Mary Jo McConahay

“A fascinating, investigative dive . . . both alarming and enlightening.” — Jane Mayer, author of Dark Money The definitive account of how a group of American Catholic bishops are using “dark money” and allying with ultra-right evangelicals in an attempt to remake America . . . Seasoned Catholic journalist and former war correspondent Mary Jo McConahay tells the story of how the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops have become one of the most formidable and reactionary forces in America — by campaigning to alter democratic institutions under the guise of religious liberty, and allying with major right-wing contributors such as the Kochs. In fact, many of the bishops—two-hundred and twenty-nine men, almost all white and beyond middle age—are such staunch opponents of Pope Francis that some US Catholics fear a schism with Rome. The influence of these bishops can be traced in recent news stories—such was when they maneuvered to deny the Eucharist to pro-abortion politicians like President Biden. With their lay partners, the bishops also help shepherd cases into the Supreme Court that change the law of the land, as with Roe v. Wade. But as McConahay details, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In an investigation reminiscent of Jane Mayer’s Dark Money, she uncovers an ominous and long-term political strategy of attacking secular, liberal democracy by waging war on democratic norms and institutions.

American Catholic Bishops and The Far Right

Playing God

One of WW2 Reads "Top 20 Must-Read WWII Books of 2018" • A Christian Science Monitor Best Book of September • One of The Progressive's "Favorite Books of 2018" "Masterful...not only filled with engrossing history but includes a cast of characters who could be the subject of Hollywood movies." —San Francisco Chronicle "Riveting...McConahay is a seasoned storyteller. Her stories are gripping, especially when she dives deep into little-known waters." —The Wall Street Journal "Fascinating...In McConahay's telling, wartime Latin America is a hotbed of skullduggery, violence, and cinematic propaganda straight out of Hollywood." —Christian Science Monitor The gripping and little known story of the fight for the allegiance of Latin America during World War II The Tango War by Mary Jo McConahay fills an important gap in WWII history. Beginning in the thirties, both sides were well aware of the need to control not just the hearts and minds but also the resources of Latin America. The fight was often dirty: residents were captured to exchange for U.S. prisoners of war and rival spy networks shadowed each other across the continent. At all times it was a Tango War, in which each side closely shadowed the other’s steps. Though the Allies triumphed, at the war’s inception it looked like the Axis would win. A flow of raw materials in the Southern Hemisphere, at a high cost in lives, was key to ensuring Allied victory, as were military bases supporting the North African campaign, the Battle of the Atlantic and the invasion of Sicily, and fending off attacks on the Panama Canal. Allies secured loyalty through espionage and diplomacy—including help from Hollywood and Mickey Mouse—while Jews and innocents among ethnic groups —Japanese, Germans—paid an unconscionable price. Mexican pilots flew in the Philippines and twenty-five thousand Brazilians breached the Gothic Line in Italy. The Tango War also describes the machinations behind the greatest mass flight of criminals of the century, fascists with blood on their hands who escaped to the Americas. A true, shocking account that reads like a thriller, The Tango War shows in a new way how WWII was truly a global war.

The Struggle for the Hearts, Minds and Riches of Latin America During World War II

The Tango War

McConahay draws upon her three decades of traveling and living in Central America's remote landscapes to create a fascinating chronicle of the people, politics, archaeology, and species of the Central American rainforest, the cradle of Maya civilization.Captivated by the magnificence and mystery of the jungle, the author brings to life the intense beauty, the fantastic locales, the ancient ruins, and the horrific violence. She witnesses archaeological discoveries, the transformation of the Lacandon people, the Zapatista indigenous uprising in Mexico, increased drug trafficking, and assists in the uncovering of a war crime. Over the decades, McConahay has witnessed great changes in the region, and this is a unique tale of a woman's adventure and the adaptation and resolve of a people--From publisher description.

One Woman's Journey Among the People of the Rainforest

Maya Roads

A stunning memoir by California Book Award winner Mary Jo McConahay, from her years reporting for national magazines from Central America. When three colleagues die violently during a single wartime election day in Central America, two female journalists, best friends, are hurled into a torrent of change in their personal and professional lives and in their relationship with each other. The author, bedeviled by stress and feelings of abandonment, hangs on by her fingernails to reporting while her dear friend “just can’t take another picture of a dead body” and throws herself into teaching photography to children who live in a garbage dump. Big questions quietly roil their lives—What is our responsibility to history? To individuals?—until unexpectedly, they approach an answer together, when a child from the dump goes missing.

Two women war reporters and a friendship under fire

Ricochet

California Historical Society

Samuel Orozco

Photographs document the lives of rural Mexicans, the work of U.S. immigration agents, and the everyday life of illegal aliens working in the U.S.

Mary Jo McConahay

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