claimed special knowledge about what happened to the human soul after the body died, and ways to secure advantages in the afterlife. Orphic legends have persisted and have been intermittently attractive to various spiritual and philosophical groups, including many of the so-called gurus of the sixties, that believe salvation is attained not through grace but through revelation.

6. Timothy Leary. The high priest of not just of LSD but of the entire counterculture, Timothy Leary was once referred to as "the most dangerous man in America" by none other than Richard Nixon. His effect on American youth and popular culture was so profound that it's almost impossible to believe now, let alone quantify. "Turn on, tune in, drop out" became the mantra of a generation, but behind the "Free to Be You and Me" att.i.tude was a rigorous intellectual and scientific mind, one that believed LSD, far from simply offering psychedelic hallucinations for an eight- or ten-hour period, might permanently and profoundly alter brain function, unlocking heretofore unknown mental abilities in the same way that steroids permanently altered the human physiognomy a generation later. While Leary's antiestablishment views drew flak from law enforcement agencies and political figures, eventually landing him in jail, his ideas about LSD drew attention from a different segment of American government, namely the CIA. While no one has ever definitively proved that CIA funded any of Leary's LSD experiments at Harvard or the Millbrook, New York, colony he founded in 1963, the rumors have never quite faded away, either. Timothy Leary. The high priest of not just of LSD but of the entire counterculture, Timothy Leary was once referred to as "the most dangerous man in America" by none other than Richard Nixon. His effect on American youth and popular culture was so profound that it's almost impossible to believe now, let alone quantify. "Turn on, tune in, drop out" became the mantra of a generation, but behind the "Free to Be You and Me" att.i.tude was a rigorous intellectual and scientific mind, one that believed LSD, far from simply offering psychedelic hallucinations for an eight- or ten-hour period, might permanently and profoundly alter brain function, unlocking heretofore unknown mental abilities in the same way that steroids permanently altered the human physiognomy a generation later. While Leary's antiestablishment views drew flak from law enforcement agencies and political figures, eventually landing him in jail, his ideas about LSD drew attention from a different segment of American government, namely the CIA. While no one has ever definitively proved that CIA funded any of Leary's LSD experiments at Harvard or the Millbrook, New York, colony he founded in 1963, the rumors have never quite faded away, either.

7. The Man in the High Castle The Man in the High Castle (1962) by Philip K. d.i.c.k. Generally considered the seminal early work of d.i.c.k's career as well as one of the founding texts of the alternate history genre, (1962) by Philip K. d.i.c.k. Generally considered the seminal early work of d.i.c.k's career as well as one of the founding texts of the alternate history genre, The Man in the High Castle The Man in the High Castle postulates a world in which the Germans and j.a.panese defeated the United States in World War II. The idea was considered so radical that the book came to the attention of the FBI, who allegedly put d.i.c.k on a watch list based solely on ideas he espoused in fictional form. postulates a world in which the Germans and j.a.panese defeated the United States in World War II. The idea was considered so radical that the book came to the attention of the FBI, who allegedly put d.i.c.k on a watch list based solely on ideas he espoused in fictional form.

8. The Manchurian Candidate The Manchurian Candidate (1959) by Richard Condon. This enormously successful thriller-about the son of a prominent American family brainwashed into becoming a Soviet a.s.sa.s.sin capable of being controlled not only against his will but without his knowledge-was popular not just with the American public: according to legend, it paralleled the CIA's now-infamous MK-ULTRA program to investigate ways of creating a real-life counterpart. (1959) by Richard Condon. This enormously successful thriller-about the son of a prominent American family brainwashed into becoming a Soviet a.s.sa.s.sin capable of being controlled not only against his will but without his knowledge-was popular not just with the American public: according to legend, it paralleled the CIA's now-infamous MK-ULTRA program to investigate ways of creating a real-life counterpart.

9. Millbrook, New York. A small town on the Hudson River, Millbrook became famous in the 1960s as the site of Timothy Leary's Castalia colony, which was dedicated to exploring the uses of psychedelic drugs. Millbrook, New York. A small town on the Hudson River, Millbrook became famous in the 1960s as the site of Timothy Leary's Castalia colony, which was dedicated to exploring the uses of psychedelic drugs.

10. James Jesus Angleton. The head of counterintelligence at the CIA, "Mother" was famous for seeing double agents everywhere-save for in one of his oldest and closest friends, Kim Philby. Although Angleton's suspicions verged on the paranoiac, it is clear that double and sleeper agents were and continue to be a major tactic of international espionage, as attested by the recent discovery of a Russian spy ring operating up and down the East Coast. James Jesus Angleton. The head of counterintelligence at the CIA, "Mother" was famous for seeing double agents everywhere-save for in one of his oldest and closest friends, Kim Philby. Although Angleton's suspicions verged on the paranoiac, it is clear that double and sleeper agents were and continue to be a major tactic of international espionage, as attested by the recent discovery of a Russian spy ring operating up and down the East Coast.

11. Kim Philby. Perhaps the most famous double agent of all time, Philby worked for the Soviet Union for more than thirty years, during which time his activities as an agent of England's MI-6 earned him the OBE. When "Stanley" was finally unmasked in 1963, the intelligence community on both sides of the Atlantic was rocked, and a never-ending hunt for double and sleeper agents was launched that continues to this day. Kim Philby. Perhaps the most famous double agent of all time, Philby worked for the Soviet Union for more than thirty years, during which time his activities as an agent of England's MI-6 earned him the OBE. When "Stanley" was finally unmasked in 1963, the intelligence community on both sides of the Atlantic was rocked, and a never-ending hunt for double and sleeper agents was launched that continues to this day.

12. Billy Hitchc.o.c.k. The owner of the mansion housing Timothy Leary's Millbrook colony. One of the heirs to the Mellon Bank fortune, Hitchc.o.c.k's motives have been variously attributed to altruism, spiritual curiosity, capitalism (he was said to believe that LSD could be "the new tobacco"), to a never-proven belief that Hitchc.o.c.k was in the employ of the CIA. Billy Hitchc.o.c.k. The owner of the mansion housing Timothy Leary's Millbrook colony. One of the heirs to the Mellon Bank fortune, Hitchc.o.c.k's motives have been variously attributed to altruism, spiritual curiosity, capitalism (he was said to believe that LSD could be "the new tobacco"), to a never-proven belief that Hitchc.o.c.k was in the employ of the CIA.

13. Jack Ruby. The man who shot Lee Harvey Oswald to save Jackie the trauma of a trial is almost as mysterious as the a.s.sa.s.sin he murdered. His ties to organized crime, including Sam Giancana, have been well doc.u.mented, but whether Giancana put him up to the shooting is unknown. At one point, he claimed Oswald was the gunman of a conspiracy to a.s.sa.s.sinate President Kennedy, and he also claimed that he was framed to kill Oswald; he also claimed he was injected with the cancer cells that claimed his life in 1967. Shortly before he died, however, he recanted everything, and claimed he had acted alone. Jack Ruby. The man who shot Lee Harvey Oswald to save Jackie the trauma of a trial is almost as mysterious as the a.s.sa.s.sin he murdered. His ties to organized crime, including Sam Giancana, have been well doc.u.mented, but whether Giancana put him up to the shooting is unknown. At one point, he claimed Oswald was the gunman of a conspiracy to a.s.sa.s.sinate President Kennedy, and he also claimed that he was framed to kill Oswald; he also claimed he was injected with the cancer cells that claimed his life in 1967. Shortly before he died, however, he recanted everything, and claimed he had acted alone.

14. Lee Harvey Oswald. Few lives in history have been more doc.u.mented than Lee Harvey Oswald's, yet few are as shrouded in mystery. An avowed Communist from early childhood, he also joined the U.S. Marines a few days before his seventeenth birthday-where, despite the fact that he read the Lee Harvey Oswald. Few lives in history have been more doc.u.mented than Lee Harvey Oswald's, yet few are as shrouded in mystery. An avowed Communist from early childhood, he also joined the U.S. Marines a few days before his seventeenth birthday-where, despite the fact that he read the Communist Manifesto Communist Manifesto in boot camp, he was still stationed at the Atsugi Air Force Base in j.a.pan, the base of the U-2 spy plane program, then the single most important weapon in the U.S. espionage a.r.s.enal. When he told his superiors that he was going to defect to the Soviet Union and tell them everything he knew about the U-2 program, he wasn't arrested but was sent on his way. In the Soviet Union, he lived a lavish life and married a woman he knew for less than a month, only to suddenly declare himself disillusioned with Russian Communism and ask to be allowed to return to the United States, with his wife and child. Not only was this request granted by Soviet authorities, but American intelligence allowed Oswald back into the country with little more than a routine interview. All of which generates a thousand questions: Was Oswald a troubled young man whose intense Communist beliefs led him to shoot the president of the United States? Or was he actually an agent of the Soviet Union who was directed to a.s.sa.s.sinate Kennedy after being recruited into the KGB in his late teens? Or, even more nefariously, was he actually an agent of the CIA whose Communist sympathies were a cover designed to get him into the KGB, where he could spy for America, and who later collapsed beneath the burden of his fractured ident.i.ty? Or did he even pull the trigger? There's evidence-much of it contradictory-for every theory, and it's doubtful we'll ever be satisfied with any single answer. in boot camp, he was still stationed at the Atsugi Air Force Base in j.a.pan, the base of the U-2 spy plane program, then the single most important weapon in the U.S. espionage a.r.s.enal. When he told his superiors that he was going to defect to the Soviet Union and tell them everything he knew about the U-2 program, he wasn't arrested but was sent on his way. In the Soviet Union, he lived a lavish life and married a woman he knew for less than a month, only to suddenly declare himself disillusioned with Russian Communism and ask to be allowed to return to the United States, with his wife and child. Not only was this request granted by Soviet authorities, but American intelligence allowed Oswald back into the country with little more than a routine interview. All of which generates a thousand questions: Was Oswald a troubled young man whose intense Communist beliefs led him to shoot the president of the United States? Or was he actually an agent of the Soviet Union who was directed to a.s.sa.s.sinate Kennedy after being recruited into the KGB in his late teens? Or, even more nefariously, was he actually an agent of the CIA whose Communist sympathies were a cover designed to get him into the KGB, where he could spy for America, and who later collapsed beneath the burden of his fractured ident.i.ty? Or did he even pull the trigger? There's evidence-much of it contradictory-for every theory, and it's doubtful we'll ever be satisfied with any single answer.

15. Umbrella Man and Dark-Complected Man. Umbrella Man and Dark-Complected Man are a pair of individuals present at Dealey Plaza who figure prominently in some of the JFK conspiracy theories. Umbrella Man, so named because he was carrying an umbrella on a sunny morning (although it had been raining earlier in the day) can be seen in various photographs and the Zapruder film opening his umbrella right after Oswald fired the first of his three shots; conspiracy theorists see this as a signal to Oswald that he had missed and needed to fire again. Dark-Complected man, seated near Umbrella Man, can be seen carrying a dark rectangular object that some conspiracy theorists believe to be a walkie-talkie, with which he is communicating with other conspirators. Neither man's real name has ever been confirmed. Umbrella Man and Dark-Complected Man. Umbrella Man and Dark-Complected Man are a pair of individuals present at Dealey Plaza who figure prominently in some of the JFK conspiracy theories. Umbrella Man, so named because he was carrying an umbrella on a sunny morning (although it had been raining earlier in the day) can be seen in various photographs and the Zapruder film opening his umbrella right after Oswald fired the first of his three shots; conspiracy theorists see this as a signal to Oswald that he had missed and needed to fire again. Dark-Complected man, seated near Umbrella Man, can be seen carrying a dark rectangular object that some conspiracy theorists believe to be a walkie-talkie, with which he is communicating with other conspirators. Neither man's real name has ever been confirmed.

16. MK-ULTRA. A top secret program of the CIA, along with Projects Bluebird, Chatter, and Artichoke, which researched brainwashing, mind-control, and interrogation, including the use of drugs and other techniques to influence human behavior. At its most basic level, MK-ULTRA investigated drugs such as Sodium Pentothol, MDSM, LSD, and BZ for use as incapacitants and truth serums; at its most far-fetched, the program seriously investigated various forms of ESP, including telepathy and remote viewing, and possible ways to create these abilities. MK-ULTRA. A top secret program of the CIA, along with Projects Bluebird, Chatter, and Artichoke, which researched brainwashing, mind-control, and interrogation, including the use of drugs and other techniques to influence human behavior. At its most basic level, MK-ULTRA investigated drugs such as Sodium Pentothol, MDSM, LSD, and BZ for use as incapacitants and truth serums; at its most far-fetched, the program seriously investigated various forms of ESP, including telepathy and remote viewing, and possible ways to create these abilities.

17. Joseph Scheider. The real name of Sidney Gottlieb, the leader of the chemical division of the CIA's Technical Services Section. Scheider, aka Gottlieb, was the head of MK-ULTRA and also worked on various poisons and poison-delivery systems in the CIA's decades-long plot to a.s.sa.s.sinate or otherwise remove Fidel Castro from power, including a plan to spray his shoes with thallium so that his beard would fall out-Gottlieb seeming to believe that Castro's power, like Samson's, was vested in his hair. Joseph Scheider. The real name of Sidney Gottlieb, the leader of the chemical division of the CIA's Technical Services Section. Scheider, aka Gottlieb, was the head of MK-ULTRA and also worked on various poisons and poison-delivery systems in the CIA's decades-long plot to a.s.sa.s.sinate or otherwise remove Fidel Castro from power, including a plan to spray his shoes with thallium so that his beard would fall out-Gottlieb seeming to believe that Castro's power, like Samson's, was vested in his hair.

18. LSD. Lysergic acid diethylamide was synthesized in a Swiss laboratory in 1938 as a potential treatment for heart problems. At the time, it was by far the most powerful hallucinogen that had ever been discovered, and concomitant with its extreme power came extreme claims about its potential: from cures for schizophrenia to a life-empowerment tool to a means for creating new mental states and even abilities, LSD was a compound of intense scientific and social scrutiny. LSD. Lysergic acid diethylamide was synthesized in a Swiss laboratory in 1938 as a potential treatment for heart problems. At the time, it was by far the most powerful hallucinogen that had ever been discovered, and concomitant with its extreme power came extreme claims about its potential: from cures for schizophrenia to a life-empowerment tool to a means for creating new mental states and even abilities, LSD was a compound of intense scientific and social scrutiny.

19. The Truman Doctrine. Harry Truman's corollary to the Monroe Doctrine stated that it was necessary for the United States to do everything within its power economically and militarily to prevent countries from "going Red," be it voluntarily or as a result of Soviet aggression. As part of the U.S. policy of containment, the most famous applications of the doctrine were, first, in Korea and, later, in Vietnam. Although the Korean and Vietnam wars failed to save either country from partial or total Communist victory, Cold War historians believe that the expense of these and other wars contributed to the economic fragility of the Soviet Union, which led to its collapse in 1989. The Truman Doctrine. Harry Truman's corollary to the Monroe Doctrine stated that it was necessary for the United States to do everything within its power economically and militarily to prevent countries from "going Red," be it voluntarily or as a result of Soviet aggression. As part of the U.S. policy of containment, the most famous applications of the doctrine were, first, in Korea and, later, in Vietnam. Although the Korean and Vietnam wars failed to save either country from partial or total Communist victory, Cold War historians believe that the expense of these and other wars contributed to the economic fragility of the Soviet Union, which led to its collapse in 1989.

20. The Daylight Test. A catchphrase in the espionage community, the Daylight Test refers to the criterion by a particular intelligence operation is judged-that is, would you perform the same action in broad daylight that you would under cover of darkness? Although idealists see it as a moral yardstick prohibiting actions that wouldn't stand up to direct scrutiny, pragmatists see it instead as an admonition to prepare for eventual discovery and have strategies for disavowal or plausible deniability ready to hand. The Daylight Test. A catchphrase in the espionage community, the Daylight Test refers to the criterion by a particular intelligence operation is judged-that is, would you perform the same action in broad daylight that you would under cover of darkness? Although idealists see it as a moral yardstick prohibiting actions that wouldn't stand up to direct scrutiny, pragmatists see it instead as an admonition to prepare for eventual discovery and have strategies for disavowal or plausible deniability ready to hand.

Background reading:

John Armstrong. Harvey and Lee: How the CIA Framed Oswald Harvey and Lee: How the CIA Framed Oswald. Quasar Books, 2003.

Erik Hedegaard. "The Last Confession of E. Howard Hunt." Rolling Stone Rolling Stone, Apr. 5, 2009.

John Clellon Holmes. "This Is the Beat Generation." New York Times Magazine New York Times Magazine, Nov. 16, 1952.

George Kennan. The "Long Telegram," http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/coldwar/doc.u.ments/episode-1/kennan.htm.

Norman Mailer. "The White Negro." Dissent Dissent, Summer 1957; reprinted in Advertis.e.m.e.nts for Myself Advertis.e.m.e.nts for Myself (New York: Putnam's, 1959, and subsequent reprints). (New York: Putnam's, 1959, and subsequent reprints).

About the Authors

TIM KRING is one of the creative community's original transmedia storytellers using film, TV, broadband, computers, mobile devices, and the printed page to engage audiences around the world in narrative and immersive story arcs. Internationally, 76 million fans know Tim's work as the creator and executive producer of is one of the creative community's original transmedia storytellers using film, TV, broadband, computers, mobile devices, and the printed page to engage audiences around the world in narrative and immersive story arcs. Internationally, 76 million fans know Tim's work as the creator and executive producer of Heroes Heroes, NBC's Emmy-nominated epic saga that chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities.

Kring has written numerous feature films, series pilots, and television movies. Before creating Heroes Heroes, he was a producer for television shows including Chicago Hope Chicago Hope and and Providence Providence. He also created the procedural drama Crossing Jordan Crossing Jordan.

Kring studied film at Allan Hanc.o.c.k Junior College and then the University of Southern California's renowned film school. After graduation he worked his way up in production as a grip, a gaffer, and on camera crews.

Kring resides in Los Angeles with his wife Lisa, a social worker, and their two children. In his spare time, he enjoys photography and collecting acoustic guitars.

DALE PECK is the author of nine books, including, most recently, is the author of nine books, including, most recently, Body Surfing Body Surfing and and Sprout Sprout, both novels. His fiction, essays, and criticism have appeared in numerous publications, including Atlantic Monthly Atlantic Monthly, the London Review of Books London Review of Books, and the New York Times New York Times. Since 1999, he has taught in the New School's Graduate Writing Program. A co-founder of the Mischief and Mayhem writing collective, he lives in New York City.

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