This is a wonderful tie-in to the whole "Twin Peaks" mythos. The book is written in the style of a transcript of tapes that Dale Cooper made throughout his life - from childhood, through the initial Windham Earl affair, and ending with the call for Cooper to head to Twin Peaks. (Oddly enough, that's where "Diane..." the audiobook picks up.) Author Scott Frost (brother of Mark Frost, co-creator of "Twin Peaks" with David Lynch) captures the quirky nature of Dale Cooper and the Twin Peaks universe perfectly. From amusing anecdotes in childhood to experiments in college (seeing how long he can go without sleep, without urinating) and beyond, "My Life, My Tapes" helps fill in the unknown quantities of the enigmatic Dale Cooper. If you're a "Twin Peaks" fan who hasn't found a copy of this book yet, I encourage you to do so. It is a wonderful read.

I bought this book when I was in eight grade and I connected with it instantly. I'm 24 now and it is still as touching as it was then. I really feel for dale coopers's character. He has so much go wrong and yet he keeps his inocent perspective on the turbulent world around him. This my sound lame, but I think this is a truly great coming of age story.

Dale Cooper, How could someone like this write spmething like this? it's beyond me. Dale's life seems to much for anyone but he managed to keep himself together. His closest friends and family all desert him one way or another yet somehow he keeps his head up. I was so amazed by this book and this life thatI am in the process of writing a dramatic script to coinside with it. This book is someone's life this should be shared with everyone. Dale Cooper His Life- His Tapes

Please read this extraordinary multi-leveled poem. Starting with the great Berkeley fire of 1991, Scott meditates on the tragedy in history which up to now has been chiefly the experience of those on other continents. From a Buddhist perspective, he distills a lifetime of teaching, political activism and investigative research into this final volume of his long poem Seculum. Echoing Dante, and a millenarian monk from the year 1000, he sees the ills of our time as stemming from covetousness. At the same time he discerns hope for America if it can pursue the aspirations of its founding fathers for a better society. He concludes with reflections on how language can help us to the right way in which to love our world.

Peter Dale Scott's beautiful and ethereal poem "Minding the Darkness" reveals an immensely
civilized author coming to grips with the many crimes of civilization, expressing the intersection
of the poet's life and the twentieth century in a way which illuminates the efforts of a truly
engaged intellectual to document experiences of collective denial and complicity with
horror which characterize political modernity.

In this extraordinary poem, Peter Dale Scott explores the depth and scope of his humanity as he takes the reader on a brilliant and surprising journey through the landscapes of not only his own personal history, but the history of politics, philosophy, ideas and literature.

Like all great poetry, Scott feeds our souls because his poem tells the truth and because his words, in their beautiful and erudite combinations, point us toward the shimmering reality that lies beyond words and within each of us, in each moment.

Some poetry tells the truth with great simplicity. Minding the Darkness is a complex and multi-layered epic, a garden of intellectual delight. Because Scott impeccably refuses the temptation of making a statement about the nature of life, and instead leads us directly into an experience of his reality, the reader is free to roam the sweeping, unpredictable and exciting scope of his intellectual, political and ontological knowledge. Amazingly, the weight of his intellect does not crush his soul. It is through the tenderness and vulnerability of the man that otherwise distant and esoteric references become accessible to the reader, as alive and affecting as the poet himself.

Peter Dale Scott poses essential questions and his investigations lead to very disturbing answers.

He uses the JFK assassination as a paradigm for the revelation and understanding of the real powers in the US.
With parallels to 3 other political scandals (MacCarthyism, Watergate, Contragate) he shows that there are deep continuities in the US political system. He arrives at the most alarming conclusion that the US power system is intrinsically vicious, violent and murderous and that conspiracies form an essential part of it.
He shows convincingly that the real powers in the US lay in a symbiosis of public government, organized crime and private wealth.
Most diabolic are the FBI (lead by the insidious Edgar J. Hoover) and the CIA, which are both responsible for the ruthless destruction of opponents and dissidents without legal or moral restraint.
This book gives an appalling picture of the Agency, fighting for the justification of its existence and its resources by prolonging the Cold War. It infiltrated the media in order to preach its Gospel. It used organized crime and drug traffickers as means for its ends.
Very revealing also is the fact that 20 percent of the shares of General Dynamics were in the hands of the mob.

His final analysis is devastating: 'how far our office-holders, including our Presidents, have been reduced to the status of clients, dispensable when the more enduring patronage is withdrawn?' and 'To what extent has our visible political establishment become one regulated by forces operating outside the constitutional process?'
After reading this book, I confess that posing these questions is answering them.

A provocative, dark and disturbing book.
A must read.

Scott's account explores the reasons behind John Kennedy's murder, which he regards as a highly complex crime. He explains it in terms of "deep politics," or an "intelligence, mob, corporate gray alliance." This was an odd coalition of big-city political bosses, Mafia, CIA, FBI, anti-Castro Cubans, and generals eager to escalate the Vietnam War, working to eliminate a president perceived as threatening the status quo. Scott begins by examining JFK's decision to withdraw 1,000 American advisors from South Vietnam and continues with a discussion of Jack Ruby and Lee Harvey Oswald's alleged mob and government connections. On the issue of Vietnam withdrawal, Scott borrows heavily from John Newman, who alleges that Kennedy planned to withdraw from Southeast Asia. Scott repeats this claim, ignoring the consensus view that this merely was a rotation, not a withdrawal of troops. Scott's assertion of Ruby and Oswald's connections is based simply on circumstantial evidence. He accuses no one, but seemingly implicates everyone. Despite this flaw, Scott's work is a stimulating piece that does not rehash the mechanics of the assassination but examines the political roots of a political crime. All levels.

In a country such as ours, anyone attempting to voice an opinion that falls outside the mainstream is ridiculed and margainalized until no one takes them seriously. Not so with Professor Scott. Incredibly well researched and documented, he makes a strong case for who actually runs this country, and why.

It is books like this that show you why your vote is meaningless, protest is generally futile, and how the US can skip around the world, bringing down governments (and at home) and no one says boo. Frightening book, and required reading for anyone interested in the death of JFK, a landmark event.

Lee Harvey Oswald became the most hated man in America after the tragic death of John F. Kennedy. But did Oswald actually do it? If he did was he alone? The Assassinations Dallas and Beyond contemplates these questions as well as the integrity of the commission composed to answer them. The book is a compilation of several official reports, which were both rewritten and analyzed by editor Peter Dale Scott. The books main points focus on the credibility of the Warren Report by evaluating several disregarded pieces of evidence and witnesses that may have proved Oswald's innocence. The Assassinations also describes Oswald's social life, including his communist ties. Although packed with an insurmountable amount of information, this book has a gross redundancy. Still after reading through it all, I feel Oswald was innocent. Only someone with a passion for either JFK or Lee Oswald could stand the long nights of reading a lot of the same information only written differently. However, if you enjoy bleeding from your eyes, or just have trouble sleeping at night, then feel free to read The Assassinations Dallas and Beyond. Take my word for it; don't waste your money on this one and check it out at your local library.

Author's Name is Paul Hoch

Most Americans will not want to believe the contents of this book. Scott & Marshall compile mountains of evidence to support their conclusions. This book deserves more attention.

This book has all the possibilities of being an academic pot boiler. Divided into two parts, "Right-Wing Narcoterrorism, the CIA, and the Contras," and "Exposure and Cover-Up" and covering twelve chapters, including a glossary of terms, the book is one part investigative journalism and another academic treatise. In general, the book details the toleration or complicity of the American government with drug traffickers to protect the interests of national security or covert operations.
The book has a number of advantages and disadvantages. First, while perhaps a moot point is that a considerable amount of discussion focuses on South America rather than on Central America as promised in the title. Second, and perhaps an editorial point, while there is a four-and-a- half page glossary of names and organizations at the back of the book, there is a sort of breathless spouting off of a succession of names and organizations in the book. This is distracting and tiresome for the reader. Third, even though there is a phenomenal amount of documentation (i.e., approximately 23 percent of the book (a total of 64 pages) is devoted to notes) and a 14-page index, the authors rely on the same basic sources, including Kerry's subcommittee report and american and mainstream newspaper and magazine coverage; few articles come from the spanish speaking press, and few interviews are conducted with sources. Fourth, while the book is highly descriptive and reads like a murder mystery, it is short on analysis, theory building or testing, and/or recommending policy changes. Regardless, this book is a disturbing and sobering necessity for those wishing to understand the so-called war on drugs in the United States and the reasons U.S. foreign policy in Latin America is problematic, a best.

Jeffrey Ian Ross

Excellent book, responsibly written, clear and readable. The information in it is highly important if you want to understand what is going on. Just buying a second copy because my first got lent.

Peter Dale Scott is a highly regarded author with a long history of outstanding work. To this end, I bought this book because of my strong interest in Colombia and was attracted by the title of the book, "Drugs, Oil, and War: The United States in Afghanistan, Colombia, and Indochina." I would have never bothered to buy this book if I knew that nearly half of it is a rehash of Scott's 1972 publication, "The War Conspiracy: The Secret Road to the Second Indochina War."

Part I, "Afghanistan, Heroin, and Oil (2002) and Part II, "Colombia, Cocaine, and Oil (2001) is good. Scott makes some excellent observations about paramilitary relationships.
Moreover, he carefully explains how paramilitary forces in Afghanistan and Colombia are heavily involved in drug trafficking. Nevertheless, the narrative of this book is coated in left of center rhetoric...and as a political moderate I found some theories lacked intellectual merit. To his credit, Scott's provides professionally prepared footnotes and bibliography.

Bert Ruiz

The previous 'reviewer' must be regarded as somewhat suspect, as his 1-star review attacks the book on the basis of a spelling error I did not come across when reading the book. In fact, this book is highly recommended, particularly for those new to the field of CIA geostrategy & covert shenanigans as they relate to energy resources & the drug trade.