193:
on the economy. ("The first factor is that of size. The "world war industry, ... accounts for approximately a tenth of the output of the world's total economy.") The third assesses various "disarmament scenarios" that have been proposed. The main part of the book examines the non-military economic, political, sociological, cultural, and scientific functions of war and the problems that these raise for the transition to peace. These include war's role in regulating the economy's inevitable boom and bust cycles, defining any given "nation's existence vis-a-vis any other nation," rationalizing "nonmilitary killing" by habituating people to "pay a blood price for institutions," such as the sacrifice of 40,000 people per year to automobiles, and so on. The report next suggests some substitutes for the non-military functions of war, including medical research, health care for all citizens, improved education, housing, public transportation, poverty reduction, and so forth, but ultimately notes that these do not answer the need for an external threat to maintain social stability. The report suggests some alternative enemy could be manufactured, such as hostile space aliens or the threat of environmental pollution, which, the authors say, is not yet dire enough yet but could be "increased selectively for this purpose." The report ultimately concludes "that the war system cannot responsibly be allowed to disappear." The report suggests the establishment of a "permanent War/Peace
Research Agency" tasked, in part, with better rationalizing war to better address its non-military functions and developing a "quantification of existing application of the non-military functions of war."
82:. The book purports to be a leaked report authored by a Special Study Group tasked by the Kennedy Administration to plan the transition from a wartime economy and assess the potential social impacts of a "condition of general world peace." It details the analyses of the panel, which concludes that world peace could cause the United States to collapse; war, or some alternative outside threat, is necessary for social stability, the Study Group finds, and recommends the establishment of "a permanent War/Peace Research Agency" to improve "the effectiveness of major stabilizing functions" and to plan substitutes for war should "a viable general peace" emerge. The book became a
286:. McLandress wrote that he knew firsthand of the report's authenticity because he had been invited to participate in its creation; that although he was unable to be part of the official group, he was consulted from time to time and had been asked to keep the project secret; and that while he doubted the wisdom of letting the public know about the report, he agreed totally with its conclusions. He wrote: "As I would put my personal repute behind the authenticity of this document, so would I testify to the validity of its conclusions. My reservation relates only to the wisdom of releasing it to an obviously unconditioned public." Six weeks later, in an
189:, in the Hudson Valley, which houses an enormous storage facility mostly holding important documents but also government records, musical instruments, antiques, and other valuables, as well as fallout shelters for executives of large oil corporations. The book's forward describes how the Special Study Group's last meeting before drafting the final report was held at Iron Mountain (hence the name).
121:, agreed to publish the book as non-fiction. To lend credibility to the hoax, Galbraith wrote a review of the book under the pen name Herschel McLandress, "former professor of Psychiatric Measurement at the Harvard Medical School and now chief consultant to the Noonan Psychiatric Clinic in Boston," the title character of Galbraith's earlier 1964 satire,
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27:
192:
The book is a satiric parody of Rand
Corporation project which summarizes the results of a two-and-a-half-year study and recommends maintaining a state of permanent war. The first part of the book deals with its scope. The second is a review of previous studies considering the effects of disarmament
312:
newspaper
Varsity quotes the following (tape recorded) interchange: Interviewer: 'Are you aware of the identity of the author of Report from Iron Mountain?' Galbraith: 'I was in general a member of the conspiracy, but I was not the author. I have always assumed that it was the man who wrote the
169:
brought out a new hardcover edition in 1996 under their Free Press imprint, authorized by Lewin, with a new introduction by
Navasky and afterword by Lewin both insisting the book was fictional and satire, and discussing the original controversy over the book and the more recent interest in it by
267:
read the report, he 'hit the roof' and ordered it to be suppressed for all time. Additionally, sources were said to have revealed that orders were sent to U.S. embassies, instructing them to emphasize that the book had no relation to U.S. Government policy. On
November 26, 1967, the report was
290:
dispatch from London, Galbraith went even further and jokingly admitted that he was a member of the conspiracy. The following day, Galbraith backed off. When asked about his 'conspiracy' statement, he replied: "For the first time since
149:
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The book subsequently began circulating on the
Internet among militia groups. Buccaneer Books, a small publisher of out-of-print books, brought out an edition in 1993. In the early 1990s,
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308:". The original reporter reported the following six days later: "Misquoting seems to be a hazard to which Professor Galbraith is prone. The latest edition of the
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105:, after reading a newspaper account about a stock market decline attributed to a "peace scare." Leonard Lewin wrote the book with the help of the economist
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claimed in its
November 20, 1967, issue to have confirmation of the reality of the report from an unnamed government official, who added that when
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as the "Most
Successful Literary Hoax." Some people claim that the book is genuine and has only been called a hoax as a means of damage control.
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Freedom From War: The United States
Program (under the auspices of the UN) for General and Complete Disarmament in a Peaceful World
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Some conspiracy theorists reject the statement made in 1972 by the author that the book was satire and that he was its author.
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When it was first published, controversy surrounded the book over the question whether it was a hoax or real.
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confirmed that
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has been guilty of a misquotation... Nothing shakes my conviction that it was written by either
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where the hoax is quoted by Kennedy Assassination researcher Dave Reitzes
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Report from Iron Mountain on the possibility and desirability of peace
364:, naming Leonard Lewin as the main writer with "input" from economist
322:, Lewin said that he had written the book. The book was listed in the
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magazine published a 28,000-word excerpt. In an article published in
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The book is named for Iron Mountain, a decommissioned iron mine near
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Commentary on "Report From Iron Mountain" taken from Ch. 24 of
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L. C. Lewin, Writer of Satire Of Government Plot, Dies at 82,
500:"L. C. Lewin, Writer of Satire Of Government Plot, Dies at 82"
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Mark Epernay (pseudonym of John Kenneth Galbraith) (1964).
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Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War
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The Report from Iron Mountain went out of print in 1980.
928:," by Victor Navasky (backup of web page on archive.org)
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In a remembrance of E. L. Doctorow published in 2015 in
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360:, Victor Navasky asserted his involvement in creating
476:"So Long, E.L. Doctorow, It's Been Good to Know Yuh"
59:
49:
41:
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705:'"Hoax of Horror? A Book That Shook White House",
720:"News of War and Peace You're Not Ready For", by
316:In an article in the March 19, 1972, edition of
89:and has been translated into fifteen languages.
16:Book about war, allegedly from the US government
220:for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling
177:A new paperback edition was published in 2008.
332:devoted an issue to the debate over the book.
103:Monocle, an American political satire magazine
784:"Report From Iron Mountain, 'The Guest Word'"
8:
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244:Learn how and when to remove this message
1014:Conspiracy theories in the United States
809:"Conspiracy Theory Is a Hoax Gone Wrong"
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368:, two editors of the satirical magazine
113:, Richard Lingeman, and Victor Navasky.
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150:works created by the federal government
592:. Simon & Schuster. 28 July 2008.
833:Goldman, Andrew (November 22, 2012).
807:Navasky, Victor (November 15, 2013).
510:from the original on January 28, 2017
165:In response to the bootleg editions,
7:
887:from the original on August 12, 2015
752:"Gailbraith Says He Was Misquoted",
613:Rothman, Joshua (October 9, 2013).
378:and Richard Lingeman) and himself.
136:, a publisher notable for its many
847:from the original on June 26, 2017
456:Robert S. Boynton (May 13, 1996).
117:, who was then editor-in-chief at
97:The idea for the report came from
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1004:Written fiction presented as fact
941:Article from the Museum of Hoaxes
615:"The Many Lives of Iron Mountain"
568:Carvajal, Doreen (July 1, 1996).
498:Kifner, John (January 30, 1999).
546:Lake, Ellen (December 4, 1963).
268:reviewed in the book section of
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948:The Creature from Jekyll Island
835:"Oliver Stone Rewrites History"
795:The New York Times Book Review
325:Guinness Book of World Records
319:The New York Times Book Review
20:The Report from Iron Mountain
1:
71:The Report from Iron Mountain
950:, by G. Edward Griffin (PDF)
932:A Debunking of the scene in
708:U.S. News & World Report
260:U.S. News & World Report
429:Lewsin, Leonard C. (1967).
393:Military-industrial complex
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871:"E.L. Doctorow, 1931-2015"
773:, February 12, 1968, p. 8.
728:, November 26, 1967, p. 5.
109:and three Monocle editors
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916:Report From Iron Mountain
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693:Report from Iron Mountain
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148:, as is conventional for
123:The McLandress dimension.
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532:The McLandress dimension
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313:foreword – Mr. Lewin'."
667:. 1967. pp. 45–6.
366:John Kenneth Galbraith
284:John Kenneth Galbraith
154:copyright infringement
152:. Lewin sued them for
107:John Kenneth Galbraith
767:"Touche, Professor",
398:Military Keynesianism
101:and other editors of
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167:Simon & Schuster
737:"The Times Diary",
726:The Washington Post
722:Herschel McLandress
711:, November 20, 1967
695:. 1967. p. 98.
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653:. 1967. p. 39.
639:. 1967. p. 18.
552:The Harvard Crimson
278:, the pen name for
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271:The Washington Post
74:is a 1967 anti-war
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957:The New York Times
918:, by Leonard Lewin
840:The New York Times
789:2008-11-22 at the
574:The New York Times
535:. Hamish Hamilton.
504:The New York Times
224:You can assist by
159:The New York Times
93:Publishing history
813:New York Magazine
724:. Book World, in
458:"A Lefty Reunion"
442:978-0-440-57366-1
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876:The Nation
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480:The Nation
409:References
357:The Nation
293:Charles II
282:professor
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119:Dial Press
87:bestseller
54:Dial Press
770:The Times
755:The Times
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344:in 2013,
310:Cambridge
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297:The Times
234:June 2024
197:Reception
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869:(2015).
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382:See also
341:New York
304:or Mrs.
181:Synopsis
34:Language
371:Monocle
335:Esquire
280:Harvard
37:English
925:Report
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76:satire
893:2015
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