The Camel Club is a group of fictional characters created by American novelist David Baldacci. They are the protagonists of five of his novels: The Camel Club, The Collectors, Stone Cold, Divine Justice, and Hell's Corner . The original members are Oliver Stone, Reuben Rhodes, Caleb Shaw, and Milton Farb. The four are political watch-dogs, who are always looking for conspiracies within the government.
Oliver Stone is the leader of the Camel Club. Stone is the crypt keeper of the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church. Stone is a false name (his real name, though rarely used, is John Carr), taken because of the real Oliver Stone's conspiracy theory-themed movies. Stone is an ex-Green Beret and a former member of the esteemed and fictional "Triple Six" division of the CIA that was composed of highly skilled government assassins. Stone himself is also monitored by the government, which constantly has agents watching him. In Stone Cold, people connected to Stone's past are killed by Harry Finn, whose ultimate goal is to kill former CIA Director Carter Gray.
A West Point graduate and Vietnam vet, Reuben worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency but quit and became a war protester. After a few years of drug usage in England, Rhodes returned to the States, where he met Stone, who got him a job unloading trucks. He and Stone are the best marksmen in the group.
Caleb Shaw is an employee of the Rare Book Wing of the Library of Congress. He, like Rhodes, was a protester of the Vietnam war. Shaw holds twin doctorates in political science and eighteenth century literature. Shaw is also known for always wearing clothing from the 19th century. In The Collectors, Shaw's boss is murdered in the sealed Rare Book Room.
Farb is a child prodigy who suffers from extreme obsessive-compulsive disorder and paranoia. As a child, his parents had him act in a side show, adding extremely high numbers in his head and reciting extremely long sections of text without faltering. As is shown in Stone Cold, Farb's gifts allow him to win extremely high amounts of money at casino games, such as blackjack. Farb was hired by the National Health Institute, but was fired after sending a threatening letter to the President. Stone met him and got him on the TV show Jeopardy! With medication, Farb was able to make a small fortune, with which he started a company for designing Web sites. Farb was the first of the group to warm up to Annabelle Conroy. He is later killed by a sniper during a confrontation with CIA agent Carter Gray in the climax of Stone Cold.
Along with the original four, the Camel Club acquires additional members from people who share similar goals.
A Secret Service agent, Ford helps the group in the first book, The Camel Club, as they try to uncover a conspiracy that involves the kidnapping of President James H. Brennan and a captured Muslim terrorist. He is made a member of the Club at the end of the book. In The Collectors, Oliver Stone asks for Ford's help as part of the climax of the novel. In Stone Cold, he helps Annabelle Conroy in her escape from casino king and mobster, Jerry Bagger.
A lawyer with the Department of Justice (DOJ), part-time bartender and Alex Ford's girlfriend. She, too, assists the Camel Club in The Camel Club, and becomes a member at the end of the book. She and Ford have broken up by Stone Cold.
A compulsive thief, Conroy runs scams on people to steal large amounts of money, including stealing millions from New Jersey mob boss Jerry Bagger. Conroy was briefly married (annulled) to Jonathan DeHaven, the director of the Rare Book Room at the Library of Congress. DeHaven's house was found to be the hiding place for a first edition of the Bay Psalm Book, which was later revealed to have been stolen by Conroy. During Stone Cold she joins the Camel Club in the fight against Jerry Bagger and Harry Finn.
JFK is a 1991 American epic political thriller film written and directed by Oliver Stone. It examines the investigation into the assassination of John F. Kennedy by New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison, who came to believe there was a conspiracy to assassinate Kennedy and that Lee Harvey Oswald was a scapegoat.
Abbot Howard Hoffman was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponent of the Flower Power movement.
Harry Robbins "Bob" Haldeman was an American political aide and businessman, best known for his service as White House Chief of Staff to President Richard Nixon and his consequent involvement in the Watergate scandal.
James Carothers Garrison was the District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, from 1962 to 1973 and later a state appellate court judge. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best known for his investigations into the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the prosecution of New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw to that effect in 1969, which ended in Shaw's acquittal. He wrote three published books, one of which became a prime source for Oliver Stone's film JFK in 1991, in which Garrison was portrayed by Kevin Costner, while Garrison himself made a cameo appearance as Earl Warren.
On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally's wife Nellie, when he was fatally shot from the nearby Texas School Book Depository by Lee Harvey Oswald, a former U.S. Marine. The motorcade rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where Kennedy was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after the shooting; Connally was also wounded in the attack but recovered. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was hastily sworn in as president two hours and eight minutes later aboard Air Force One at Dallas Love Field.
Everette Howard Hunt Jr. was an American intelligence officer and author. From 1949 to 1970, Hunt served as an officer in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where he was a central figure in U.S. regime change in Latin America including the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état and the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion in Cuba. Along with G. Gordon Liddy, Frank Sturgis, and others, Hunt was one of the Nixon administration's so-called White House Plumbers, a team of operatives charged with identifying government leaks to outside parties.
Clay LaVergne Shaw was an American businessman, military officer, and part-time contact of the Domestic Contact Service (DCS) of the CIA. Shaw is best known for being the only person brought to trial for involvement in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Shaw was acquitted in 1969 after less than one hour of jury deliberation, but some conspiracy theorists continue to speculate on his possible involvement.
David Baldacci is an American novelist. An attorney by education, Baldacci writes mainly suspense novels and legal thrillers.
The Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF) was an anti-communist cultural organization founded on June 26, 1950 in West Berlin. At its height, the CCF was active in thirty-five countries. In 1966 it was revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency was instrumental in the establishment and funding of the group. The congress aimed to enlist intellectuals and opinion makers in a war of ideas against communism.
On March 1, 1967, New Orleans District attorney Jim Garrison arrested and charged New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw with conspiring to assassinate President Kennedy, with the help of Lee Harvey Oswald, David Ferrie, and others. On January 29, 1969, Shaw was brought to trial in Orleans Parish Criminal Court on these charges. On March 1, 1969, a jury took less than an hour to find Shaw not guilty. It remains the only trial to be brought for the assassination of President Kennedy.
The Collectors is a thriller novel written by American author David Baldacci. The book was published by Warner Books on October 17, 2006. This is the second installment to feature the Camel Club, a small group of Washington, D.C. civilian misfits led by "Oliver Stone", an ex-Green Beret and a former CIA trained assassin. On November 5, 2006, the novel debuted at No. 2 on The New York Times Best Seller list and remained on the list for seven weeks.
David William Belin was an attorney for the Warren Commission and the Rockefeller Commission. Belin was a partner in a Des Moines, Iowa law firm and, with former NBC News president Michael Gartner, was co-owner of The Tribune in Ames, Iowa.
Perry Raymond Russo was an American insurance salesman who became the key witness for the prosecution in the trial of Clay Shaw in New Orleans in 1969. Russo claimed that in September 1963, he witnessed businessman and civic leader Clay Shaw conspiring with Lee Harvey Oswald and David Ferrie to assassinate U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
The CIA Kennedy assassination is a prominent John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory. According to ABC News, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is represented in nearly every theory that involves American conspirators. The secretive nature of the CIA, and the conjecture surrounding the high-profile political assassinations in the United States during the 1960s, has made the CIA a plausible suspect for some who believe in a conspiracy. Conspiracy theorists have ascribed various motives for CIA involvement in the assassination of President Kennedy, including Kennedy's firing of CIA director Allen Dulles, Kennedy's refusal to provide air support to the Bay of Pigs invasion, Kennedy's plan to cut the agency's budget by 20 percent, and the belief that the president was weak on communism. In 1979, the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded that the CIA was not involved in the assassination of Kennedy.
The assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, has spawned numerous conspiracy theories. These theories allege the involvement of the CIA, the Mafia, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro, the KGB, or some combination of these individuals and entities. Some conspiracy theories have alleged a coverup by parts of the federal government, such as the original FBI investigators, the Warren Commission, or the CIA. Former Los Angeles District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi estimated that a total of 42 groups, 82 assassins, and 214 people had been accused at one time or another in various conspiracy scenarios.
Jamie Ford is an American author. He is best known for his debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. The book spent 130 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List, and was also awarded best "Adult Fiction" book at the 2010 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature. The book was also named the No. 1 Book Club Pick for Fall 2009/Winter 2010 by the American Booksellers Association.
The Camel Club is a crime novel by American writer David Baldacci. This is the first book to feature the Camel Club, a small group of Washington, D.C. civilian misfits led by "Oliver Stone", an ex-Green Beret and a former CIA trained assassin. The book was initially published on October 25, 2005, by Grand Central Publishing.
Stone Cold is a crime thriller written by David Baldacci. This is the third book to feature the Camel Club, a small group of Washington, D.C. civilian misfits led by "Oliver Stone", an ex-Green Beret and a former CIA trained assassin. The book was initially published on November 6, 2007, by Grand Central Publishing.
Divine Justice is a crime novel written by American author David Baldacci. This is the fourth installment to feature the Camel Club. The book was initially published on November 4, 2008, by Grand Central Publishing.
Hell's Corner is a crime novel written by David Baldacci. This is the fifth and final installment to feature the Camel Club, a small group of Washington, D.C. civilian misfits led by "Oliver Stone", an ex-Green Beret and a former CIA trained assassin. The book was initially published on November 9, 2010, by Grand Central Publishing.