Press: Then and Now

Here's just a sampling of quotes that appeared in the press about Report From Iron Mountain, both in 1967 when the book was released, and later in 1995 once news that the book had been adopted by right-wing militias reached the public...

"As I would put my personal repute behind the authenticity of this document, so I would testify to the validity of its conclusions. My reservations relate only to the wisdom of releasing it to an obviously unconditioned public."
-"Herschell McLandress" (actually, John Kenneth Galbraith)
Washington Post Book World, 1967

"It is, of course, a hoax -- but what a hoax! -- a parody so elaborate and ingenious and, in fact, so substantively original, acute, interesting and horrifying, that it will receive serious attention regardless of its origin."
-Elliot Fremont-Smith
The New York Times, 1967

"The Report, down to its last footnote, is one of the finest pieces of social satire produced in this era of systems-analysis, war games, peace games, and apocalyptic fun and games. It is so good because it is so plausible, as witness the spasm of gullibility it inspired at the White House."
-Laurence Stern
The Washington Post, 1967

"Fear of the Pentagon, fairly new on the right, is an old companion of the left. A shrewd satire, Report from Iron Mountain was published in 1967 to mock delusions of 'wargamers' . . . But people continue to copy and circulate it -- if it is a government document, it is public property; and if it is copyrighted, that just shows how the government uses its illegal power to suppress information."
-Garry Wills
The New York Review of Books, 1995

"Militia-oriented publications are salted with references to Iron Mountain. Dog-eared copies circulate among anti-government groups. And tiny mail-order houses marked videotapes interpreting its every nuance."
-Robert Tomsho
The Wall Street Journal, May 9, 1995

[The Book][The Author] [The Players][A Bizarre History]
[Selected Excerpts][Press: Then & Now] [Conspiratorial Links]
[Fresh Ink][Chat] [Bulletin Board][Reader Reviews] [Event Calendar]