سیا و کنترل مغزها: در جستجوی کاندیدای منچوری

by John D. Marks, فریدون دولتشاهی (مترجم)

این کتاب به آزمایش‌های سازمان سیا بر روی جاسوسان سوخته و ماموران و زندانیان می‌پردازد.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Conspiracy Theories, Psychology, Espionage, Science

284 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a hilarious and surprisingly thoughtful account of the CIA's attempts to control people's mind using LSD, various other psychedelics, and crazy shit like hypnotism. Marks was able to complete the book after unwavering determination (and a team of lawyers) that helped him get a bunch of stuff (the stuff that those involved hadn't destroyed) declassified and scads of interviews with those willing, to fill in the blanks. What emerges is a zany story of CIA agents trick-tripping their colleagues with acid, volunteering themselves as guinea pigs, and how grant-greedy academia served the Agency for years. The last is the saddest part: psychiatric/psychological academics agreeing to go along with this insane shit to get funding. It will definitely change your view of the academic world, which is little changed, just replace "terror" with "mind control" and you get basically the same thing.
Anyway, this book is a delightful read, with accounts and anecdotes of all the Agency's drug shenanigans and their subsequent exposure.

[Erik Graff · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Marks coauthored The CIA & the Cult of Intelligence with Victor Marchetti after working as a Senate aide and a State Department official. His publishing credentials are primarily as a journalist. His writing style is clear as are his methods of documentation. The Search for the Manchurian Candidate appears to be his second book. I cannot recommend it too much.

Since the claims, however well-documented, that agencies of the U.S. government systematically hurt citizens and break laws, both domestic and international, in their pursuit of power and control are so repugnant as to be hard to absorb, I suggest one read this book and several of the others about the CIA's MKULTRA:
Black, David '98 Acid: The Secret History of LSD. London: Vision 1901250113
Bowart, W.H. '78 Operation Mind Control: Our Secret Governments's War Against Its Own People. NY: Dell 0440167558
Camper, Frank '97 The Mk/Ultra Secret. Savannah: Christopher Scott Publishing 1889149020
Collins, Anne '88/'98 In the Sleep Room: The Story of CIA Brainwashing Experiments in Canada. Toronto: Key Porter Books 1550139320
Douglass, Joseph '02 Betrayed. 1st Books Library, 492 140330131X
Douglass, Joseph '99 Red Cocaine: The Drugging of America & the West. Edward Harle, 178 1899798048
Fahey, Todd '96 Wisdom's Maw. Far Gone Books, 224 0965183904
Lee, Martin; Shlain, Bruce '85 Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the 60s & Beyond. NY: Grove Press 0802130623
McCoy, Alfred '06 A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror. Metropolitan Books, 21 sqq 0805080414
Ranelagh, John '88 The Agency: The Rise & Decline of the CIA. Sceptre, 208-10 0340412305
Ronson, Jon '04 The Men Who Stare at Goats. Picador 0330375482
Stevens, Jay '87 Storming Heaven: LSD & The American Dream. NY: Grove Press 0802135870
Thomas, Gordon '89 Journey into Madness: The True Story of Secret CIA Mind Control & Medical Abuse. NY: Bantam 0553284134
Vankin, Jonathan; Whalin, John '04 80 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time. Citadel Press 0806525312. Ch. 1, "CIAcid Drop"

[Brigitte]

Read this, and embarking on a bunch of other CIA- in-the-1950s books for a project I'm working on. Without a doubt, I am now on a list somewhere. In fact, "they're" probably reading this right now. They do that, you know. Read stuff, and secretly record you, and slip things into your water and your air. Ha ha ha. No I'm just kidding. They don't do that.

Oh look, there's someone at the door. A nice man in a dark suit. I'll just be right back.

[Cav · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Since World War II, the United States government, led by the Central Intelligence Agency, has searched secretly for ways to control human behavior. This book is about that search, which had its origins in World War II. The CIA programs were not only an extension of the OSS quest for a truth drug, but they also echoed such events as the Nazi experiments at Dachau and Albert Hofmann's discovery of LSD..."

The Search for the Manchurian Candidate was an eye-opening look into the historically twisted machinations of the Central Intelligence Agency. I enjoyed the book.

Author John D. Marks is a freelance writer and lecturer. Previously, he was an associate of the center for National Security Studies, executive assistant for foreign policy to Senator Clifford Case (NJ) and a staff assistant to the Director for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Marks began his career as a foreign service officer in the State Department, then was loaned to the Agency for International Development before returning to State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research as an analyst for French and Belgian affairs.

John D. Marks:


As its title describes, the book covers efforts by the covert intelligence agency towards mind control, brainwashing, and other shady and morally questionable endeavors. Some of what Marks covers here will likely be shocking to many readers. Those somewhat familiar with the historical operations of the CIA are not likely to be surprised, however...

Marks makes a note on the source material for the book:

"This book has grown out of the 16,000 pages of documents that the CIA released to me under the Freedom of Information Act. Without these documents, the best investigative reporting in the world could not have produced a book, and the secrets of CIA mind-control work would have remained buried forever, as the men who knew them had always intended.
From the documentary base, I was able to expand my knowledge through interviews and readings in the behavioral sciences. Nevertheless, the final result is not the whole story of the CIA's attack on the mind. Only a few insiders could have written that, and they choose to remain silent. I have done the best I can to make the book as accurate as possible, but I have been hampered by the refusal of most of the principal characters to be interviewed and by the CIA's destruction in 1973 of many of the key documents..."

Interestingly, the author was in Saigon during the Vietnamese war, and the CIA expelled him from the country under threat of imprisonment.
The audiobook features a long introduction (~40mins) that was not present in the PDF version, where it is mentioned that the author collaborated with journalist Seymore Hersch in covering the CIA's secret war in Angola.

The writing in the book proper begins with a history of mind control; Albert Hoffman's famous 1943 inadvertent LSD trip is briefly discussed. Marks also mentions cruel and sadistic experiments on prisoners by the Germans at the Dachau concentration camp in WW2.

At the heart of the book are the experiments by the CIA before, during, and after the once-secret Project MKUltra. {The following text in this paragraph and the next taken from the Wikipedia page; for the sake of accuracy and clarity}
The experiments were intended to develop procedures and identify drugs such as LSD that could be used in interrogations to weaken individuals and force confessions through brainwashing and psychological torture. MKUltra used numerous methods to manipulate its subjects' mental states and brain functions, such as the covert administration of high doses of psychoactive drugs (especially LSD) and other chemicals, electroshocks, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, isolation, and verbal and sexual abuse, in addition to other forms of torture.

MKUltra was preceded by two drug-related experiments, Project Bluebird and Project Artichoke. It began in 1953, was reduced in scope in 1964 and 1967, and was halted in 1973. It was organized through the CIA's Office of Scientific Intelligence and coordinated with the United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories. The program engaged in illegal activities, including the use of U.S. and Canadian citizens as unwitting test subjects. MKUltra's scope was broad, with activities carried out under the guise of research at more than 80 institutions, including colleges and universities, hospitals, prisons, and pharmaceutical companies. The CIA operated using front organizations, although some top officials at these institutions were aware of the CIA's involvement.

Marks writes that the agency men decided to focus their experimentation on low-level criminals and prostitutes. The rationale was that these fringe elements of society were unlikely to seek redress, and even if they did, they could be easily discredited. They also experimented with giving the criminals, as well as communists soldiers marijuana-laced cigarettes.

Much of this experimentation came out of the desire to thwart the growing communist threat, and everything was on the table to stop it:

"In 1947 the National Security Act created not only the CIA but also the National Security Council—in sum, the command structure for the Cold War. Wartime OSS leaders like William Donovan and Allen Dulles lobbied feverishly for the Act. Officials within the new command structure soon put their fear and their grandiose notions to work. Reacting to the perceived threat, they adopted a ruthless and warlike posture toward anyone they considered an enemy—most especially the Soviet Union.
They took it upon themselves to fight communism and things that might lead to communism everywhere in the world. Few citizens disagreed with them; they appeared to express the sentiments of most Americans in that era, but national security officials still preferred to act in secrecy. A secret study commision under former President Hoover captured the spirit of their call to clandestine warfare:
'It is now clear we are facing an implacable enemy whose avowed objective is world domination by whatever means and at whatever cost. There are no rules in such a game. Hitherto acceptable long-standing American concepts of "fair play" must be reconsidered. We must develop effective espionage and counterespionage services and must learn to subvert, sabotage, and destroy our enemies by more clever, more sophisticated, and more effective methods than those used against us.'"

But there was also a deeper, and more nefarious aim of these experiments: social manipulation and compliance. Many in the upper echelons of both the intelligence agencies, as well as the government had an interest in any means that could ensure a maliable and compliant public; willing to support and governmental policy without objection.

Fortunately, despite causing vast amounts of personal destruction and pain to countless human and animal subjects, Project MKUltra ultimately bore no fruit. Despite everything they threw at it; the human mind and spirit could not be controlled.
Marks says:

"If the schemes of these scientists to control the mind had met with more success, they would be much less amusing. But so far, at least, the human spirit has apparently kept winning. That—if anything—is the saving grace of the mind-control campaign."

Some more of what is covered here by Marks includes:
• LSD experimentation; dosing unwitting subjects, including the agency men dosing each other. (LOL)
• Experimentation with psychedelic mushrooms. Ironically, it was the CIA themselves who brought them from Mexico to America. They (also ironically) became heavily used by the counterculture hippie movement of the 60s.
• Efforts towards brainwashing. American POWs from communist countries. Soviet and Chinese methods for brainwashing that actually worked, but were not drug-induced.
• CIA sponsored sensory deprivation and drug administration in patients that drove them to the point of psychosis; called "psychic driving."
• Efforts in using hypnosis to control people; the "Manchurian Candidate."
• Experiments with brain electrodes with the aim of controlling the animal.
• Experiments to "rewrite" memories, and supplant them with fictitious ones.
• The aftermath of these experiments; the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion. John F. Kennedy's desire to disband the CIA.


**********************

The Search for the Manchurian Candidate is an important historical look into America's premier intelligence agency.
Marks did a good job putting this one together.
4 stars.

[Daniel Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this little known and really important book many years ago. It is a truly chilling expose of some of the CIA's horrendously cruel and secret brainwashing experiments that were conducted on many dozens of innocent male and female patients at a major mental institute. The CIA's senior contracting psychiatrist at this mental hospital used powerful drugs such as LSD and intense electroshocks on the brains of helpless patients to see if he could completely erase their identities and long term memories. The information set forth in the Search for the Manchurian Candidate is based entirely on the lengthy senate hearings into the illegal actions of the CIA. Everything that was stated in this book was sourced from absolutely verifiable data.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and bizarre at once. Marks digs into the CIA's mid-20th century experiments with drugs, hypnosis, and other dubious methods to find a way to control minds in a detailed, at times seemingly stranger than fiction, account. One for the "you can't make this shit up" shelf.

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Groundbreaking, if dated work exploring the origins of Project MKULTRA, the CIA's efforts at developing mind control and psychological manipulation techniques. Marks traces the program from its origins in World War II (part of a grab-bag of OSS efforts at chemical and psychological warfare) to its intensification amidst the brainwashing hysteria of the early Cold War. Marks details the famous cases of Agency malfeasance, from the use of LSD and other mind-altering drugs, often on unwitting subjects, to the heinous "de-patterning" experiments by Dr. Ewen Cameron in Montreal. Writing in the late '70s, Marks had only limited access to government files declassified through the Church Committee's investigations and limited FOIA requests; it can't be considered definitive for that reason. It also seems, at times, that Marks overstates the degree to which "mind control," per se, was the goal of the Agency's experiments, which makes the stories more outlandish (which has fueled a million conspiracy theories) and perhaps easier to ridicule or dismiss. More recent authors show that MKULTRA's more heinous activities (especially Cameron's experiments) have been used not to create "Manchurian Candidates" but as psychological torture for interrogating and breaking down prisoners, whether Soviet spies in the Cold War or terrorist suspects more recently - which, if anything, makes them even more disturbing. Until a more definitive, updated work on the subject appears, though, Marks' book remains worth reading.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely important book, documenting some of the more esoteric crimes of the CIA. While not reaching quite the magnitude of its violence from its coup operations in places like Indonesia or Chile, the Agency's experimentation on unwitting innocent victims recalls many of the acts of the Nazis. For decades the CIA performed experiments on prisoners and "suspected double agents" including massive doses of drugs and isolation for lengths that would drive anyone mad. While I think the author could have done a bit more to point out the direct heritage there, via the CIA protection and use of Nazis and members of Japan's Unit 731, thats a relatively minor omissions and that information is available in other books.

Suffers the same problem just about every American book on the CIA does, of accepting US claims of Soviet malfeasance at its face without any real investigation, but the book doesn't focus much on that and so it rarely detracts. I also appreciated that in the conclusions the author acknowledges that his work, thorough as it was, was heavily limited by the destruction of documents forcing him to rely on testimony and interviews from trained liars.

Regardless, while destruction of most of the files by Richard Helms in 1973 limits the scope of his work, this remains a vital work to understanding the CIA and it's myriad crimes.

[Melanie Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just started this for a project I'm working on -- and yes, this is legit, not some crap from Alex Jones. The author used to work for the State Department and based his writing on a huge document uncovered from the CIA around 1975. Those familiar with MK Ultra and allathat will know what this is about. This is essentially the source for those reports.

[AC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both this book, and Journey Into Madness, have strengths and weaknesses -- this one is more solid, but Journey is a bit more vivid. The solution to the "Woodward" riddle is, as I suspected, on pp. 136-140. Both can be read in a day or two.

[Dina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The books talks about CIA operations MKULTRA and ARTICHOKE (after WWII). Basically, how CIA had sponsored and participated in various mind and behavior control methods on general population, inmates, prostitutes, psych ward patients without their consent or knowledge of the tests. The idea of the experiments was to find means how to control and manipulate human behavior and more precisely human brain. CIA had sponsored or cooperated with major universities and corporations trying to devise methods in deleting memories, creating new memories, remote behavior, inflating LCD and mushrooms, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, electrical shock therapy so on and forth. I believe the research going on till now, and is probably way more advanced.

[Jordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book may leave you with the unsettling feeling that not everything is as it has seemed in the world. Humanity has made it into outer space and we've also made huge inroads into controlling inner space. If you're one of those people who doesn't want to be controlled, then you have to educate yourself on what can potentially be done to control you. Reading this book is a good step in that direction.

[Jay D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind blown. Insane.

[Alen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sick

[Bobby Daugherty · Rating 2 out of 5]

The OSS tried to drug Hitler with estrogen to dismiss him, the CIA experiments with shock treatment, drugs, and hypnosis. Several times there are mentions of sexual deviancy being a source of leverage that the government could not exploit. Almost as if they are condemning the remaining social morals that make openly bragging about exploitation a taboo.
Nothing of importance to be found here. The CIA were inept at perfecting the art of mind control. A brief mention of Bill Colby in the assassination attempts on Castro.

[Josh Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Search for the Manchurian Candidate, by John D. Marks, is a fascinating (albeit scary and disturbing) look into some of the bad behavior of the CIA. Marks documents how the CIA tested various types of mind control, truth serums, and methods for creating "perfect sleeper agents" whose personalities could be flipped back and forth like flipping a light switch. Yes, I know that it sounds like a massive paranoid conspiracy theory, but Marks has the official CIA documents to show that these programs actually existed. The most famous of these programs was called MK/ULTRA, but others also existed (MK/NAOMI, Artichoke, etc.), and some disturbing things were done under their aegis.

All in all, The Search for the Manchurian Candidate is an amazing read. Even though the subject matter is on the disturbing side, it is important to know about and keep in mind (pun not intended). This is what happens when National Security trumps all else, including humanity.

7 out of 5 stars

[S.P. Aruna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is THE FIRST book published on the subject, and kudos to the author for his struggle in getting it out. If you consider that all the documents were destroyed on order of then CIA director Helms and the only thing they forgot was a box of receipts and invoices (probably didn't give that one much thought) and that Marks went on a detective hunt and traced them back to their nefarious sources (mad, inhuman professors and researchers) then this book is an achievement in investigative skill and persistence. I only gave it 4 stars because the anecdotal dribble (filler) made me a bit nauseous - who the F cares that Sidney Gottleib, one of the chief architects of the mind control program, raised pedigree goats on his farm - Fuck him!

[T. Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Marks gives a compelling account of the inside workings of the CIA. His book gives the reader the ability to understand how and why the CIA of the 50's, 60's and 70's did what they did, although much of their tactics were questionable, but probably necessary. Whether or not you agree with what the CIA did, you won't want to put this book down. Some recent movies that have been made seem to mimic much of what was written in this book. A very interesting read for anyone who wants to know more about one of the most secret organizations in our government.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. If you're a fan of history, government, and mass mind-control, then this book is definitely one for your collection. Written by former CIA agent, this overview of declassified documents from spanning the beginning of mass mind-control to more modern techniques is at once as academic as it is readable.

[Elizabeth Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those unaware of the CIA's experiments in mind control, this is a good basic overview. There are newer books with a less academic and, one might say, careful tone that better express the true horror of what was done to helpless people without their knowledge by arrogant "scientists" for whom they were nothing but useful tools.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such an interesting topic…but such dry writing.

[Mmmjay · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is informative and scary. This book has been quoted by many authors over the years. It was true back in the day, and more so now.

[John Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smart, thorough, helpful.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrifying 🫣

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Control of the populace is dream of every government - democratic or totalitarian. If one cannot control the populace then they will need to actually do their job in order to get re-elected. If they are in control, they can just use slogans to gain points - because lets be honest majority of people wont remember things 4 years back, let alone longer.

Book is first public presentation (and as far as I could see last one because CIA decided after a while that public information act is out of play for their activities) of covert projects related to individual/populace control from WW2 to first half of 1970's.

Main focus is on ARTICHOKE/MKULTRA project and people working on it. Pushed forward by that eternal "but our enemies could be doing it" CIA projects paved the way to greater incursion of narcotics into US society and city streets, experimented in rather horrible ways on willing and unwilling subjects, tested the technology and approaches in foreign countries (very very bad image for South Korea, Taiwan (ROC), Philippines and Europe - all elements that show black-sites during the current war on terror are nothing new).

Probably greatest issue is the way CIA basically raised the oh-so-popular counter-culture movement by conducting mass tests on unwilling people tripping for days on mushrooms and LSD. This just started drug abuse and later evolved into current opioid crisis of major proportions.

Less details are given on post-LSD years, use of electroshocks for "de-patterning" the patients (such harmless names for something so horrible in core), sensory deprivation and return to proven Chinese and Soviet methods of breaking and re-education of people (known in the certain circles as rape-of-the-mind). All of these, more "hardware" approaches became the focus in second half of 1970s when CIA decided that they do not have to report to the public.

At the end one has to shiver when reads about the doctors and scientists that are .... monsters. They all see themselves as people working for general good and hey "if you want scrambled eggs you need to break a few", right? Wrong. When one looks at the way how projects were deployed in US and outside of the US one has to wonder how far they were going. Without ethics to guide them medical personnel and health experts are very dangerous people. Equally chilling is statement of the author that for these projects nothing was sacred, everything had to be tried and tested - resulting in huge technological and procedural advancements for the Agency in this field (they were talking about the gene splicing and modifications in 1970's!). And then you hear statements like (paraphrasing) "people are already controlled, we are working on making that control more efficient" (in 19-bloody-60's!).

Very disturbing book that needs to be a warning for everyone (as author says (paraphrasing again) "conspiracy theories of yesterday proved again to be true" (sounds familiar, sadly...)).

Inclusion and collusion with national level organization (NIH, big medical centers, US military chemical and biological warfare centers), universities and independent researchers through charity and funding front organizations as cut-offs just deepened the shadow and gave Agency lot of liberty to experiment and mature their projects and allowed them access to as I mentioned doctors and health care professionals of dubious characters

Considering that genie is released out of the bottle and great deal of know-how ended up in private sector long ago, advertisement industry and media, we need to be very, very worried for our future and make sure people are aware of this as much as possible (or as much people want to hear about it - in last year and a half I found out that majority wants to live without anything that would force them go off the TV, tablets, phones or those we-only-transcribe-and-dont-investigate-or-write-news-sites).

Excellent book on a very interesting and disturbing subject. Excellent example of journalist-like investigation, making sure all available data is accounted for and all dots are linked and where guesses had to be made author underlines them and gives his best educated guess.
As i said there are gaps of course (not everybody was willing to give statement for the book nor were all files made available) but author shows good knowledge of the topic that helps him come to very likely answers to open questions.

Highly recommended.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Required reading if you strive to be a respectable conspiracynut. Many of these people have not done their homework, I can tell.

The Search for the Manchurian Candidate is honestly not as crazy and radical as you would expect, but that's because it's a pioneering work. What it is is very well-researched, especially considering that things like MKULTRA were not yet household names when this came out. Very good information on Frank Olson and the hunt for magic mushrooms, and on some of the whacky, oddly comedic "field work" the OSS and CIA did.

For additional information, read Poisoner in Chief, The Praetorian Guard and Chaos. John Marks may have been too lenient on the CIA, but then that may be a point in favor of the book, improving its credibility as a source.

[Medical Gunch · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a great general overview/ history of MK Ultra and Artichoke from around the time of its disclosure to the public. While it is a useful resource, it still feels like there’s more out there to learn on this topic.

[Gus Lackner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to consider how well the spread of LSD from government to elite universities to the educated class and so on is a perfect example of Frobenius's hierarchical diffusion. Also, the Personality Assessment System is a fascinating tool; I would put much more faith in it than the Myers-Briggs.

[Valiant Thor · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent account of the information gleaned from the thousands of MK Ultra documents that escaped Dick Helms' destruction order. Well written, well researched, and informative. The main weakness of the book is the author's conclusion that the CIA failed in their mind control efforts, with failure defined as the CIA's inability to find a drug or technique that would give them control over a person's mind that would work on everyone every time. It may be true the CIA failed by this definition (at least at the time of writing), but subsequent books, such as Cathy O'Brien's book, "Trance Formation of America" and Brice Taylor's book, "Thanks For the Memories" demonstrate conclusively that the CIA & co. succeeded far beyond what one would imagine based on John Marks' book, which looks awfully naive after reading O'Brien and Taylor.

[Russ Haeber · Rating 4 out of 5]

D-lysergic acid diethylamide