I Could Tell You but Then You Would Have to Be Destroyed by Me: Emblems from the Pentagon's Black World (Hardcover)

Trevor Paglen

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See other premiums in Books | Government

A Tantalizing and Innovative Introduction to the World of Military Secret Operations Through Insignias

BuzzFlash.com's Review (excerpt)

Maybe we should begin this book review with a note about the author: Trevor Paglen is an expert on clandestine military operations -- to the extent that one can gather such information without being sent to Guantanamo. He leads expeditions to the secret bases of the American west and is the author, with AC Thompson, of Torture Taxi.

Then we should note that this is not a book for everyone, but it is a curious delight for those who have an interest in the billions of dollars that are spent on secret military projects. Although, as a further qualification, you won't find a lot of details about them, but rather tantalizing hints at what they do.

Now, Paglen has an unusual approach to these clandestine operations in this book. He has put together a collection of 75 patches that represent "black ops" units, and then done some groundwork to provide at least some information about what they might be up to do, even if it is general in nature, because the work of these units is, well, secret. But their patches are not, at least not now.

So each of the 75 patches is offered on a glossy page in color reproduction, with an "explanatory" page facing it.

And the cover of the book has its title embroidered on as an emblem. How neat is that?

Paglen, the author, readily admits that he can't confirm every patch as 100% accurate because of the secrecy of the units. But his notes about the emblems clearly show that he's done his homework, as best he can without getting arrested.

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More about the author, Trevor Paglen:

Trevor Paglen is an artist, writer, and experimental geographer working out of the Department of Geography at the University of California, Berkeley. His work involves deliberately blurring the lines between social science, contemporary art, and a host of even more obscure disciplines in order to construct unfamiliar, yet meticulously researched ways to interpret the world around us. His most recent projects take up secret military bases, the California prison system, and the CIA’s practice of “extraordinary rendition.”

Paglen’s artwork has been shown at the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art (2003), the California College of the Arts (2002), MASSMOCA (2006), Halle 14 - Stiftung Federkiel (2006), Diverse Works (2005), and numerous other arts venues, universities, conferences, and public spaces. He has had one-person shows at Deadtech (2001) and the LAB (2005). In November, 2006 he will have a solo exhibition at Bellwether Gallery (2006).

Paglen has published articles in Blu Magazine, Art Journal, Cultural Geographies, Clamor Magazine, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, the Leonardo Music Journal, and Cabinet Magazine. His first book, Torture Taxi: On the Trail of the CIA’s Rendition Flights (co-authored with AC Thompson) will be published by Melville House in the Fall of 2006.

Paglen holds a BA from UC Berkeley, an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and is currently completing a PhD in the Department of Geography at the University of California at Berkeley.

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Hardcover: 136 pages
Publisher: Melville House Publishing (January 28, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1933633328
Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches

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