Behind the Curtain of Power: How Karl Rove, David Axelrod, Roger Ailes, James Carville, Dick Morris, and Lee Atwater Won the Toughest Race in the World and Changed America By: Rune Olsø We all know the names of the last US presidents, but who were the masterminds that catapulted them into the highest echelon of power? Go behind the scenes for an honest look at the way a handful of exceptional political operatives manipulated, cajoled, and maneuvered their way through the political battlefield of presidential elections. Discover who they are, deep down; where they come from and the goals and fears driving them. With nicknames like "Bad Boy", "the Ragin' Cajun," "the Architect," and "the Axe", they left a trail of victims in their paths. To some they are heroes, to others, villains. We cannot fully understand history without understanding them. Behind the Curtain of Power is the fascinating story of the political masterminds that orchestrated victories in the toughest race in the world - and changed America.
'Epic... Wilson writes captivatingly with humour...anyone with an interest in eastern European sport will be consulting this book for years to come' FINANCIAL TIMES 'This fascinating and perceptive travelogue includes a fine collection of anecdotes too colourful for fiction' SUNDAY TIMES 'A blissful book, lovingly and stylishly written' DAILY TELEGRAPH From the war-ravaged streets of Sarajevo, where turning up for training involved dodging snipers' bullets, to the crumbling splendour of Budapest's Bozsik Stadium, where the likes of Puskás and Kocsis masterminded the fall of England, the landscape of Eastern Europe has changed immeasurably since the fall of communism. Jonathan Wilson has travelled extensively behind the old Iron Curtain, viewing life beyond the fall of the Berlin Wall through the lens of football. Where once the state-controlled teams of the Eastern bloc passed their way with crisp efficiency - a sort of communist version of total football - to considerable success on the European and international stages, today the beautiful game in the East has been opened up to the free market, and throughout the region a sense of chaos pervades. The threat of totalitarian interference no longer remains; but in its place mafia control is generally accompanied with a crippling lack of funds. In BEHIND THE CURTAIN Jonathan Wilson goes in search of the spirit of Hungary's 'Golden Squad' of the early fifties, charts the disintegration of the footballing superpower that was the former Yugoslavia, follows a sorry tale of corruption, mismanagement and Armenian cognac through the Caucasuses, reopens the case of Russia's greatest footballer, Eduard Streltsov, and talks to Jan Tomaszewski about an autumn night at Wembley in 1973...
Behind The Curtain: Volume 2 Please note, this is Volume 2 December 1968 saw a landmark court case in the appropriately named township of Credit River, Minnesota, USA. First National Bank of Montgomery vs. Daly was an epic courtroom drama and although unsurprisingly, not widely reported either at the time or subsequently, is actually extremely significant. Jerome Daly a lawyer by profession, defended himself against the bank's attempted foreclosure on his $14,000 mortgage on the grounds that there was no 'consideration' for the loan. 'Consideration' in legalese, refers to 'the item exchanged' and is an essential element of any legal contract. Daly contended that the bank offered 'no consideration' for his loan on the grounds that they had 'created the money out of thin air' by bookkeeping entry and had therefore not suffered a loss (another relevant point of law) by his refusal or inability to pay back the money. The proceedings were recorded by Justice William Drexler, who had given no credence whatsoever to the defence, until Mr. Morgan, the bank's president, took to the witness stand. To Drexler's and indeed everyone else present's great surprise, Morgan casually admitted under questioning from Daly's lawyer, that the bank routinely 'created money out of thin air' for all its loans and mortgages and that this indeed was standard practice in all banks. Presiding Justice, Martin Mahoney declared that, "It sounds exactly like fraud to me," accompanied by nods and murmurs of assent from all around the courtroom. In his summation of the case, Justice Mahoney reported that... "Plaintiff (the bank) admitted that it, in combination with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, did create the entire $14,000.00 in money and credit upon its own books by bookkeeping entry. That this was the consideration used to support the Note dated May 8, 1964 and the Mortgage of the same date. The money and credit first came into existence when they created it. Morgan admitted that no United States Law or Statute existed which gave him the right to do this. A lawful 'consideration' must exist and be tendered to support the Note." So, the court duly rejected the bank's claim for foreclosure and the defendant kept his house. The implications of this case therefore, should have been far-reaching. If bankers are indeed extending credit without consideration (which they most definitely are) i.e. without backing their loans with real money they actually have stored in their vaults and were entitled to lend, any judicial decision declaring their loans void, would topple the entire worldwide financial and banking system. Since this precedent, many other defendants have attempted to have mortgages and loans nullified using the same defence as Daly, but there has been extremely limited success only. In fact, one judge said, strictly 'off the record, ' "If I let you do that, you and everyone else, it would bring the whole banking system down. I cannot let you go behind the bar of the bank. . . . We are not going "behind that curtain!"" Well suffice to say, we certainly are going on a highly revealing trip ' "behind the curtain!," ' so strap-in and be prepared for the ride of your life, as we investigate the sordid and murky history of the world of banking and high finance and the people who run it... with an iron fist encased in a velvet glove. This book is an indictment, not just of the totally corrupt financial system that today permeates the whole world, but also of the people that control it. Their crimes against humanity are legion and so far-reaching that their insidious influence now extends into and corrupts virtually every element of society and it is these so-called 'banksters' - banker-gangsters, who are responsible for all the death, destruction and misery in the world today.
No one else in modern politics has anywhere near the power and influence of George Soros, both domestically and internationally. Backed by the tens of billions of dollars he’s accumulated throughout his career, Soros has his hand in influencing the media, activist groups, colleges, presidential elections, global elections, local U.S. politics, and much more. Soros has earned himself a reputation as a “boogeyman” character on the right, and nowhere else will you read such an extensive documentation of his influence as in this book.
Eclectic and impassioned, a collection that affirms the power of the written word.' – Observer The Boy Behind the Curtain is a portrait of a life, a place and a man. In this deeply personal collection of true stories and essays Tim Winton shows how moments from his childhood and life growing up have shaped his views on class, faith, fundamentalism, the environment, and – most pressingly – how all his experiences have made him a writer. From unexpected links between car crashes and faith, surfing and writing, to the story of his upbringing in the changing Australian landscape, The Boy Behind the Curtain is an impassioned, funny, joyous, astonishing collection of memories, and Winton's most personal book to date.
"Journalist Orth delivers a jaunty description of his travels...[that] armchair travelers will enjoy." —Publishers Weekly “Funny, insightful, and mind-bendingly entertaining. Stephan Orth is a fearless and fabulous tour guide to the real Russia and its people." —Lisa Dickey, author of Bears in the Streets: Three Journeys across a Changing Russia
Lee Atwater revolutionized presidential campaigning. He helped to create a solid Republican south. And he became notorious for turning national politics back into a blood sport, not only using nasty attacks but reveling in his image as the bad boy of Washington. Then, at the age of 39, Atwater was struck by a brain tumor. In thirteen months, cancer ended the most controversial career in modern politics—the charismatic, colorful, and contradictory life of Lee Atwater.Even today Atwater is a fallen leader Republicans love and a rival Democrats love to hate. He was the first political handler as mediagenic as his candidates—certainly the first chairman of the Republican National Committee to record a blues album. His campaigns represent the high-water mark of the GOPs postwar dominance of the presidency, and his techniques set the tone for races across the country. Watching Washington since his death, politicians and pundits still wonder, What if Lee Atwater had lived? Bad Boy reveals how Lee Atwater began his career controlling crowds as jittery class clown, traumatized by the agonizing death of his little brother. In college he discovered the subtle intercourse of policy and public opinion and grew from party animal to party man. Bad Boy details Atwater's political strategies from the grass roots to the national level. Even more ruthless were the behind-the-scenes power games as he crossed paths, and occasionally crossed swords, with nearly every major Republican of the 1980s: Reagan, Bush, Baker, Ailes, Rollins, and many more.In Bad Boy, we also see the faces Atwater tried to spin away. He was a compulsive womanizer, climbing through windows to avoid reporters. He played radical politics but promoted ”big tent” Republicanism. Even his last public moment is controversial. Did Atwater's deathbed words really repudiate entire campaigns, or were they twisted by political enemies and second-hand reporting? Was his repentance sincere or simply one last gasp of press manipulation? Was he responsible for the infamous Willie Horton ads, or was he unfairly blamed by 1988s losers, trying for a moral victory? Is Lee Atwater, a master of spin, now being spun in his grave?In its sudden end, Atwater's remarkable life resembled the rise and fall of a fine political novel. With the probing insights of an expert interviewer and a rare stylistic verve, John Brady tells that whole frantic, fascinating story—the life of the baddest boy in D.C.
With the ardent tone of a close friend, Barbara Seaman draws on forty years of journalistic research to expose the "menopause industry" and shows how estrogen therapy often causes more problems—including breast cancer, heart attack, and stroke—than it cures. The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed on Women tracks the well-intentioned discovery of synthetic estrogen through the unconscionable and misleading promotion of a dangerous drug.
Revealing and unflinching, Behind the Curtain offers an unfiltered look inside the real-life traumas and triumphs that define emergency medicine. Dr. Jeffrey Sterling's authentic and enthralling collection of stories represents his unique journey as an ER physician. Both an enlightening memoir and an unforgiving mirror reflecting the best and worst of human behavior, Behind the Curtain unveils the insidious consequences of everyday risks and seemingly innocuous habits.
