Nonfiction Book Reviews
Page One of TwoCover Up: What the Government is Still Hiding About the War on Terror by Peter Lance
ReganBooks, October, 2004Hardcover, 360 pages
ISBN: 0060543558
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
With the recent shocking revelations of the Duelfor Report and
the CIA and State Departments both leaking to reporters
in unprecedented numbers, it is clear that something has gone
terribly wrong with the intelligence gathering system of the
United States. Now award-winning investigative
journalist Peter Lance, author of the bestelling 1000 Years for
Revenge (HarperCollins) drops another bombshell:
The 9/11 Commission Report was a cover up, a snow job of
monumental proportions. And what is worse, the American people
were lied to when we were told that 9/11 was the first time
that Al-Qaeda hijacked and destroyed an
American jetliner.
Governor Kean, the co-chairman of the 9/11 Commission read Lance's last book 1000 Years for Revenge and asked Lance to testify in front of the Commission about his investigation. His experiences with the Commission make for fascinating reading, to say the least. Persons who should have been witnesses were doing the interrogating. People on the staff had massive conflicts of interest. And much of the evidence collected by the Commision was either glossed over, or simply left out of the Report, which failed to assign blame for 9/11 to anyone at all. For instance, it is not common knowledge that the morning of September 11, 2001, there were three war games simulations was taking place. One was being conducted near Dulles Airport in Washington to test the response of the National Reconnaissance Office in case a plane was flown into the NRO building. At the time of the attacks, two F-16s were actually in the air practicing bombing runs, within eight minutes flying time, yet they were never called by NORAD to intercept the attackers.
Perhaps the most shocking revelation in the book relates to the crash of TWA Flight 600. With the assistance of his numerous FBI contacts and the "Jersey Girls," the 9/11 widows who lobbied for the creation of the 9/11 Commission, Lance was able to piece together the evidence that clearly indicates that Ramzi Yousef, the Al-Qaeda perpetrator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was likely responsible for the crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996, with the help of his uncle, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -- the originator of the 9/11 plot.
With numerous footnotes, appendices and a helpful index, Cover Up is also supplemented by fascinating documentation and a timeline at the author's website. As a journalist, Lance steers clear of the political implications of his book -- he says he follows the trail to the truth and lets the chips fall where they may. But make no mistake, the facts laid out signal massive incompetence in our intelligence systems -- at the very least. Certainly other, more sinister, implications could be drawn from both this work and from 1000 Years for Revenge, in which Lance shows how agent after agent in the FBI who was close to unraveling the 9/11 plot before it happened, was either reassigned to another department, reprimanded or ignored.
Lance's writing style is clear, concise and compelling, with the fast pacing of an action thriller. This is an absolute must-read in this election year. Highly recommended.
--Claire E. White
The Art of the Steal: Inside the Sotheby's-Christie's Auction House Scandal by Christopher Mason
Putnam, May, 2004Hardcover, 406 pages
ISBN: 0399150935
Ordering information:
Amazon.com
On January 11, 2000 two separate events occurred. Sotheby's, the fabled auction house
of the world's art, held a celebration at its glittering new ten-story building
to celebrate its sally into the twenty-first century world of the Internet.
Earlier that same day, the United States Justice Department issued subpoenas
to three Michigan companies headed up by A. Alfred Taubman, the new chairman
of Sotheby's. This was the beginning of an investigation that would shake
the international world of art to its core. Both Sotheby's and Christie's (which
in a good year show profits of about $30 million each) had to pay fines of $256
million apiece, as a result of the civil case related to a conspiracy to fix
commission fees and commit fraud. Michigan shopping mall mogul A. Alfred Taubman,
former chairman
of Sotheby's, was found guilty in the criminal trial and sentenced to jail for
a year and a day, after employee Diana Brooks turned witness against him.
He maintains his innocence to this day.
The Art of the Steal describes the events that led up to the scandal, as well as the aftermath. The book has a cast of characters and venues that even the finest novelist would have trouble concocting. Nothing can be more entertaining than a story full of fascinating, elegant, wealthy, and devious personalities playing a high stakes chess game against each other in an international setting full of the most fabulous art that the world has been able to preserve. Those who love to read about corporate intrigue will find a useful handbook of ways to appear innocent, while involving oneself in illegal acts. Those who enjoy true stories of great legal battles will be equally entertained.
The personal jibes and gossip of staff of the two auction houses are particularly delicious and witty. One can learn that Diana "Dede" Brooks, the CEO of Sotheby's held a meeting with archrival Christopher Davidge, CEO of Christie's, (to illegally agree on fees) in her dark green Lexus parked at the airport. One can also learn how the impeccably groomed Mr. Davidge, who had come from humbler circumstances than his peers at the firm, was able to maintain his bouffant blonde hairdo with a clever device that attached to any bathroom mirror and allowed him to see the back of his head. Due to his diminutive stature, he was nicknamed the "golden hamster" by his sniggering colleagues. One can also marvel at just how the lovely Mrs. Taubmann, who had held a disputed beauty queen title in Israel, was able to massage the skin off a peach to the absolute amazement of every male at a posh Manhattan dinner party. It is also inspiring to read about Alfred Taubman, the overweight, dyslexic Jewish boy from Michigan who ended up with owning a majority of the shares of the world's most famous art auction house and the hand in marriage of a beautiful woman.
Did the right people go to jail? Was Justice served? Not necessarily. But Sotheby's survived, and so did Christie's. Where else can the wealthy of the world sell a piece of art to raise cash or exchange one treasure for another one?
--Sarah Reaves White
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