Today brings our monthly “Book of the Month” Club selection, but also the very first one to be a non-fiction book. In fact, I can’t say I really enjoy non-fiction books, and have often times bemoaned the fact that no one seems to read novels anymore. Still, “C-Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy” by Jeff Sharlet is my book of the month club pick not just in spite of my non-fiction prejudice, but also because of it. I say that because the book doesn’t feel non-fiction at all.
That’s not to say that “C-Street” isn’t meticulously researched and very accurate, because it is. It’s just that it spins a real narrative that spans decades, has riveting, flesh-and-blood “characters” that just so happen to be real, and details a shadowy conspiracy group that controls our congress and foreign nations alike. Basically, if you’ve ever loved a Dan Brown book, you’ll probably enjoy C-Street. But if you’ve ever hated a Dan Brown book, you’ll probably also like C-Street. It has all the advantages of a timely, current novel, but with the scary bonus of being completely true.
For those that aren’t sure exactly what C-Street is, just think back to the sex scandals that ended Mark Sanford’s reign as governor of South Carolina, and Nevada Senator John Ensign’s tenure in the senate. The book details how these sex scandals were probably the only exposure most people have had to C-Street but that it’s existed for decades and in much less live-and-let-live ways.
C-Street is a powerful religious organization that provides “spiritual guidance” to congressmen stateside and dictators abroad, and was founded for the express purpose of “influencing those in power.” According to their beliefs, anyone who is in power, is there because God wants them to be, and that person is therefore better than other people and not beholden to the same moral beliefs as everyone else. [Can you see why this philosophy would appeal to egomaniacs like Mark Sanford and African dictators alike?] The book “C-Street” goes about detailing the shadowy group’s origins (as an anti-union group helping corporations) to its modern foothold in countries from Uganda (the group helped write the legislation that made being gay a crime in Uganda) to Indonesia, and even its influence on the American military.
Reading “C-Street” is like turning the pages on an expertly crafted spy thriller, as the conspiracy becomes ever more real. And it is the book to read on how corporations, the military industrial complex, and religious organizations have formed an axis of influence to control key people in the government, and, by extension, get whatever they want out of the government. The perfect Easter book for adults, this is a must-read for any political junkies out there, and (I hope) of interest to anyone who wants to know more about the powerful “Men behind the curtain.”
Click on the image to get a copy
Interesting selection