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Underground Knowledge #4
The Catcher in the Rye Enigma
THE CATCHER IN THE RYE ENIGMA unearths the mysteries surrounding the 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger – arguably the most controversial book of all time. Nicknamed the 'Bible of teenage angst', the classic novel, which is frequently labeled immoral by different groups, has been banned in various parts of America over the decades. However, the main controversy, and indeed the most common reason for it being banned, was that it either inspired or was associated with some of the most infamous crimes of the 20th Century. These crimes include the murder of John Lennon and the attempted assassination of President Reagan.
The allegation directed at Salinger is that he (and/or his publisher) craftily implanted into the book neurolinguistic passages, or coded messages, that act as post-hypnotic suggestions or mind control “triggers”. In turn, these triggers enabled CIA handlers to activate Manchurian Candidates for assassinations. Some conspiracy theorists also believe the novel was part of the CIA’s now mostly-declassified mind control program MK-Ultra, and that while assassins were being brainwashed they were forced to read the book over and over until it was embedded in their minds.
But given that Salinger’s critically acclaimed masterpiece was one of the biggest selling books of the 20th Century, are the crimes it was associated with merely happenstance? Today, if a handful of different murderers had a copy of The Da Vinci Code or a Harry Potter book, or were all fixated on a similarly popular book, would it even make the news headlines?
Novelists, filmmakers and independent researchers James Morcan & Lance Morcan investigate these theories and counter arguments in THE CATCHER IN THE RYE ENIGMA – the fourth book of The Underground Knowledge Series. This balanced exposé ultimately leaves it up to you, the reader, to decide whether J.D. Salinger's novel is a “Mind Control Triggering Device” or simply a “Coincidental Literary Obsession of Criminals” just as this book’s subtitle suggests.
Besides the criminals who targeted Lennon and Reagan, THE CATCHER IN THE RYE ENIGMA also details other deranged individuals who were obsessed with Salinger’s book including stalkers and murderers of leading political figures, film stars and other celebrities.
The idea that assassination codes are buried deep in Salinger’s book is one of the oldest conspiracy theories around and has been explored repeatedly over the decades with no smoking gun ever found. In fact, many familiar with Catcher conspiracies may think all the theories have already been proven to be false and there’s no need to drag them up yet again.
However, given what the authors have uncovered in their research for THE CATCHER IN THE RYE ENIGMA – especially the unique revelations on the history of mind control, the effectiveness of subliminal messages, the latest scientific studies on the brain, Salinger’s underreported dealings with the Americanized Nazis of Project Paperclip and the recently declassified documents on real-life Manchurian Candidates – they believe some of the theories swirling about the classic novel deserve another look.
The allegation directed at Salinger is that he (and/or his publisher) craftily implanted into the book neurolinguistic passages, or coded messages, that act as post-hypnotic suggestions or mind control “triggers”. In turn, these triggers enabled CIA handlers to activate Manchurian Candidates for assassinations. Some conspiracy theorists also believe the novel was part of the CIA’s now mostly-declassified mind control program MK-Ultra, and that while assassins were being brainwashed they were forced to read the book over and over until it was embedded in their minds.
But given that Salinger’s critically acclaimed masterpiece was one of the biggest selling books of the 20th Century, are the crimes it was associated with merely happenstance? Today, if a handful of different murderers had a copy of The Da Vinci Code or a Harry Potter book, or were all fixated on a similarly popular book, would it even make the news headlines?
Novelists, filmmakers and independent researchers James Morcan & Lance Morcan investigate these theories and counter arguments in THE CATCHER IN THE RYE ENIGMA – the fourth book of The Underground Knowledge Series. This balanced exposé ultimately leaves it up to you, the reader, to decide whether J.D. Salinger's novel is a “Mind Control Triggering Device” or simply a “Coincidental Literary Obsession of Criminals” just as this book’s subtitle suggests.
Besides the criminals who targeted Lennon and Reagan, THE CATCHER IN THE RYE ENIGMA also details other deranged individuals who were obsessed with Salinger’s book including stalkers and murderers of leading political figures, film stars and other celebrities.
The idea that assassination codes are buried deep in Salinger’s book is one of the oldest conspiracy theories around and has been explored repeatedly over the decades with no smoking gun ever found. In fact, many familiar with Catcher conspiracies may think all the theories have already been proven to be false and there’s no need to drag them up yet again.
However, given what the authors have uncovered in their research for THE CATCHER IN THE RYE ENIGMA – especially the unique revelations on the history of mind control, the effectiveness of subliminal messages, the latest scientific studies on the brain, Salinger’s underreported dealings with the Americanized Nazis of Project Paperclip and the recently declassified documents on real-life Manchurian Candidates – they believe some of the theories swirling about the classic novel deserve another look.
101 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 3, 2015
About the author
James Morcan
35 books1,346 followersNew Zealand-born actor/writer/producer James Morcan resides in Sydney, Australia. He has written two bestselling novels, performed in various international film productions and is a podcast host. His books have been translated into eight languages (Arabic, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, French, Afrikaans, German).
Morcan's published titles include the new release horror Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) and the bestselling historical adventures White Spirit and Into the Americas. He also has several series on the market including The Orphan Trilogy, an international thriller series, the swashbuckling action-romance series The World Duology, and the controversial non-fiction franchise The Underground Knowledge Series. An additional non-fiction title, Debunking Holocaust Denial Theories, was written in collaboration with Holocaust survivors to document the genocide. These titles were all co-authored with his father Lance Morcan and published by Sterling Gate Books. Their production company, Morcan Motion Pictures, is developing Silent Fear into a feature film and Underground Knowledge into a TV series.
James' most recent acting performance was a leading role in the post-Apocalyptic feature film After Armageddon which he also wrote. The dystopian adventure film was shot in rural Australia and Morcan co-starred with Berynn Schwerdt (Wyrmwood). Other leading roles include the OZ-Bollywood productions My Cornerstone and Love You Krishna. Morcan also wrote the screenplays for both features which were filmed in Sydney and Mumbai and incorporated English and Hindi languages.
Additional productions he has perfromed in include a BBC TV series, several indie features and a live stadium production of Ben Hur headlined by Academy Award winner Russell Crowe. To date, his feature films have screened at cinemas in New Zealand, India, Australia, Italy and Cannes.
James is a podcast host on the YouTube channel Underground Knowledge: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX8s...
He co-founded one of the most popular discussion groups on Goodreads, also called Underground Knowledge, which has around 16,000 members: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Amazon author profile:
https://www.amazon.com/author/jamesmo...
IMDb filmmaker profile:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1909596/
Morcan's published titles include the new release horror Silent Fear (A novel inspired by true crimes) and the bestselling historical adventures White Spirit and Into the Americas. He also has several series on the market including The Orphan Trilogy, an international thriller series, the swashbuckling action-romance series The World Duology, and the controversial non-fiction franchise The Underground Knowledge Series. An additional non-fiction title, Debunking Holocaust Denial Theories, was written in collaboration with Holocaust survivors to document the genocide. These titles were all co-authored with his father Lance Morcan and published by Sterling Gate Books. Their production company, Morcan Motion Pictures, is developing Silent Fear into a feature film and Underground Knowledge into a TV series.
James' most recent acting performance was a leading role in the post-Apocalyptic feature film After Armageddon which he also wrote. The dystopian adventure film was shot in rural Australia and Morcan co-starred with Berynn Schwerdt (Wyrmwood). Other leading roles include the OZ-Bollywood productions My Cornerstone and Love You Krishna. Morcan also wrote the screenplays for both features which were filmed in Sydney and Mumbai and incorporated English and Hindi languages.
Additional productions he has perfromed in include a BBC TV series, several indie features and a live stadium production of Ben Hur headlined by Academy Award winner Russell Crowe. To date, his feature films have screened at cinemas in New Zealand, India, Australia, Italy and Cannes.
James is a podcast host on the YouTube channel Underground Knowledge: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX8s...
He co-founded one of the most popular discussion groups on Goodreads, also called Underground Knowledge, which has around 16,000 members: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Amazon author profile:
https://www.amazon.com/author/jamesmo...
IMDb filmmaker profile:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1909596/
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 2, 2015
You might have heard the story: Mark David Chapman (John Lennon’s killer) was obsessed with The Catcher in the Rye. Just after he’d shot Lennon, he stood there calmly reading the novel. Then you have John W. Hinckley Jr. (who tried to assassinate Ronald Reagan)- a copy of Salinger’s book was found at his hotel room. Not to mention other ‘coincidental’ incidents. Well, seeing as 95% of people I compare books with on Goodreads have Catcher on their bookshelves, you might think it’s a big leap of imagination to see any meaning in speculative connections; but when it’s put in context with such things as Nazi mind control, project MK Ultra and sleeper assassins, the threads begin to tie up a bit more.
This book doesn’t just explore ideas like trigger codes for mind controlled assassins being contained within the pages of Catcher, it also looks at broader aspects of mind control use. For anyone new to either the Catcher in the Rye enigmas or to things like Project Paperclip and secret CIA experiments, this is a great book to start off with.
Despite the inclusion of broader aspects being much needed, I couldn’t help but feel like there should have been a lot more about the actual Catcher book and J. D. Salinger- don’t get me wrong; there’s some great info about both here- but I just wanted more. I guess I was just hoping for some actual code breaking! –although the authors of this book do manage to quote many passages from The Catcher in the Rye which most certainly gets one thinking in ‘code meaning’, such as:
“This is a people shooting hat,” I said. “I shoot people in this hat.”
“It's funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they'll do
practically anything you want them to.”
This book doesn’t just explore ideas like trigger codes for mind controlled assassins being contained within the pages of Catcher, it also looks at broader aspects of mind control use. For anyone new to either the Catcher in the Rye enigmas or to things like Project Paperclip and secret CIA experiments, this is a great book to start off with.
Despite the inclusion of broader aspects being much needed, I couldn’t help but feel like there should have been a lot more about the actual Catcher book and J. D. Salinger- don’t get me wrong; there’s some great info about both here- but I just wanted more. I guess I was just hoping for some actual code breaking! –although the authors of this book do manage to quote many passages from The Catcher in the Rye which most certainly gets one thinking in ‘code meaning’, such as:
“This is a people shooting hat,” I said. “I shoot people in this hat.”
“It's funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they'll do
practically anything you want them to.”
April 27, 2018
My knowledge of this conspiracy theory is limited, I know a number of assassins/murderers have been caught owning a copy of this book and that one was found reading it whilst stood next to the body. I also know this book makes readers very passionate in their opinions over whether it is a masterpiece or a big old dog turd. My personal opinion is that it's not too shabby, the main character is a total knob head but I can see what Salinger was trying to do, he does a great job capturing teen angst and making the rebel in you come out.
So did he write the book to brainwash people or did the CIA just use this one? I'm still none-the-wiser, this book has failed to convince me either way. This book is well researched and reads like a documentary, I liked how the reader keeps getting asked questions, makes you feel involved.
For me though it does feel a bit lacking, it is mentioned the book could have been used to trigger a killer but barely touches on how this is achieved. More info on the various processes would have been interesting to read/learn. I've learnt a lot from this and will be checking out more in this series of books.
I do feel a bit left out that I have read the original book and now also this one and still haven't woken up standing over the corpse of a freshly slain American President....maybe I need to do a re-read.
Blog review is here> https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2018...
So did he write the book to brainwash people or did the CIA just use this one? I'm still none-the-wiser, this book has failed to convince me either way. This book is well researched and reads like a documentary, I liked how the reader keeps getting asked questions, makes you feel involved.
For me though it does feel a bit lacking, it is mentioned the book could have been used to trigger a killer but barely touches on how this is achieved. More info on the various processes would have been interesting to read/learn. I've learnt a lot from this and will be checking out more in this series of books.
I do feel a bit left out that I have read the original book and now also this one and still haven't woken up standing over the corpse of a freshly slain American President....maybe I need to do a re-read.
Blog review is here> https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2018...
June 13, 2015
The Catcher in the Rye Enigma: J.D. Salinger's Mind Control Triggering Device or a Coincidental Literary Obsession of Criminals? BY James Morcan
This is the fourth installment of the underground knowledge series. It takes a look at the popular book; The catcher in the Rye By J.D. Salinger. The Authors have done extensive research and have found that some of Americas most notorious assassins/killers were found reading/or had read and quoted some passages of the book.
They also dig deep and show some possible mind control elements (possibly) in the book (The Catcher in the Rye). They explain this theory and also go a bit into the background of the famous Author (J.D. Salinger).
I found this read very thought provoking, interesting and a bit frightening. It did leave me wondering. The theories do seem plausible, I have read before of "mind control" tactics used during WWII. So the questions still remain did the book have a negative affect on some (possibly) mentally unstable men who became assassins?
Overall this is a fascinating read, which has left an impression in my mind. It makes me wonder what goes on in society that we just do not hear about on the news etc. I recommend to those who love a great read, with the possibility of mind control/conspiracy theories.
This is the fourth installment of the underground knowledge series. It takes a look at the popular book; The catcher in the Rye By J.D. Salinger. The Authors have done extensive research and have found that some of Americas most notorious assassins/killers were found reading/or had read and quoted some passages of the book.
They also dig deep and show some possible mind control elements (possibly) in the book (The Catcher in the Rye). They explain this theory and also go a bit into the background of the famous Author (J.D. Salinger).
I found this read very thought provoking, interesting and a bit frightening. It did leave me wondering. The theories do seem plausible, I have read before of "mind control" tactics used during WWII. So the questions still remain did the book have a negative affect on some (possibly) mentally unstable men who became assassins?
Overall this is a fascinating read, which has left an impression in my mind. It makes me wonder what goes on in society that we just do not hear about on the news etc. I recommend to those who love a great read, with the possibility of mind control/conspiracy theories.
July 16, 2018
Always knew that this book (The Catcher In the Rye) was a bully and assassin's maker. Always hate it, 'cause that reason. For some time suspected that some people that I hate in school (the bullies) read that book. Checked ✔️
September 9, 2018
Are you a fan of conspiracy theories Or a conspiracy theory analysis? If NO then there is nothing for you in this book and you won't like it and will be wasting your time. Really don't read it.
If you, like me, listened to Art Bell, Coast to Coast, Ground Zero with Clyde Lewis and aren't opposed to some speculation you will at least appreciate the complied research from the authors.
Disclaimer: I don't believe that reading The Catcher in the Rye will make normal people into assassins, neither do the authors. The book looks at real, documented U.S. Government programs like Operation Paperclip and MKUltra. These aren't conspiracy theories these are actual honest to goodness ways the Federal Government has pissed away tax payers money to bring Nazi scientist to the US (Werner Von Braun was one of them) and MKUltra was examined in the Church Committee.
Is there a weird coincidence of assassins having copies of The Catcher in the Rye on or near them? Actually there seems to be but seems to be doesn't = IS. the book is a good primer for people who want to know more about Mind control, brain washing and government abuses and lies.
If you, like me, listened to Art Bell, Coast to Coast, Ground Zero with Clyde Lewis and aren't opposed to some speculation you will at least appreciate the complied research from the authors.
Disclaimer: I don't believe that reading The Catcher in the Rye will make normal people into assassins, neither do the authors. The book looks at real, documented U.S. Government programs like Operation Paperclip and MKUltra. These aren't conspiracy theories these are actual honest to goodness ways the Federal Government has pissed away tax payers money to bring Nazi scientist to the US (Werner Von Braun was one of them) and MKUltra was examined in the Church Committee.
Is there a weird coincidence of assassins having copies of The Catcher in the Rye on or near them? Actually there seems to be but seems to be doesn't = IS. the book is a good primer for people who want to know more about Mind control, brain washing and government abuses and lies.
June 13, 2015
Conspiracy theory nonsense. I read this because I thought it might shed some light, even if lurid and distorting, on the novels of J D Salinger. It does not. Waste of time. Fortunately, it was very short and very cheap.
August 17, 2018
Less of a book and more of a long-winded high school essay, The Catcher in the Rye Enigma spends more time rehashing Project Paperclip and MK-ULTRA information, supplying lengthy quotes from other books (as well as the author's novel about brainwashed teen assassins), and cataloging popular culture references to Catcher in the Rye. When a description of your research involves describing an episode of a Jesse Ventura TV show, you might want to expand your research beyond a Google search. And why, pray tell, am I looking at a picture of Axl Rose in my conspiracy book? Written in an amateurish and casual tone that would get you laughed out of a TED Talk, this is only a reasonable primer on the Catcher in the Rye conspiracy theories if you've never heard of conspiracy theories before.
August 6, 2015
Classic. Though the older I get the more this story becomes about narcissism and less about plot. Journey over Arrival.
December 14, 2017
Total conspiracy BS! Like other readers, I thought there might be something interesting to glean. Truthfully, I didn't actually finish reading the book. I just couldn't take the weak and/or off handed insinuations as explanations of truth. It was crammed with redundancy, obviously used to increase the word count. Three dollars isn't going to jeprodize my retirement, but it really was a waste of money. Perhaps, one day, Catcher in the Rye will explain how the Egyptians built the Pryimids!
December 28, 2017
I wish there was a zero star rating
This is perhaps the worst Kindle book I have ever read. How many persons have read Catcher in the Rye? This author villianizes a dead author who cannot defend himself on the basis of evidence which even the publisher admits is theoretical and perhaps not true. Shame on you, Mr. Morcan.
This is perhaps the worst Kindle book I have ever read. How many persons have read Catcher in the Rye? This author villianizes a dead author who cannot defend himself on the basis of evidence which even the publisher admits is theoretical and perhaps not true. Shame on you, Mr. Morcan.
February 11, 2025
First off - I am a huge fan of conspiracy theories. At any given time in my life I have believed the earth was flat ( I have since changed my mind on this using the theory that if the earth was flat cats would have pushed everything over the side by now), we never went to the moon ( Kubriks best work was not the shining but the lunar landing), birds aren't real, lizard people, Obama was a clone etc etc. All in good fun to be taken with a grain of salt but I enjoy the twisting of facts to fit the narrative. Was hoping this would flesh out what little info I had on this particular conspiracy. Nope..not by a long shot. Reads like an 8th grade book report. Not 1 footnote, multiple references to works of fiction to back up theories - as well as throwing in some references to a previous work of fiction they themselves wrote. Basically if you took out the photos ( very odd choices of which photos to include in the book), the references to Manchurian Candidate film and all the other filler bullshit ( lots of repeat references) you would end up with a pamphlet that said " hey theres a conspiracy theory about this book". Even someone with just a tiny bit of interest in this conspiracy would learn nothing new with the exception of a few names of govt projects. It was free and I still felt like a paid too much.
January 3, 2019
Don't waste your money. all the book does is repeat and gives no insight that is promised in the title. It gives 2 basic "proofs." 1) that this once banned book became required reading. 2) a long list of infamous men had a copy of this book.
The teachers of the 60's were influenced by the beats, as well as being the first generation to be ma important through the post war affluence and direct selling to tens. further, we have the teen years going from the joy of the young to the age of angst. Hence, the reading of "cool" books like Catcher in the Rye. Taking this one step further, almost everyone who went to high school in the USA has a copy of this book.
The teachers of the 60's were influenced by the beats, as well as being the first generation to be ma important through the post war affluence and direct selling to tens. further, we have the teen years going from the joy of the young to the age of angst. Hence, the reading of "cool" books like Catcher in the Rye. Taking this one step further, almost everyone who went to high school in the USA has a copy of this book.
October 6, 2026
The Catcher in the Rye is my favorite novel, but I’ve never taken the time to delve into the conspiracies. I mean, this shit is pretty stupid. It was a popular book. People read it. I put zero stock in the nonsense, but it was interesting to read the theories.
February 21, 2024
Unfortunately, this book does not provide any answers as to Catcher's perceived connection to certain gunmen and their acts.
October 1, 2025
lot more nazi talk in this book than expected i won’t lie. but also…..come on now
December 15, 2025
Well, this little book was interesting. It definitely makes you question things. But nowadays, everything makes me question things.
January 28, 2026
An intriguing exploration of the connections between J.D. Salinger's novel and various infamous crimes, but it often feels more like a rehash of conspiracy theories than a cohesive argument.
July 29, 2016
I read through this Kindle book in just an hour or so. As it cost under £2 I didn't expect a huge book and for those reasons I don't feel able to award more than two stars.
'The Catcher in the Rye Enigma' provides a brief overview of mind control developments from Nazi Germany, with reference to Kubillus and Burwell's 'Psychiatrists: The Men Behind Hitler' and onto OSS's Project Bluebird via Operation Paperclip, and later Project Artichoke, before arriving at the more well known CIA Project MK-Ultra.
What is proposed in this book is that J.D. Salinger's work has been used by CIA/Military mind control operatives to produce 'Manchurian Candidate' programmed assassins. What remains a mystery to me is just what is so special about 'The Catcher in the Rye'? It is historical fact that there is evidence of these mind control experiments taking place over decades on poor unfortunates being subjected to hypnotic treatment, LSD, isolation etc. If a sentence or phrase in a book is a trigger for action, why not 'Alice in Wonderland' or any publication?
However there are three known cases associated with Salinger, stated in this book. John Lennon's assassin Mark David Chapman is perhaps the most well known. The case of Robert John Bardo, the killer of Rebecca Schaeffer is completely new to me, therefore I cannot comment. The third is John Hinckley Jr. who attempted to kill President Ronald Reagan.
The author writes, "The murderers, stalkers and their victims and targets, who are all either confirmed or rumoured to be part of the 'Catcher in the Rye' mystery include John Lennon, Ronald Reagan, Robert John Bardo, Lee Harvey Oswald, Bobby Kennedy, Madonna, Martin Luther King, Mark David Chapman, Jack Ruby, Rebecca Schaeffer, Jodie Foster, JFK, John Hinckley Jr., James Earl Ray and Sirhan Sirhan." Quite a long and startling list. To narrow this down let us dispense with the victims Lennon, Reagan, RFK, Madonna, MLK, Schaeffer, Foster & JFK. This gives us Chapman, Bardo and Hinckley listed above. The rest, Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby, James Earl Ray and Sirhan I must question.
I quote again from the text, "Some of America's highest profile assassins-including the likes of John Lennon's killer Mark David Chapman and Robert Kennedy's assassin Sirhan Sirhan-claimed they were CIA programmed killers hypnotised by MK-Ultra. No sources for these claims are provided. Sirhan's one time lawyer Lawrence Teeter is mentioned. In 2003 I met Teeter and informed him of Fenton Bresler's book 'Who Killed John Lennon'. Teeter was not aware of this as he wrote down the details in his note book. I have no knowledge of Chapman or Sirhan making any of these claims.
Another quote claims, "Rumoured to have been directly influenced by Catcher include RFK's assassin Sirhan Sirhan, Lee Harvey Oswald's killer Jack Ruby, MLK's murderer James Earl Ray." Once more we have rumour but no sources. I have read hundreds of books around the JFK case and never come across any Jack Ruby link to Catcher, and similarly James Earl Ray, who I do not believe killed Martin Luther King anyway. (See 'Act of State' by William Pepper.)
Another claim, "As for JFK's killer Lee Harvey Oswald, 'The Catcher in the Rye' was found in a raid on his Dallas, Texas apartment after the assassination." Firstly I strongly object to LHO being referred to as JFK's killer, be that as it may, again I would want proof that Catcher was found in his apartment, I have never seen it listed in items removed from his rooming house or Mrs Paine's house in Irving. Although nothing surprises me in this case, it sure is news to me.
Finally, "They often list the likes of Lee Harvey Oswald, Sirhan Sirhan, Jack Ruby, Mark David Chapman and James Earl Ray as being Manchurian Candidates and they point out that nearly all these men, as well as numerous other infamous lone gunmen, claimed after being captured that they were patsies who were being mind controlled." The numerous other infamous lone gunmen should have been listed with evidence of their claims as for the above list, Oswald claimed, and was a patsy, as was Ray but I have never come across any of them claiming they were being mind controlled. The idea that Oswald, Ruby and Ray were Manchurian Candidates I find ridiculous.
Yes, the cases of Sirhan and Chapman, before, during and after their acts are both alarming and unexplained. Also in Sirhan's case it was proven by Thomas Naguchi's autopsy on Robert Kennedy that he did not actually kill the Senator, so he cannot be described as a lone gunman and for that matter nor can Oswald as JFK's autopsy only showed one bullet wound in JFK's back/shoulder area from behind, and JFK's skull x-rays showed exploded ordnance, which Oswald's supposed Carcano rifle did not fire.
'The Catcher in the Rye Enigma' provides a brief overview of mind control developments from Nazi Germany, with reference to Kubillus and Burwell's 'Psychiatrists: The Men Behind Hitler' and onto OSS's Project Bluebird via Operation Paperclip, and later Project Artichoke, before arriving at the more well known CIA Project MK-Ultra.
What is proposed in this book is that J.D. Salinger's work has been used by CIA/Military mind control operatives to produce 'Manchurian Candidate' programmed assassins. What remains a mystery to me is just what is so special about 'The Catcher in the Rye'? It is historical fact that there is evidence of these mind control experiments taking place over decades on poor unfortunates being subjected to hypnotic treatment, LSD, isolation etc. If a sentence or phrase in a book is a trigger for action, why not 'Alice in Wonderland' or any publication?
However there are three known cases associated with Salinger, stated in this book. John Lennon's assassin Mark David Chapman is perhaps the most well known. The case of Robert John Bardo, the killer of Rebecca Schaeffer is completely new to me, therefore I cannot comment. The third is John Hinckley Jr. who attempted to kill President Ronald Reagan.
The author writes, "The murderers, stalkers and their victims and targets, who are all either confirmed or rumoured to be part of the 'Catcher in the Rye' mystery include John Lennon, Ronald Reagan, Robert John Bardo, Lee Harvey Oswald, Bobby Kennedy, Madonna, Martin Luther King, Mark David Chapman, Jack Ruby, Rebecca Schaeffer, Jodie Foster, JFK, John Hinckley Jr., James Earl Ray and Sirhan Sirhan." Quite a long and startling list. To narrow this down let us dispense with the victims Lennon, Reagan, RFK, Madonna, MLK, Schaeffer, Foster & JFK. This gives us Chapman, Bardo and Hinckley listed above. The rest, Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby, James Earl Ray and Sirhan I must question.
I quote again from the text, "Some of America's highest profile assassins-including the likes of John Lennon's killer Mark David Chapman and Robert Kennedy's assassin Sirhan Sirhan-claimed they were CIA programmed killers hypnotised by MK-Ultra. No sources for these claims are provided. Sirhan's one time lawyer Lawrence Teeter is mentioned. In 2003 I met Teeter and informed him of Fenton Bresler's book 'Who Killed John Lennon'. Teeter was not aware of this as he wrote down the details in his note book. I have no knowledge of Chapman or Sirhan making any of these claims.
Another quote claims, "Rumoured to have been directly influenced by Catcher include RFK's assassin Sirhan Sirhan, Lee Harvey Oswald's killer Jack Ruby, MLK's murderer James Earl Ray." Once more we have rumour but no sources. I have read hundreds of books around the JFK case and never come across any Jack Ruby link to Catcher, and similarly James Earl Ray, who I do not believe killed Martin Luther King anyway. (See 'Act of State' by William Pepper.)
Another claim, "As for JFK's killer Lee Harvey Oswald, 'The Catcher in the Rye' was found in a raid on his Dallas, Texas apartment after the assassination." Firstly I strongly object to LHO being referred to as JFK's killer, be that as it may, again I would want proof that Catcher was found in his apartment, I have never seen it listed in items removed from his rooming house or Mrs Paine's house in Irving. Although nothing surprises me in this case, it sure is news to me.
Finally, "They often list the likes of Lee Harvey Oswald, Sirhan Sirhan, Jack Ruby, Mark David Chapman and James Earl Ray as being Manchurian Candidates and they point out that nearly all these men, as well as numerous other infamous lone gunmen, claimed after being captured that they were patsies who were being mind controlled." The numerous other infamous lone gunmen should have been listed with evidence of their claims as for the above list, Oswald claimed, and was a patsy, as was Ray but I have never come across any of them claiming they were being mind controlled. The idea that Oswald, Ruby and Ray were Manchurian Candidates I find ridiculous.
Yes, the cases of Sirhan and Chapman, before, during and after their acts are both alarming and unexplained. Also in Sirhan's case it was proven by Thomas Naguchi's autopsy on Robert Kennedy that he did not actually kill the Senator, so he cannot be described as a lone gunman and for that matter nor can Oswald as JFK's autopsy only showed one bullet wound in JFK's back/shoulder area from behind, and JFK's skull x-rays showed exploded ordnance, which Oswald's supposed Carcano rifle did not fire.
July 5, 2020
So I was fascinated by your analysis and the research that you did on J.D Salinger.. my only comment would be.. as a J.D Salinger LONG TIME reader.. and of course I read ALL OF HIS BOOKS and read the commentary which was available at the time.. I was never intrigued by Catcher in the RYE, I got that other's were, but as a young woman, (at that time) all the troubled young "youth" as a male.. well I didn't relate to it.. at all. However; I did read his Short Stories which were AMAZING and the Perfect Day for Bananafish haunts me. Salinger's writing and his genres are peerless.. I do agree with your analysis, but if anything.. AFTER HE wrote it,, the powers that be.. which you discuss in the book,, FLAGGED IT for use.. not the other way around.
My belief is based on FRANNY AND ZOEY which was my all time favorite book of his with a deeply profound spiritual basis.
I did not include any spoilers.. but one needs to have read ALL OF J.D Salinger's works and similar genre like Catch 22 or other psyops/spiritual books (I am a Christian) to actually understand they excellent exegetical analysis that you put forth in your book, James..
I would NOW ADD after re reading Franny and Zoey and some other spiritual books recently that I don NOT agree with the suggestion that the CIA used J.D Salinger and I want to reiterate that it was he that wrote about deeply controversial subject matter including spiritual belief (Franny) and if anything I would reiterate that the CIA figured some way to use Mr. Salinger's work. I have no idea how.. I am a Christian.. and I have never worked for the CIA but I do know they have done some very strange experimenting on the human psyche and psyops.. since I have READ ABOUT biographies and heard CIA death bed stories on TV or in writing. I can see why you could extrapolate that theory.. but there are many other others.. especially in that genre by British writers.. who could be accused of the same thing.. Aldous Huxley.. for example, I read most of his work when I was young.. even the little known books. STILL REMARKABLE ANALYSIS on your part take care. Isabella
Isabella
My belief is based on FRANNY AND ZOEY which was my all time favorite book of his with a deeply profound spiritual basis.
I did not include any spoilers.. but one needs to have read ALL OF J.D Salinger's works and similar genre like Catch 22 or other psyops/spiritual books (I am a Christian) to actually understand they excellent exegetical analysis that you put forth in your book, James..
I would NOW ADD after re reading Franny and Zoey and some other spiritual books recently that I don NOT agree with the suggestion that the CIA used J.D Salinger and I want to reiterate that it was he that wrote about deeply controversial subject matter including spiritual belief (Franny) and if anything I would reiterate that the CIA figured some way to use Mr. Salinger's work. I have no idea how.. I am a Christian.. and I have never worked for the CIA but I do know they have done some very strange experimenting on the human psyche and psyops.. since I have READ ABOUT biographies and heard CIA death bed stories on TV or in writing. I can see why you could extrapolate that theory.. but there are many other others.. especially in that genre by British writers.. who could be accused of the same thing.. Aldous Huxley.. for example, I read most of his work when I was young.. even the little known books. STILL REMARKABLE ANALYSIS on your part take care. Isabella
Isabella
January 27, 2026
🎧 this is barely even a book. This is just some rambling by a bunch of idiots who happened to read some stuff. That’s said. They did bring up a few things of interest, but it was not nearly enough to save this dreadful full attempt at a book.
June 3, 2015
NB: This review is from the publisher.
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