Walter Bowart (1939-2007) was a journalist and a prominent figure in the New York City counter-culture of the 1960s. He was influential in promoting intellectual freedom through his work as editor of The East Village Other and through his Freedom of Thought Foundation.

Bowart's Operation Mind Control: The Cryptocracy's Plan to Psychocivilize You is a classic in the annals of conspiracy research. It is a disturbing account of the secret use of mind control technology, by a secret government (or "cryptocracy"), with an aim to pacifying whole populations and furthering private global-investment strategies. Meticulously researched and well-written, it remains - even today - one of the best books on the topic.

The original version of Operation Mind Control was the first book printed in the United States to explore the murky world of CIA mind control. This theme is common in Hollywood movies today but, at the time (1978), the topic was highly charged, top-secret, and extremely dangerous to research. The book quickly disappeared, because the CIA did not want the public to know the extent and details of its mind control programs (they actually bought up all of the copies that had been printed - an entire warehouse full).