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95th out of 107 books
—
105 voters
I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have to be Destroyed by Me: Emblems from the Pentagon's Black World
They’re on the shoulder of all military personnel: patches that symbolize what their unit does. But what if that’s top secret?
“A fresh approach to secret government. It shows that these secret programs have their own culture, vocabulary and even sense of humor.”
—Steven Aftergood, The Federation of American Scientists
In a work that combines ingenious journalism and bizarrel...more
“A fresh approach to secret government. It shows that these secret programs have their own culture, vocabulary and even sense of humor.”
—Steven Aftergood, The Federation of American Scientists
In a work that combines ingenious journalism and bizarrel...more
Hardcover, 136 pages
Published
December 1st 2007
by Melville House
(first published January 28th 2007)
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In high school art class, I silk screen T-shirts with that said MAJESTIC 12 UFO RESCUE SQUAD...with a flying saucer hovering over an upside down triangle. I got a B- and ignored by the cheerleaders. If you want to be popular, don't seek the truth, kids.
***
Update: Not truly the blackest of ops, here. More off-white, gray or brown: test flights, satellites; to me, black-ops signals X-Files, reverse-engineered alien technology and secret moonbase operations.
***
Update: Not truly the blackest of ops, here. More off-white, gray or brown: test flights, satellites; to me, black-ops signals X-Files, reverse-engineered alien technology and secret moonbase operations.
A nicely designed but short collection of uniform patches collected from classified military projects. The author tries to interpret the patches to derive information about the nature of the projects. For example, a lot of them have six stars on them, which he suggests refers Area 51 (5+1, get it?) in Nevada. I don't buy all of his speculations but I do respect that there are a few of the patches on which he just admits he doesn't know what the hell they are for. A perfect little book to thumb t...more
The book summary listed does not describe this book. It is some publisher's hype, but not accurate. What this book does contain is a smattering of about 40 black world (or not) patches. The projects were not code named "None of your F-ing Business" as the synopsis states...those were just unofficial mottoes on some of the patches.
The author admits this is a very haphazard sampling of some patches, heavy on Area 51 projects. Not comprehensive. Not a historical record. Not even necessarily accura...more
The author admits this is a very haphazard sampling of some patches, heavy on Area 51 projects. Not comprehensive. Not a historical record. Not even necessarily accura...more
Trevor Paglen is an artist, an investigator and a provocateur. His book presents USA military patches used by the special foces or black ops troops. The patches are photographed and highlighted, their purpose and symbolism explained. Many of these patches were shown to him by black ops troops. The secrets these patches contain are fascinating. And, on another level, they wake us up to the fact that millions of dollars are spent on black ops and these secret troops now number 860,000, all on top...more
Intriguing, totally weird, little book. There's even a patch featuring a wraith from an ICP album cover.
Trevor Paglen, I Could Tell You but Then You Would Have to Be Destroyed by Me: Emblems from the Pentagon's Black World (Melville House Press, 2007)
As is usual, I haven't read reviews for this book before I started writing this one, but I'd be willing to make you a small bet given (a) what I know about the reviews of Trevor Paglen's other books and (b) what I know of Amazon reviewers in general: there are going to be a sizable minority of reviews of this book that are going to complain, perhaps a...more
As is usual, I haven't read reviews for this book before I started writing this one, but I'd be willing to make you a small bet given (a) what I know about the reviews of Trevor Paglen's other books and (b) what I know of Amazon reviewers in general: there are going to be a sizable minority of reviews of this book that are going to complain, perhaps a...more
This was an interesting book. Most of the patches had the kind of logos you would expect, apex predators and references to violence but some actually had cute animals (those were generally the patches for support for black ops).
I still find the idea that black ops have patches somewhat problematic but I think Paglen gave a reasonable explanation for the psychology behind it.
My favorite motto: Doing God's work with other people's money.
I still find the idea that black ops have patches somewhat problematic but I think Paglen gave a reasonable explanation for the psychology behind it.
My favorite motto: Doing God's work with other people's money.
I have just catalogued this book for my library. But my brain is still in processing mode, because ...
1. I marvel again and again that there seems to be no subject too peculiar to publish a book on.
2. I immediately thought of Alex and of Lila's brother in Hunting Lila. Maybe no fictional special unit is truely only fictional .... What do you think, Sarah Alderson?
1. I marvel again and again that there seems to be no subject too peculiar to publish a book on.
2. I immediately thought of Alex and of Lila's brother in Hunting Lila. Maybe no fictional special unit is truely only fictional .... What do you think, Sarah Alderson?
Shown here for the first time, these seventy-five patches reveal a secret world of military imagery and jargon, where classified projects are known by peculiar names ("Goat Suckers," "None of Your Fucking Business," "Tastes Like Chicken") and illustrated with occult symbols and ridiculous cartoons. Although the actual projects represented here (such as the notorious Area 51) are classified, these patches-which are worn by military units working on classified missions-are precisely photographed,...more
This is a very short book containing photographs of patches from secret projects and attempts to correlate the patch to particular secret projects. Obviously, there is not a lot to go on here besides conjecture. It's still a very interesting book worth a look.
Cool book for the coffee table, a conversation piece, nothing more. If you're into secret gov. programs these are nothing new. But if you enjoy seeing them put into a collection with a small description next to each, the book is worth having.
A collection of over 70 military patches tied to secret government operations. Some are explained, some are still technically classified and are eerily vague, like the one with an alien's head over a strange symbol with the message written in Latin "Let them hate so long as they fear."
Great little book, highly recommended.
Great little book, highly recommended.
Not what I expected, but interesting. This book is a series of images of Black-ops patches from the uniforms of those involved in different black projects. Each image is accompanied by a short description, but there's not a lot of background about the projects themselves.
From a heraldry perspective, it was interesting to see some of the modern interpretations of ancient devices. Dragons are a great example, having been present on the shields of many European warriors, they're still present but...more
From a heraldry perspective, it was interesting to see some of the modern interpretations of ancient devices. Dragons are a great example, having been present on the shields of many European warriors, they're still present but...more
Mostly joke patches or patches belonging to test and evaluation units. Most if not all patches belong to aerospace projects, and not to infantry or other ground units.
The subject matter of this book really appealed to me. The sense of humor in some of these black program patches is great and the book is a fun, quick read.
Cool collection of military patches from secret government programs. This definitely tickled my not-so-inner conspiracy theorist.
I am happy to say I found some errors in this book, and no I won't tell you what they were.
My blog on this book: http://douglevin.blogspot.com/2012/12....
Wonderfully eerie, and a great inspiration for spy novel/costume ideas
I love stuff like this.
I read about this book in the NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008...
and boy is it exciting. I just love how weird/adolescent/heavy metal these patches are, juxtaposed with the presumably pretty serious/scary world of black military ops. It also reminds me of my weird pog collection from the 90s...trying to decipher what these odd little circles might mean.
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008...
and boy is it exciting. I just love how weird/adolescent/heavy metal these patches are, juxtaposed with the presumably pretty serious/scary world of black military ops. It also reminds me of my weird pog collection from the 90s...trying to decipher what these odd little circles might mean.
This book shows the emblems from various classified military projects and explains some of the symbology behind them. Unfortunately, all the projects seem to be Air Force projects. As an Army vet living in a Navy time, I would have liked to see the other branches represented.
The title of the book is magnificently awkward but it is inspired by one of the emblems so it is appropriate.
The title of the book is magnificently awkward but it is inspired by one of the emblems so it is appropriate.
Absolutely fascinating look at the secret world of patches in the military. Paglen did an amazing amount of investigation and work to uncover these patches, and, more importantly, the world they represent. This book -- with its title on the cover on a real patch -- is fascinating even if you don't care at all about patches, the military, secret operations...
A friend bought me this as a present for me letting her stay at my house. It's a great coffee table book that shows and explains military patches from secret missions like Area-51 and stuff like that. This book will have you looking over your should after reading it out of fear that you just found out something you weren't supposed to about the government.
Mar 11, 2010
Leah
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-for-everyday-work
A great book about a collection of Pentagon badges and secrets unlocked! This is a little book that will make your eyes go wide as you discover little secrets in a woven badge. It's a quick read and fun to share with friends.
Not a challenge to read or anything, but this was fun. An amateur, not at all professional look at the possible meanings behind black ops badges that the military uses. Fun.
Delightful little book about the semiology of patches worn by civilian contractors working on Pentagon "black budget" projects. Alternately funny and disturbing.
This book is intriguing and very informative. For example, I learned the latin for "tastes like chicken." Two thumbs, way up.
Apr 01, 2008
Gemma
marked it as to-read
This looks awesome. Also, proof that the military is full of overgrowm little boys. But we knew that already.
wonderful book. Revealing and shocking symbology behind cia/military patches
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Trevor Paglen is an artist, writer, and experimental geographer whose work deliberately blurs lines between social science, contemporary art, journalism, and other disciplines to construct unfamiliar, yet meticulously researched ways to see and interpret the world around us.
Paglen's visual work has been exhibited at Transmediale Festival, Berlin; The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Institute of Co...more
More about Trevor Paglen...
Paglen's visual work has been exhibited at Transmediale Festival, Berlin; The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Institute of Co...more
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Their Queen,
~S
Mar 07, 2008 02:17pm
Congrats on the poetry reading! Will it be both poetry and prose? Any works-in-progress?
Mar 07, 2008 03:03pm
I'm hoping to do b...more
Mar 07, 2008 03:09pm