| King tells the rather scary tale of Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr., leader of various political groups, perennial fringe-candidate for the presidency, accused cult leader, and convicted conman.
The book traces LaRouche's rise from obscurity as a Marxist and member of the 1960's New Left movement to his place at the forefront of America's extremist right at the head of the National Committee of Labor Caucuses, a group of loosely affiliated political organizations across the globe that many claim is a cult which brainwashes its followers. Along the way, King recounts tales of LaRouche's many presidential campaigns, his organization's illegal fundraising practices, his advocacy of the Strategic Defense Initiative as a means of world conquest, his "dirty tricks" campaigns against journalists who investigate him, his conspiracy theories, which have involved such diverse figures as the Jews, the Rockefeller family, the Queen of England, and Jimmy Carter, his open-secret friendship with members of President Reagan's National Security Council, his smear-campaigns against infamous right-wingers Roy Cohn and Henry Kissinger, his connections to the CIA and the Ku Klux Klan, his use of physical violence to intimidate leftist groups, his dealings with Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega and American mob boss Jackie Presser, and, finally, his 1987 conviction in federal court for fraud and obstruction of justice. Although King fails to prove his case that LaRouche, who was paroled from prison over a decade ago to retake control of the NCLC, is a fascist, he still paints a terrifying portrait of a man who has made a career of ruining lives and careers for his own political and material gain and would, if he ever gained a sufficient level of support, be very dangerous indeed for America. | ||
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Plot & Themes job/profession: Job/profession/poverty story Yes Politician story? - Left wing pol fighting right wing Period of greatest activity? - 1950+ Subject of Biography Gender - Male Profession/status: Ethnicity - White Nationality - American Setting United States Yes The US: - Northeast Europe Yes European country: - Germany City? Yes City: - New York Misc setting - Fancy Mansion Century: - 1980's-Present Writing Style Book makes you feel? - concerned Pictures/Illustrations? - A lot 11-15 B&W How much dialogue in bio? - significantly more descript than dialog How much of bio focuses on most famous period of life? - 51%-75% of book |
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