“Our most provocative scholar of American power” reveals the forces behind the assassination of JFK—and their continuing influence over our world (David Talbot, Salon).
On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was gunned down in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald. Shortly after, Oswald himself was killed. These events led many to believe there was a far greater plan at work, with a secret cabal of powerful men manipulating the public and shaping US policies both at home and abroad for their own interests.
But no one could imagine how right they were.
Beneath the orderly façade of the American government, there lies a complex network, only partly structural, linking Wall Street influence, corrupt bureaucracy, and the military-industrial complex. Here lies the true power of the American empire. This behind-the-scenes web is unelected, unaccountable, and immune to popular resistance. Peter Dale Scott calls this entity the deep state, and he has made it his life’s work to write the history of those who manipulate our government from the shadows. Since the aftermath of World War II, the deep state’s power has grown unchecked, and nowhere has it been more apparent than that day at Dealey Plaza.
In this landmark volume, Scott traces how culpable elements in the CIA and FBI helped prepare for the assassination, and how the deep state continues to influence our politics today.
As timely and important as ever in the current chaotic political climate, Dallas ’63 is a reality-shattering, frightening exposé not of those who govern us—but of those who govern those who govern us.
Praise for Peter Dale Scott
“[A] staggeringly well-researched and intelligent overview not only of the JFK assassination but also of the rise of forces undermining American democracy. . . . A kind of Rosetta stone for cracking open the deepest darkness in American politics.” —Kirkus Reviews on Deep Politics and the Death of JFK
“Highly recommended.” —Library Journal on Deep Politics and the Death of JFK
“May well be the most thoughtful and serious-minded of the 2,500 titles on the subject published over the years.” —Toronto Star on Deep Politics and the Death of JFK
“Peter Dale Scott is our most provocative scholar of American power. Scott picks up where the pioneering C. Wright Mills left off, shining a light on the dark labyrinth of power—a shadow world that has only grown more arrogant and wedded to state violence since the days of the ‘power elite’ and the ‘military-industrial complex.’ There is no way to understand how power really operates without daring to follow Scott’s illuminating path.” —David Talbot, Salon, on The American Deep State
“Breaks new ground on the deceptions that covered up anti-Castro assassination plots and protected the operation to assassinate JFK . . . an essential read.” —John Newman, author of Oswald and the CIA
“An incandescent affirmation of Peter Dale Scott’s stature as our sharpest and most discerning historian whose works expose and document the intricacies, concealed alliances, and underlying continuities that exist between a public state which is bound by the checks and balances of constitutional authority, and a deep state which is neither influenced nor informed by constitutional constraints. Highest recommendation.” —Alan Dale, moderator of the JFK Essentials forum
