Secret Empires a Book Review

Secret Empires by Peter Schweizer

A Book Review By

By Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, March 27, 2018

Sometimes words fail me and this is one of those times.  I read Secret Empires page by page, start to finish.  It is extremely well written and very well documented as to the truth of what has been written. 

My take away from the book?  Washington DC is more dirtier than I had ever imagined and that is saying quite a bit considering I grew up in the shadows of the John F. Kennedy Assassination, the LBJ dishonesty in regards to Vietnam; the Richard Nixon Watergate debacle and how could anyone not remember the sexcapades of Bill Clinton.  That was all followed up with Barack Obama, John Kerry and Hillary Clinton.  The jury is still out on Donald Trump.

What this book so clearly points out is that there is a much deeper corruption involved within the highest levels of government in Washington that goes far beyond the figurehead names like Joe Biden, John Kerry, Barack Obama, Bill & Hillary Clinton. Except for Bill & Hillary, most have managed to keep their names out of corruption while members of their families and close friends have reaped the financial rewards of their association with the more famous names of their political family members.  This has created corruption at levels most of us could not imagine.

I found this book to be totally disgusting.  Just when I thought it could not get any worse than the headlines on the nightly news shows, you Secret Empires and realize just how bad life and times in Washington DC actually is.  Family members have made BILLIONS of dollars by association with their famous parents primarily through foreign countries who seek to garner favors from the politicians in power and it is supposedly all legal.  If they did the exact same thing within the confines of the United States, they could be brought up on charges but not so if it involved foreign governments.  They have learned how to milk the system and milk it they continue to do while we just look on in amazement.

The corruption is not just a Democrat or a Republican issue, both political parties have engaged in the corruption outlined in this book.  Sadly there seems to be no end in sight especially since the national news media does not seem to care one way or the other.

Financial payoffs that we more closely have associated with foreign governments are now on our doorstep.  It just amazes me that the news media, the very people we have for years entrusted with insuring this kind of corruption does not happen, ignore all signs of it.  You would think that the detailed information this author could discover for his book would be readily available to reporters.  I defy you to find stories in the news about the sons of Joe Biden and John Kerry like you read about in this book.

The content of this book disgusts me.  Frankly I have reached a point in my life that I just don’t care anymore and that seems to be the prevailing lack of concern for most Americans.  Maybe “most Americans” would feel differently IF they were aware of the corruption described in this book; I certainly wasn’t and I pay attention.

Who should read this book?  EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE!  Would I read it again?  No, made me sick enough the first time through it.  Would I buy it as a gift?  Probably not because I seriously doubt anyone would intentionally read a book like this even though they should.