An early-morning call to Rachel Echon, an analyst at Pacific Group, turns out to be the beginning of a harrowing six months in which she ends up in the middle of a high-stakes international financial battle. The publisher who called her turns out to be a member of the White Dragon Family, a group of wealthy Asians who are trying to recover some of the wealth they believe was stolen from them by the West. The Dragons have one of the two sets of maps that can help recover the famous Yamashita gold, and they seek Rachels help in bargaining for the other set, knowing that she is the widowed daughter-in-law of one of the most powerful bankers in America. She ends up traveling to the Philippines, where she meets the leading members of the Dragon Family, visits a recently opened Yamashita site, and reconnects with her fathers family. After nearly being killed in the ensuing intrigue, Rachel eventually ends up being rescued into the arms of her publisher and loverher White Spiritual Boy.

In 1945, US intelligence officers in Manila discovered that the Japanese had hidden large quantities of gold bullion and other looted treasure in the Philippines. President Truman decided to recover the gold but to keep its riches secret. These, combined with Japanese treasure recovered during the US occupation, and with recovered Nazi loot, would create a worldwide American political action fund to fight communism. This 'Black Gold' gave Washington virtually limitless, unaccountable funds, providing an asset base to reinforce the treasuries of America's allies, to bribe political and military leaders, and to manipulate elections in foreign countries for more than fifty years.

Octopus is a real-life thriller that tells the inside story of an audacious hedge fund fraud and the wild search, by a colorful cast of rogues and schemers, for a “secret market” beneath the financial market we all know. Sam Israel was a man who seemed to have it all – until the hedge fund he ran, Bayou, imploded and he became the target of a nationwide manhunt. Born into one of America’s most illustrious trading families, Israel was determined to strike out on his own. So after apprenticing with one of the greatest hedge fund traders of the 1980’s, Sam founded his own fund and promised his investors guaranteed profits. With the proprietary computer program he’d created, he claimed to be able to predict the future. But his future was already beginning to unravel. After suffering devastating losses and fabricating fake returns, Israel knew it was only a matter of time before his real performance would be discovered, so when a former black-ops intelligence operative told him about a “secret market” run by the Fed, Israel bet his last $150 million on a chance to make billions. Thus began his year-long adventure in “the Upperworld” -- a society populated by clandestine bankers, shady European nobility, and spooks issuing cryptic warnings about a mysterious cabal known as the Octopus. Whether the “secret market” was real or a con, Israel was all in – and as the pressures mounted and increasingly sinister violence crept into his life, he struggled to break free of the Octopus’ tentacles.

Includes over 30 illustrations As in Nazi occupied countries that were liberated by the Allies, horrible crimes had been uncovered, perpetrated in the name of superior culture on defenceless civilians and prisoners of war. As the emaciated American, British, Australian soldiers emerged from the prisoner of war camps with barbaric tales of torture, mistreatment and neglect, it was clear that justice must be sought. The U.S. Military fixed on two Japanese generals who were foremost in causing and ordering these outrages, the conqueror of Malaya Tomoyuki Yamahsita and the notorious “Death March” Masaharu Homma. Lt. Col. Kenworthy was a member of the U.S. military police assigned to the Philippines and saw at first hand the military tribunal ordered at the express command of General MacArthur. He was detailed to guard both Yamashita and Homma during the trial and was able to view their reactions to the detailed evidence that was used against them. He was determined to write this account of this momentous event, he recorded not only the evidence of the crimes but also the stoic calm with which the two generals faced the weight of Allied Justice. A fascinating sidelight on the ending of the World War Two.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 The Ilocos region of Luzon is a dry, impoverished area that was settled by Ilocano tribes. The first European to visit the area was Spanish conquistador Juan de Salcedo, who established the settlement of Manila in 1571. #2 The Ilocano are a very superstitious people, and their family cell and blood clan are extremely important to them. They are extremely loyal to these two things, and will do anything for them. #3 The Ilocanos, as a people, have a long history of dreaming of escaping their hometowns. They have been historically employed as domestics and drivers, but many have emigrated to undeveloped Mindanao, the Middle East, and Hawaii. #4 Ferdinand’s father, Fructuoso Edralin, was a relatively prosperous peasant who owned 80 hectares of irrigated rice land and coffee plantation along the river in the barrio of Dingras near Sarrat. His mother, Josefa Edralin, was a tough, resourceful woman who had to work hard because her husband was a spendthrift.

Long-buried fortunes, a dangerous treasure hunt, and one WWII pilot determined to uncover the truth. In the thick of WWII, the Japanese Imperial Army buried vast plundered treasures in the Philippines and on off-shore islands. RAF pilot and former POW Alex Radcliff is one of the few men who know the truth. He swore an oath to only reveal the existence of the war loot after the death of members of Japan’s Imperial Family – and half a century later, a string of events launches him into action. Teaming up with his grandson Michael and the boy’s cousin Julia, the trio embarks on a dangerous quest to unravel the long-forgotten mystery and uncover the secret coded maps that lead to the buried fortunes. From the fiercely disputed islands of the South China Sea to infamous Thai prisons, the Vatican City, and drug lords in Hawaii, Alex’s quest will pit him against deadly enemies and even deadlier allies – all the while battling against the greed that has plagued humanity for millennia. But Alex isn’t the only one who wants to find the coded maps – and if he isn’t careful, somebody else could get there first... Dive into a thrilling historical fiction novel that takes readers on a wild journey into an untold part of WWII. Artfully combining high-octane action and riveting suspense with real historical details and larger-than-life characters, Alex & General Yamashita’s Hidden Maps is a must-read for fans of historical fiction and action & adventure! Scroll up and grab your copy today!

The CIA, Dallas, and the Hard Details of the JFK Assassination Coup in Dallas leaves speculation and theory aside to give the hard details of who killed President John F. Kennedy and how the assassination plot was carried out. Through exhaustive research and newly translated documents, author H. P. Albarelli uncovers and explains the historical roots of state-sponsored assassination, finding disturbing parallels to the assassination of JFK. Albarelli goes beyond conventional JFK assassination theory to piece together the biographies of the lesser-known but instrumental players in the incident, such as Otto Skorzeny, Pierre Lafitte, James Jesus Angleton, Santo Trafficante, and others. Albarelli provides shocking detail on the crucial role that the city of Dallas and its officials played in the maintenance of Dallas as a major hub of CIA activity, and how it led to JFK’s assassination and its cover-up. Go beyond LBJ, Lee Harvey Oswald, and Jack Ruby, and read the full, definitive account of what happened on November 22, 1963—and how it came to fruition.