Bond of Secrecy: My Life with CIA Spy and Watergate Conspirator E. Howard Hunt Paperback – November 19, 2012

Bond of Secrecy tells the story of Saint John Hunt and his interactions with his father, E. Howard Hunt. It dives into the JFK, Watergate, Bay of Pigs (among others) mysteries, but also is a good father-and-son relationship story.Before reading this, I was never aware of the strain that Watergate caused the Hunt family- what a devastating time it was for all of them!After the mysterious death of Howard's wife from a plane crash (possibly murdered), the family sort of becomes estranged, and Saint John basically lives the "outlaw" life-drug experimentation, music gigging, frequent travel, etc. It's not until near the end of his life that Saint John reestablishes the bond that exists between him and his father. Though on the surface it seems they are polar opposites, they do share a strong father-son relationship.Unfortunately, though loving and supportive, Howard Hunt's new family has absolutely no interest in digging anything up of the past that may lead to further drama, esp. involving the JFK assassination. Saint John, realizes that his father has something of potential historic value to reveal, presses time to meet with his father, but is often "blocked" when trying to visit him at the hospital by sudden visitations from members of his new family. They tend to "pop up" at the worst possible times- right when he is about to ask important questions.E. Howard Hunt eventually does start to reveal what he knows about the JFK murder, and talks of a meeting in Miami in the summer of 1963 where Frank Sturgis and David Morales is present. Through Morales, he is introduced and is asked to be part of a plot to get rid of JFK. Also, through Morales we learn the basic "chain of command" that is involved, of which rogue CIA agent William "Bill" Harvey is part.I won't go into all the details but several names also show up such as Cord Meyer, Antonio Veciana, LBJ, and a potential French Assassin (Sarti). We learn more about interviews with Hunt concerning JFK. At this point, the reader can't help but wonder why some follow-up questions weren't asked, such as:How do we know that David Morales' story via Bill Harvey was the real deal?Given the complicated nature of Bill Harvey, anything is believable but it could be that he gave a misleading back-track chain of command. It could be that Bill Harvey was really under the direction of other government officials and he just threw out the name LBJ to give it some sort of national security legitimacy.The revelation of CIA figures like Cord Meyer and Bill Harvey being planners is believable, but one can't help but realize other individuals in the military-industrial complex MUST have been involved as well, since they certainly had the motive (greed) for a new administration.Also, the mention of a French assassin is ofcourse worth considering, but I can't help but wonder whether or not The Men Who Killed Kennedy played any role in planting this idea.In the end, we really never find out HOW E. Howard Hunt came across his information either, which is a bit of a problem. We don't know whether he just got this information through the rumor mill or from direct conversations he had.Maybe a future edition of this book will help clear up some of these questions.Still, with all the unanswered questions, the information is highly revealing and quite believable.While we know that E. Howard Hunt was in Dallas on Nov.22, 1963, what happened is still synonymous with Hunt's life; covered by a veil of secrecy.

This book was full of good information, but I felt Saint John rushed in telling it. It would have been interesting to know more background history of his father, and also more back ground of their family life. I am also curious to know more about his relationship with his siblings today!

This is an important primary source for future historians, derived in part, as it is, from admissions made by lifelong CIA spy and Watergate conspirator, E. Howard Hunt. Hunt was involved in the Bay of Pigs operation, and was well-acquainted with the cabal within the agency who despised JFK and considered him a threat to national security at the height of the Cold War. Along with Peter Janney's "Mary's Mosaic," it is a book by the son of CIA parents who admitted and took for granted that the CIA routinely employed contract killers and employed them against American citizens and civilians. This is not so terribly shocking, given that the CIA worked hand in hand with the Mafia on certain operations in the early Cold War years.E. Howard Hunt's name is added to a long list of "insiders" who have also implicated Lyndon Johnson in JFK's murder. The list includes LBJ's business factor, Billie Sol Estes (whose confessions can now be read only in French, it seems); LBJ's girlfriend, Madeline Brown; LBJ's lawyers, Cliff Carter, Barr McClellan and (through McClellan) Don Thomas; and Oswald's assassin, Jack Ruby.Hunt vacillated on making his confession, and then died, so his facts are not extensive. His remarks on LBJ's motives are limited to LBJ's insane lust for power and his corrupt nature, which you can also read about in Caro's series of biographies. LBJ's extreme personal, political and potentially criminal liability in 1963 is not extensively dealt with, but is available in other sources, particularly in the confessions of Estes, which are available in a French book by journalist William Reymond (but one must read both of Reymond's books on JFK to get the full picture).Hunt focuses on the CIA angle, as you'd expect. The names he names are all the ones that researchers have now concluded are likely correct, except that, as noted by St. John Hunt's co-writer, he adds Cord Meyer to the mix. Meyer's is not a name that frequently comes up in the other sources. For more on Meyer, see Janney's book on the murder of Meyer's wife, who was also one of JFK's mistresses.Hunt places Lucien Sarti behind the picket fence on the knoll for the kill shot, and discusses his recruitment through William Harvey. In JFK lore, the names of the shooters are more likely to change than those of the plotters. However, this book includes the drunken confession of CIA hit man David Morales, another primary source who talked. (He has elsewhere admitted also to involvement in RFK's death, and has been identified as having been present for that.)The book is short, but is quite interesting. It is also the human story of how the tragedies of clandestine operations affect the well-heeled families of the people who typically do this sort of work. Good information about Watergate, also.

The subject of this book is E. Howard Hunt and some of the secrets he divulged to his son.Hunt had an interesting life and no doubt he took a lot of those secrets to the grave.In the category of JFK assassination books this one is different. The author shares details about his life growing up as a son of a CIA operative. The personal details are something you don't find in most of these books. There was a battle inside the family over what the elder Hunt might share about the assassination. Was there more? You get the sense that there was but the window closed too soon.The information that St. John Hunt provides focus more on the JFK assassination than say, Watergate or the Bay of Pigs operation. In that regard, what he did manage to pull from his father was very interesting! This book reaffirms what I have read in other books and adds a few more characters to the plot. Is everything E.Howard Hunt said truthful? To me that is hard to judge. He was after all, a CIA operative and he did lie about some things.I would not rate this as the best book on the JFK assassination or the most informative by any means.It is worth reading and it did point me to some more books on the subject.The value is in how it reaffirms other work on the subject.

Vielen Dank

Congratulations to Saint John Hunt in understanding the chain-of-command and unlocking other mysteries involving the CIA and Lyndon Johnson's involvement in the assassination of President Kennedy. Saint John Hunt in spite of great opposition by his family has carefully preserved and woven together attempts by his father E Howard Hunt to confess about the CIA's and LBJ's involvement in the Kennedy assassination. If the mainstream American media wasn't so gutless and under control of the CIA and other parties whose sole interest is to paint Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone assassin with ludicrous media programs that are an insult to our intelligence, the American public might know more about the assassination. Hopefully one day "the land of the free and the home of the brave" really will allow freedom in the Media to present the truth and to allow "the brave" writers and spokesman to speak out about what really happened and how darkness in high positions dealt democracy a sad blow on November 22, 1963. The book also offers insights into Watergate and the mysterious death of Saint John's mother in a plane crash while delivering pay-off funds for those involved in the Watergate break-in. America, time to clean up your act.

Somehoe expected a little more feom this book. Took a while to get it and was very much looking forward to it. Really think the father put his work before his family. Liked the book but very sad at times.