The FBI War on Tupac Shakur
By: John Potash - Microcosm Publishing, $18.95
Description: Since the first day after the tragedy was announced, controversy has surrounded the death of rap and cultural icon Tupac Shakur.
In this work, preeminent researcher on the topic, John Potash, puts forward his own theories of the events leading up to and following the murder in this meticulously researched and exhaustive account of the story.
Verdict: This book is, and without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most compelling books that I myself have read in the past decade, and thus I honestly don’t think that there has ever before been written, been documented, such a detailed and shocking analysis of the untimely death of one of the greatest musicians of the modern era.
The FBI War on Tupac Shakur: State Repression of Black Leaders from the Civil Rights Era to the 1990s, to give it its full title, not only contains a wealth of names, dates, and events detailing the use of unscrupulous tactics by the Federal Bureau of Investigation against a generation of leftist political leaders and musicians, but the book also features a stunning array of perhaps lesser-known information on issues that one would not be able to find in the mainstream media; or in sources that are only on the surface of everyday life.
A prose based on twelve years of research and including extensive footnotes, sources include over 100 interviews, FOIA-released CIA and FBI documents, court transcripts, and mainstream media outlets, it is evident from the very off that author John Potash most definitely had to dig deeper than the common realms that most are used to in order to gather some of the intriguing material that he now brings forth.
Beginning with the birth of the Civil Rights Movement in America, Potash illustrates the ways in which the FBI and the United States government conspired to take down and dismantle the various burgeoning activist and revolutionary groups forming at the time.
From Martin Luther King Jr. to Malcolm X to Fred Hampton, the methods used to thwart their progress can be seen repeated again and again in the ’80s and ’90s against later revolutionary groups, musicians, and, most notably, Tupac Shakur.
In conclusion, and as much as I am sure there are still a whole host of facts/information/disinformation that Potash was advised (or politely suggested) to leave out, considering that there is just so much delicious information still included, he himself must have been fully away of his delicate handling of this oh-so sensitive material.
Thus, his prose is outstanding, it is enticing, it is generously sculptured, and, for the most part, is on point, no waffle, no filler; which for such an eye-opening experience, is something that I am proud to relay.
So buckle up for this winding, shocking, and unbelievable tale as John Potash reveals the dark underbelly of our government and their treatment of some of our most beloved Black icons.
About the Author - John Potash is the author and producer of the book and film, Drugs as Weapons Against Us: The CIA’s War on Musicians and Activists. He previously wrote and produced The FBI War on Tupac Shakur and Black Leaders book and film. He has been featured in television appearances on C-Span’s American History TV, The Reelz Channel, Hollywood DC on RT, and in the A&E’s Who Killed Tupac?, as well as The Real News Network, where he discussed the politics of Tupac’s life and assassination.
He has appeared on hundreds of radio programs in the US, England, and New Zealand, including Coast to Coast AM. He completed his graduate studies at Columbia University and has worked counseling people with mental health problems and addictions for over 30 years. He currently lives in Baltimore.
Official Book Purchase Link
www.microcosmpublishing.com