Book Description
Voted Outstanding Academic Title in 2004 by Choice.

The Strength of the Wolf is the first complete history of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), which existed from 1930 until its wrenching termination in 1968. The most successful federal law enforcement agency ever, the FBN was populated by some of the most amazing characters in American history, many of whom the author interviewed for this book. Working as undercover agents and with mercenary informers around the globe, these freewheeling "case making" agents penetrated the Mafia and the French connection, breaking all the rules in the process, and uncovering the Establishment's ties to organized crime. Targeted by the FBI and the CIA, the case-makers were, ironically, victims of their own fabulous success in hunting down society's predators. An incredible, never-before-told story, The Strength of the Wolf provides a new, exciting, and revealing look at an important chapter in American history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Critical historical context for the War on Drugs
Given how much money this country spends to fight drug dealers and to lock up drug dealers & users both, I am amazed how little I hear people question the War on Drugs.

This book provides the historical framework critical to understand this, with the War on Drugs beginning as an attempt to provide what equates to trade protection to the pharmaceutical companies (who competed with the real thing of the day, opium/heroin), and how later racism led to marijuana users being targeted as well (Black Americans in Harlem and Latinos in the SW and California), and of course the violence fueled by the cocaine/crack trade made it a national buzzword.

It is a crime that this assault on our own citizens continues today - one would think that after the dismal failure of Prohibition that we would have learned our lesson.

Hopefully this book can start raising a consciousness to question it, at the very least more public debate (without the hysteria) is long overdue.

Important but little known history
Based on exhaustive research and interviews, this detailed and extensively footnoted history of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics is both a fine reference work for scholars, and an eye-opening, exciting narrative for the general reader. The book itself is the highest quality, made to last for generations, and includes a section of rare photographs, and an appendix consisting of a rogue's gallery from the FBN's files. The FBN, headed by Harry J. Anslinger, was the precursor agency to today's DEA. The War on Drugs that has been waged for years now, with a price is no object mentality, is now being reconsidered by more and more people as either an ill-considered mistake, or perhaps even as a Big Government/Big Brother monkey on the public's fiscal back. The War has surely not stopped the supply of drugs, and if you have ever thought that it was never intended to, but wondered why that was so, The Strength of The Wolf, will provide some answers. There are many books about drug enforcement (or lack thereof) in the recent past, but this work is unique in that it looks at what might be called the dawn of drug enforcement. ... Read more

Book Description
"An important work."

—John Prados, author of President's Secret Wars

"This definitive account of the Phoenix program, the US attempt to destroy the Viet Cong through torture and summary execution, remains sobering reading for all those trying to understand the Vietnam War and the moral ambiguities of America’s Cold War victory. Though carefully documented, the book is written in an accessible style that makes it ideal for readers at all levels, from undergraduates to professional historians."

—Alfred W. McCoy, author of The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Valentine's book is flawed and misleading
This book is an excellent imitation of a historical work, but falls apart in light of Valentine's own methodology and the actual historical work done by real historians. The text comprises a tenuous web of interviews and dubious sources, including a surprising amount from known frauds Elton Manzione and Kenneth Osbourne. To maintain his belief that the US government supports evil for evil's sake, Valentine makes a great number of unfounded accusations, and astute readers will notice that his most controversial claims come with no footnote whatsoever. A professional writer, Valentine was able to ape historical writing very well, and unfortunately the conspiracy theorists who patronize his work are ready to believe anything on scant evidence.
Readers interested in the truth about the Phoenix Program would be much, much better served by consulting Andrade's Ashes to Ashes or Moyar's Phoenix and the Birds of Prey. First-person accounts are provided by Herrington in his Stalking the Vietcong or by Cook in his The Advisor. All of these researched, reputable works contradict Valentine's portrayal of the program, and remedy to some extent the damage his work has caused to the historical record and to men who fought in Vietnam.

Revisionist History Discrediting True Hero's
I regret that I purchased this book.Douglas Valentine demeans the HEROISM of two close personal friends that were part of the Phoenix program.After many years of silence both have shared their experiences with me.Both were wounded several times and have continuing disabilities to this day.The Viet Cong atrocities that each discovered over and over are treated lightly or not at all by Valentine.Neither friend committed any atrocities, ordered any atrocities committed or witnessed any atrocities committed by U.S. or friendly forces.Each friend relives the death of every enemy soldier they killed nightly in their dreams.They never killed in anger or unjustly.

Valentine's book quotes many persons that are either malcontents, liars, Viet Cong spies, or fictional persons with no actual service record.

The book reads like a very dry high school history text.It meanders back and forth through time with little continuity.Valentine's agenda to discredit "Real Soldier's" who served their country is obvious.I forced myself to read this entire book only to find it a "Complete Waste Of Time."

Disappointing
The author's intent is very obvious, however, his structure is too detailed in facts that clouded the issues by making a boring and difficult read. The flow and continuity were just not there. I am quite surprised the editor did not have a field day rewriting much of his work.

Just one question ....
One reviewer writes: "It is a sad but telling fact that the CIA's secret supporters have managed to suppress this book"...

Hmmm. If the book is "suppressed," then why can you buy it on Amazon? (In fact, a REPRINT of the original version!)

Maybe the answer is in my motto: never trust anyone, esp. an "author," who talks about himself in the third person. :)

Excellent read, very readable, on a difficult subject
After having read Douglas Valentine's essay on how the Phoenix is coming home to roost via Homeland Security on his website, I decided to look into his book, The Phoenix Program.Besides his comprehensive, journalistic coverage of the details involved with the program, unafraid to uncover the deeds of all sides involved, two things impressed me even more.

First, this type of book usually has alphabet soup groups, projects and missions labeled with acronyms, and so many individuals' names woven through that I grow weary of reading half way through, if that far.Not so with Valentine's opus.Somehow he presents all these details in a readable fashion, which if you begin from the beginning, unfolds those normally boring and confusing details without losing the reader.At least not this one, who is easily confused by such matters.

Second, and even more impressive were his interviews.It was more like watching a good documentary than reading.Valentine conveyed the characters and their personalities so that they became real people to me, and he let them tell their stories in a very human, honest way.At times even touching, those interviewed were equally human regardless of rank, station, deed or misdeed.It's rare that an interviewer gets the interviewee's real voice and viewpoint. Great stuff, really soulfull and heartfelt.Read it and check out his article on his website, the Phoenix Program is not just history, and it's not just Vietnam. ... Read more

Book Description

In 1967 a young Air Force photojournalist volunteers for a temporary duty mission in the Philippines, but finds himself in Laos, caught in the secret and deadly intrigues of CIA drug smugglers. During the mission he learns the true meaning of good and evil, while nearly losing his life in the process. A crescendo of action and awakening, TDY exposes the US Government's complicity in international drug smuggling.Download Description

In 1967 a young Air Force photojournalist volunteers for a temporary duty mission in the Philippines, but finds himself in Laos, caught in the secret and deadly intrigues of CIA drug smugglers. During the mission he learns the true meaning of good and evil, while nearly losing his life in the process. A crescendo of action and awakening, TDY exposes the US Government's complicity in international drug smuggling. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

only the paranoid survive
1.
TDY = "Temporary Duty".
2.
Work of fiction.
3.
Contact author by mailto:redspruce@douglasvalentine.com
4.
Before you enlist go to objector.org and see consequences.
5.
Douglas Valentine has a new title forthcoming in 2004-May;
ISBN: 1858945681
"THE STRENGTH OF THE WOLF:
The Secret History of America's War on Drugs" (nonfiction).
6.
In J Heller's "Catch-22", Yossarian identifies the enemy as
ANYONE LIKELY TO GET HIM KILLED.
7.
Jst because you're paranoid doesn't mean that they're NOT
out to get you...
8.
I rated this book 4 stars rather than 5 because the subject is
war-related, and therefore unappetizing; otherwise, the work
"TDY" is a good read.

Fantastic Read but partly fiction
This book was a great read.I didn't want to put it down.Valentine really knows how to keep you in suspense.The only problem I had was that I doubted some of his research and he tended to go off on conspiracy theories.But then you have to remember Valentine was interviewed on Oct 17 2001 for a South African Muslim Radio show.This happened after the many tragic deaths due to Anthrax and after the Terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.The interviewer ask Valentine if the CIA could responsible for sending Anthranx to American People.Valentine said "CIA happens to be the prime suspect in all these incidences, and the CIA may have a very good reason for sending, and I don't know that it is doing it, but hypothetically speaking, it may well be that the CIA sent the Anthrax letters to the individuals in the US simply to perpetuate the hysteria in the US."When I read that, much of "TDY" suddenly lost credibility.Other than that it reads ok.

You won't be able to put it down
Doug Valentine has really impressed me with his writing.The story itself is very spellbinding if you are at all interested in military covert operations. But not as important as the superb was the tale is unwoven.

Before going to bed I made the mistake of thinking I could just read the first chapter... I could not put the book down until I finished at 5:00 am. And after the gut wrenching toll on my emotions,I was thanking myself to be alive after what I just went through. The attention to detail gave me, and everyone I have lent the book to, the same reaction.You felt you were right there in the moment.I don't give this review lightly, it is that riveting!

The story is based on a real incident somewhere in Southeast Asia. No need to give the plot away, but if you want to hear the author discuss this book. An archived interview is posted at Black Op Radio.

This is the kind of book that you will want to lend to a friend the minute you finish the last page.

I doubt you will ever volunteer for any kind of 'temporary duty' after reading this.

I highly recommend this book.

Len Osanic osanic@prouty.org ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Douglas Valentine, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 692 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Book Description
In this extraordinary story of World War II, the author's father, who enlisted in the army at age 16, describes the experiences that would affect the course of his life. Douglas Valentine tells of his capture by the Japanese in the fetid jungle of New Guinea, as well as his internment with Australian and British prisoners-of-war in the Hotel Tacloban — a place where no mercy was shown or expected, and from which few came home alive. A celebration of camaraderie and a testament to "the soldier's faith", this is a story of murder, mutiny and an incredible military cover-up. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

this book is not out of print
Amazon.com is wrong when it says my book is out of print and that a picture of the dust jacket is not available.The Hotel Tacloban is published by iUniverse.com as an Author's Guild Backinprint book.You can get it by going to my website and clicking on the dust jacket for the Hotel Tacloban, which will take you directly to iUniverse.com, where you can order the book.

Truly a good story...but true?
The Hotel Tacloban is a fascinating read.The book flows well, reads easily, and keeps pulling you along to the next chapter - a marvelous peice of literary craftsmanship.The only downside is the nagging thought that it might just be a made-up story.

That would be easy to accept if the author said outright that it was fiction.It would also be easy to accept if we had independent confirmation of the events.What is hard to accept is that the story has the ring of authnticity - we do know that many things just like this happened - and the author claims that it is true, but we have no way of proving or disproving those assertions.

A war veteran myself, I can testify that things like the events related in this book are unfortunatly normal occurences in many circles throughout the world, even today.Further, the types of actions purported to have been carried out by the US Army at the end of the book have in fact been done before, another well-documented fact. More importantly, perhaps, is this - the words of the author ring with the tone of truth.A wise VA counselor once remarked to me, when we were discussing whether or not specific events had occured to a mutual aquaintance, that even if we could never establish the exact sequence or total sum of events, it was obvious that SOMETHING had happened to him.I get the same feeling from this book. Whether it is the story given here or something else entirely, there seems to be some dark chapter in the life of the man protrayed.Thus, while I will never quote from this book as history, I believe that it does bequeth an adequate portrayal of what life was like for some people during the war.I look at it more as historical novel than historical fact, which allows me great luxury in finding a place for it in my library.

Read it for what it is, though we can never know for sure.Is it eyewitness to history, a fascinatingly and cunningly crafted fictional masterpiece, or the dark broodings of a man with deep psychological problems of some sort?It is a remarkable example of whichever one of those it is, and it is also a reminder (no matter what the truth is) of the dark side of the largest war ever fought on this planet.

Fiction posing as truth.
To be honest, Hotel Tacloban does not pose as truth as long as you first read the "Publisher's note" hidden in tiny print in the introductory pages.If you just sail in and read it as an attempt to tell the truth then if you are me you do not twig to what is going on until the end, when the US Army somehow destroys forever all proof that theJapanese POW camp in which the author''s father was allegedly kept (along with 100 others) ever existed.Pure garbage. It is disturbing that a book like this can go out masquerading as truth ....it is only when you finish the book and then you go back to the front and carefully analyse the back of the cover etc that you realise you have been had, but that everyone has covered their backs.

Excellent read. Very believable. Another American tragedy.
Valentine shares with the world his father's tragedy--being in the wrong place at the wrong time, one might say. But he was doing what he thought was right--patriotically defending his country--in the jungle highlands ofPapua New Guinea in WWII.Captured by the Japanese, his life sparedapparently by his irreverent (unauthorized) sewing of another unit's patchon his uniform (the enemy thought he was an intelligence officer), he endedup the only U.S.soldier amidst Australian and British prisoners in a POWcamp on Leyte. The story chronicles his struggle for survival, underterribly inhumane conditions, and the treachery of the POW's rankingofficer, a British major. The Major's squealling to the Japanese commanderabout an escape by Aussies led to their immediate capture and beheading,and to Valentine's father acting to avenge their deaths--and to havenightmares for the rest of his life for his role in the assassination ofthe cowardly Brit Major. I have read another reader's skeptical reviewabout this--that, horrors, the U.S. government might shred Valentine'sfathers personnel file to try to hide the events in the POW camp--namedHotel Tacloban by the inmates. Get real buddy! We now are learning aboutthe tragic events in Korea at No Gun Ri, where GIs machine gunnedcivilians. The dirty realities in our wars -- that the big honchos inauthority in the government -- would rather hide, are thank goodness, beingbrought to the light of day by authors like Valentine, and Carroll Case(The Slaughter, 1998, isbn 0-9666499-0-7) and Bob King (Spooky 8, 1999,isbn 0-312-20579-1). My only concern is that, as a historian, there are nofootnotes.

Hotel with one guest
Is "The Tacloban Hotel" fiction, history or embroidered memoir? The first page carries a publisher's disclaimer in which it admits "It has not been possible to prove that the events did occur - nor that theydid not." Like the X-Files, Elvis sightings and space alienabductions.No one questions the barbaric conditions of Japanese POW campsduring World War II or the general savagery of the Japanese toward militaryand civilian populations. The literature of Japanese brutality is detailedand extensive, from Iris Chang's "The Rape of Nanking" and"Railway Man" by Eric Lomax to labeled fiction like "KingRat" and "The Bridge Over the River Kwai." The Pacifictheater in that war was a place marked by a special ruthlessness. It's noaccident that one of the most aptly titled histories to bubble out of thatcauldron was "War Without Mercy" by John Dower.

Preciselybecause of this literature "The Hotel Tacloban" comes across likeone of those tabloids at the checkout counter. The author, DouglasValentine Jr., wrote the book "based on the recollections of hisfather," 40 years later, after receiving psychiatric care. Nothingthat happened can be verified because the U.S. government [which couldn'tkeep the atom bomb secret] conspired to keep this one prisoner's experiencesecret. The son tells us that his father was a teenage POW who acted aslookout while two Australian prisoners strangled a British army major whowas too willing to cooperate with the evil Japanese camp commandant, Capt.Yoshishito. Wasn't that what they were planning to do to Alex Guinness inthe movie?

The author's father was the only Yank in the hell holebitterly dubbed The Tacloban Hotel, which was located near the town ofTacloban on the Philippine island of Leyte. Only one problem: the Americanarmy erased all records of the camp. The murdered man? No record. The fourbrave Aussie's who were beheaded by Samurai sword because the majorbetrayed them? All expunged by the evil US Army, the same bad guys whofreed Valentine and his fellow POWs from their Japanese torturers. Thatmake sense? Everybody was dying in this camp, burials were a daily event.So the major gets buried too, so what? There's more. Valentine Sr. became aPOW in 1942 when he was the sole survivor of an infantry patrol in the NewGuinea jungles. No witnesses to that except the Japanese who bayonetedeveryone but him.Why they spared him? Read the book.But surely there'sa unit record of that patrol gone missing. So the vicious Army brassrewrites Valentine's complete military record and destroys all existingrecords. The world will never know Valentine was a rifleman in the 32ndDivision. The record will show he belonged to the 375th Harbor CraftCompany. The malaria, dysentery, tropical sores, the teeth kicked out by aJapanese guard?All that is erased. He can have an honorable discharge ifhe keeps his mouth shut for the rest of his life and agrees never tocontact his old Aussie buddies. Otherwise, 25 years in military prison. Whyare they doing this to a boy who has suffered so much for hiscountry?

This story is so full of holes you'd have to be brain dead notto wonder what really happened. The son should write that story. ... Read more

Book Description
In 1968, Gary Mitchell enlisted in the army and was sent to Vietnam, where he caught the eye of his superiors, who found that he excelled at long-distance shooting-a discovery that set him on the path to a new identity as a sniper.

During his time in Vietnam, American intelligence agents "borrowed" him from his Army unit and used him to carry out planned assassinations most likely as part of the covert Phoenix Program. But this is not just the story of a man at war; it's also about the war within the man, because the memories of his sniper missions followed him home-and nearly destroyed him. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

It just got real
It takes a special brand of courage to operate as a sniper in combat - but Gary Mitchell displayed greater courage in telling his story. This book is absorbing and is the first 'real' portrayal of post traumatic stress syndrome that I have read. Every war produces many unsung heroes - Gary Mitchell is one of them.

A Supposed Non-Fiction: Long On PTSD, Short On Facts
In "A Sniper's Journey" Gary Mitchell (with Michael Hirsh) lays out a supposed story about a small-town Texas youngster, new to the Army, who is pulled into the Phoenix covert program as a sniper in Viet Nam. In fairness, the reviewer is far more familiar with the Marine's program, but this overall story simply did not seem to ring true to a real sniper's techniques and mental processes from that long-ago time.

Possibly as much as a third of the book deals with Mitchell's domestic problems with his wives and for filler, outlined a primer on PTSD. All this was "part of his journey" I suppose, but of marginal interest to outsiders.

We should thank Mr. Mitchell for his 24-year service to our country, but in respect for the fine Army snipers, the great Carlos Hathcock and other 'Corps "One Shot-One Kill" shooters from the past, I cannot recommend this book.

PTSD Essay, more than a 'scoop' on the sniper's experience
I had great hopes in enjoying a book about the sniper's world as pertains to the CIA and its contracting out shooters from the ranks..having met a few through my years overseas. As it was I found the copy more of a recollection of events that are lost to history and emotional blocking: it was way too convenient memory-wise to have the first two kills both have scars above the eye--the officer and the woman...please!

Still, I can recommend this book, as I found it to have a similar PTSD section to my own memoir that is also available on Amazon. I like the variety in letter responses from different PhDs specializing in the recognition of PTSD and treatment...which is what I can see resulted in Mitchell's book...considering the topic I sure wish I could give it more stars, but this was very thin in description and clarity of rememberance...a very far departure from Valentine's co-written pieces.

I would suggest getting this book, as I did, to read the PTSD and then resell it on Amazon, which is what I'm preparing to do right now...the 3 stars are mainly for the PTSD section.

Probably Stolen Valor material
Whenever I see a veteran start to opine about his PTSD, it sends up a red flag for me, especially when mixed with assassination stuff.

The book deals with a guy who was selected for a very short sniper school while in Vietnam, and he then is sent into the field in order to basically assassinate people.He also claims the word "sniper" was never once used during his training.

As I read on, my suspicions were confirmed when he described being assinged to the "2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry", (in the 1st Cav Div), which he also described as "the Garry Ownen battalion".Now those two gaffes right there show me he's a poseur.And I don't think you can hang that one on his ghost writer, who also allegedly was in VN.

He also slipped up later, when he described being shown a photo of his intended target, who had a scar over his eye.After dispatching that guy, a couple missions later he looks through his scope and identifies a female he is supposed to snipe, and he recognizes her by a scar over her eye.Oops!The other thing is:you can not expect me to believe that he could just be given a photo to examine for a few seconds.That's ridiculous.

Yeah, the book is a joke and the last half of it has a bunch of useless filler about PTSD etc.

I've been sniped !
Having worked with snipers in Viet Nam, I can assure you that this book doesn't have any relationship to the real thing.
Reader's Digest condensed version would read - Served in the Army, collected some war stories, wrote a book with a grabber title (and little else), made money.
This guy is right out of "Stolen Valor". ... Read more