W. Cleon Skousen (1913–2006)

Having read many books on Communism including works by Karl Marx and Engels, bios on Stalin and Mao Tse Tung, and numerous history books about Soviet Russia and China, I was totally shocked by the information presented in "The Naked Communist". W. Cleon Skousen, author of over 20 books and formerly employed by the FBI for over 15 years, does a good job in explaining the Communist origins, philosophy, goals, and methods of operation. In fact, a good portion of this information corresponds show more with the content of J. Edgar Hoover’s "Master’s of Deceit."

Skousen also excels in telling the Communist history, revealing a plethora of facts and details. I never before realized that Soviet Russia was directly responsible and personally orchestrated the takeover of ALL communist regimes. Skousen describes the nightmare of how Soviet Russia got their claws into countries by using their highly trained secret operatives and agents, schooled in the Lenin Institute - The Russian Communist Academy to takeover Manchuria and mainland China, North Korea, Cuba, and the Belgium Congo, aside from all the Russian satellite puppet countries of Eastern Europe.

And even more shocking, the USA allowed and actively helped some of it to occur, turning a blind eye and refusing to give moral support or send arms to the struggling victims in desperate need of assistance to prevent the takeovers. In fact, the USA actively discouraged other countries from taking sides. After WW II President Roosevelt negotiated a flawed UN agreement that literally gave Soviet Russia the freedom to control the organization. Within a mere 5 years during the Democratic administrations of FDR and Truman the Communists managed to swallow up and enslave more than 500,000,000 people in China, and another 100,000,000 were trapped behind the Iron Curtain.

As early as the 1950s members of Hollywood’s elite were blatantly voicing support for communism, expressing encouragement to Castro. Does it come as a shock to you that Lucille Ball was a card carrying member of the Communist party?

Of even greater concern is the fact that Communists are still gnawing away at the United States: infiltrating our government, education system, civil liberty organizations, and the media, preying on well-meaning liberals for support, and trying to ruin our traditions, culture, and freedom in an effort to achieve world domination, all a part of their planned New World Order. The Naked Communist was written in 1958 and W. Cleon Skousen was labeled a conspiracy theorist, but all his predictions for the future have come true: the destruction of historical monuments, the degradation of our Founding Fathers, the censorship of free speech, attempts to destroy our confidence in the police, and denigrating religion.

I finally understand why there was a “RED Scare” in the United States. What is now portrayed as bloated exaggeration of Communist threats during the late 1940s and early 1950s was indeed a legitimate life threatening concern for the USA. In fact, today there is a more imminent danger than ever before.

The author offers many meaningful quotes throughout this work. One example:
“If America’s wealth were spread around the world it would soon be dissipated, but if her system of free government and free enterprise were spread around the world, nations would soon find them to be perpetual producers of wealth.”

If the public education system truly values our freedom, perhaps our teachers should be assigning "The Naked Communist" as required reading material instead of pure propaganda like "White Fragility". show less

An excellent resource for the layman to begin to understand the LDS faith. Appears to have been written for the young reader (~ages 11-15 yrs). The origin story for the LDS faith is complicated, this is a good primer on the subject. Would highly recommend to anyone who wants to know more about the LDS faith without speaking directly to a member. I love learning about various religions, but don't necessarily want to give anyone my name. I just want to learn, not convert. This book lays out show more beliefs in a manner as easy as possible, which is not saying much - it is pretty clear early church leaders "explained" things, then were asked for clarifications, so things got more complicated with each explaination...it is a very complicated set of beliefs. show less

The book is a very fascinating and in-depth review of the constitution, the influences of the time that helped to shape the Founding Father's thoughts as they wrote it, and quotes from the Founding Fathers to clarify, confirm, and warn Americans of their belief in the importance of maintaining the basic principles of the Constitution. The author rides a very fine line of guiding Americans in their implied responsibilities with the constitution, warning of the dangers of our not remaining show more vigilant in protecting the rights established for us through the constitution. It is, as one review on Amazon pointed out, "an incredible book that should be read by all Americans." (S. Peek, Amazon.com) But I would take it one step further, and say that this is a book that should be read by anyone who believes in freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and wishes to protect their own freedoms in the countries in which they live. It is also a book which I feel is important to re-read as often as necessary to keep these precepts fresh in our minds. I do not know if I agree with everything the author says, but as a whole, this book is brilliant and really hit home for me!

As we enter yet another election year, I feel that it is more important than ever for people to read (or re-read, as the case may be) this book and consider these principles and take a close look at who we are voting for. We need to take our duties seriously, if we wish to maintain our freedoms. An educated people is a happy people, and sadly as Americans we have let our political education slip, not studying our candidates and their policies before we elect them. I am not promoting one candidate or another, and neither does this book. That is what I love about it. The point is not "who is right, the Republicans or the Democrats?" The point is that we as a people need to be vigilant in protecting our rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!" show less

All my life, I've studied our Constitution and the Founding Fathers, so it was a delight to actually learn quite a few new things in this excellent book.