"Conversations with Americans" is possibly Mark Lane’s most controversial work.  Lane investigates the atrocities of the Vietnam War committed with alarming frequency by American troops, of a systematic dehumanization of the enemy that eventually included many of the very population they were sent to save from communism.  As Lane says in his introductions, “If you convince your soldiers that the enemy is less than human, comparable to baggage at best, a child assassin at worst, and then inform them that their mission is to score high in the body-count exercise, you cannot feign surprise when you discover what the war has become.”  Lane began his investigation by interviewing American GIs who fed to Europe after refusing to serve in Vietnam.  He then set out to interview American soldiers still on active duty, or who had been honorably discharged about the atrocities they had witnessed or been a part of in Vietnam.  To his surprise he was able to find numerous individuals who told him disturbing stories of their time in Vietnam.  Most were compelled out of a sense of duty to inform their countrymen of the horrors of war.  In interviews with 32 American GIs, "Conversations with Americans" tells the story of the Vietnam war from the viewpoint of soldiers in the field, in their own words.  It is disturbing and frightening and courageous.  This is a work born out of concern for a generation sent to fight a brutal war with barely discernible rules, in military organizations that deliberately eroded the morality of American soldiers and then sent them home to their parents, wives and children.  Lane set out to bring the stories to the American public only to be stymied by his own publishing company which withdrew the book from publication, effectively banning it from the American public.  Now, for the first time in 40 years, the words of these young soldiers can be heard again.

Conversations with Americans: Vietnam Veterans’ Shocking Testimony of Atrocities and Massacres During the War

Politics & Social Sciences

Lane, Mark

Politics & Government

Lane Group, LLC, The

<p>Nearly one thousand members of the Peoples Temple settlement in Jonestown, Guyana, died in a massacre in November 1978. The deaths followed the killing of United States Congressman Leo Ryan and other Temple members as they attempted to leave the compound. Those killings, along with the massacre, were ordered by the cult’s charismatic leader Jim Jones. Mark Lane had accompanied Congressman Ryan into Jonestown on a fact-finding mission and was captured and held hostage during the massacre. “I will tell the world the truth about what happened here.” With those words, Mark Lane’s guards allowed him to escape from his makeshift prison from what would soon become one of the most tragic events in 20th century America. Lane found himself fleeing for his life through the impenetrable darkness of the Guyanian rainforest as the sounds of the Jonestown massacre echoed behind him. In The Strongest Poison, Lane tells why he was there, what happened in the days leading up to the massacre, and relates the stories of the nearly 1,000 men and women who put their faith in Jim Jones and his jungle paradise, and died there. In this riveting tale of hope and renewal, despair and devastation, Lane explores the reasons behind the Peoples Temple’s journey to Guyana, of the joyous celebrations and the hardships of the pioneering community. He also explores the reasons for Congressman Ryan’s investigation into the community, exposing the decisions made by representatives of the United States government that pushed the increasingly irrational Jones to his breaking point.</p>

The Strongest Poison: How I Survived the Jonestown, Guyana, Massacre

<p>Bestselling author Mark Lane, the first to question the investigation into the murder of President John F. Kennedy, and activist and author Dick Gregory combine their unique perspectives in a look at the assassination of Martin Luther King. James Earl Ray’s guilty plea allowed the government to sidestep a trial, and yet his hearing, conducted without any challenge by a defense attorney, raised many questions. In Murder in Memphis, Lane and Gregory examine these questions and more: Dr. King’s police protection was removed on the day of the assassination. Why? And by whom? Why was the same FBI squad that J. Edgar Hoover directed to destroy Dr. King responsible for the investigation into the murder? How and why was the most reliable witness prevented from testifying in court? Through exclusive documents and interviews with former FBI agents, security guards, eyewitnesses and James Earl Ray himself, Lane and Gregory present the case to the American people, so they can decide for themselves.</p>

Murder in Memphis: The FBI and the Assassination of Martin Luther King

GREGORY, Dick

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Lane Group, LLC, The publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Lane Group, LLC, The

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Lane Group, LLC, The publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Conversations with Americans: Vietnam Veterans’ Shocking Testimony of Atrocities and Massacres During the War

The Strongest Poison: How I Survived the Jonestown, Guyana, Massacre

Murder in Memphis: The FBI and the Assassination of Martin Luther King