Master storyteller Brad Meltzer counts down and decodes the world’s top 10 most intriguing conspiracies stories. Wanted: the truth. In a riveting collection, Brad Meltzer guides us through the 10 greatest conspiracies of all time, from Leonardo da Vinci’s stolen prophecy to the Kennedy assassination. This richly illustrated book serves up those fascinating, unexplained questions that nag at history buffs and conspiracy lovers: Why was Hitler so intent on capturing the Roman “Spear of Destiny?” Where did all the Confederacy’s gold go? What is the government hiding in Area 51? And did Lee Harvey Oswald really act alone? Meltzer sifts through the evidence, weighs competing theories, separates what we know to be true and what’s still––and perhaps forever––unproved or unprovable, and in the end, decodes the mystery and arrives at the most likely explanation.
Best-selling author Michael Shermer presents an overarching theory of conspiracy theories—who believes them and why, which ones are real, and what we should do about them. Nothing happens by accident, everything is connected, and there are no coincidences: that is the essence of conspiratorial thinking. Long a fringe part of the American political landscape, conspiracy theories are now mainstream: 147 members of Congress voted in favor of objections to the 2020 presidential election based on an unproven theory about a rigged electoral process promoted by the mysterious group QAnon. But this is only the latest example in a long history of ideas that include the satanic panics of the 1980s, the New World Order and Vatican conspiracy theories, fears about fluoridated water, speculations about President John F. Kennedy's assassination, and the notions that the Sandy Hook massacre was a false-flag operation and 9/11 was an inside job. In Conspiracy, Michael Shermer presents an overarching review of conspiracy theories—who believes them and why, which ones are real, and what we should do about them. Trust in conspiracy theories, he writes, cuts across gender, age, race, income, education level, occupational status—and even political affiliation. One reason that people believe these conspiracies, Shermer argues, is that enough of them are real that we should be constructively conspiratorial: elections have been rigged (LBJ's 1948 Senate race); medical professionals have intentionally harmed patients in their care (Tuskegee); your government does lie to you (Watergate, Iran-Contra, and Afghanistan); and, tragically, some adults do conspire to sexually abuse children. But Shermer reveals that other factors are also in play: anxiety and a sense of loss of control play a role in conspiratorial cognition patterns, as do certain personality traits. This engaging book will be an important read for anyone concerned about the future direction of American politics, as well as anyone who's watched friends or family fall into patterns of conspiratorial thinking.
"This instant classic has been updated and expanded to include new and late-breaking conspiracies, including The Alien Autopsy controversy, the death of Vince Foster, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Unabomber, Japan's shadowy Aum cult, the real story of life - make that cities - on Mars, and more." "Whether you "buy" any of these theories or merely enjoy a walk on the wild side of alternative history, The Sixty Greatest Conspiracies of All Time will provide hours of provocative reading. You will never again look at the world in quite the same way."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The invisible world of influence and power revealed. Hidden agendas uncovered. An examination of over 250 current and historical conspiracies, secret cabals, and powerful groups. Claims and counterclaims. Stunning allegations. Suppressed evidence. Missing witnesses and rogue operatives. Threats, cover-ups, and assassinations. Brazen lies and startling truths. Documented connections and worrisome coincidences to even deeper intrigue. American history is replete with warnings of hidden plots by shadowy groups and nefarious power brokers. Separating fact from fiction, this compelling work provides gripping details and presents the information without bias, including facts about hundreds of individuals, organizations, and events in which official claims and standard explanations of actions and events remain shrouded in mystery. Sifting through the evidence, weighing competing narratives in a search for the truth, Conspiracies and Secret Societies: The Complete Dossier of Hidden Plots and Schemes examines the many subjects discussed by conspiracy theorists, probing and analyzing the dark doings of secret societies. Bring yourself up to date with the latest research and findings into historical topics plus current issues, including: Government cover-ups―internet tracking, electronic spying, MKUltra, the John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassinations, Agenda 21, Area 51, Federal Reserve System, black helicopters, Project Monarch, satellite snooping, FEMA, the CIA, the crack cocaine epidemic, and much more. Powerful secret societies and groups―Freemasons, Illuminati, Antifa, the Deep State, the Trilateral Commission, Anarchists, the Skull and Bones Society, the Family, Scientology, the Knights Templar, the Lavender Mafia, the Zionists, the Roman Catholics, the Bilderberg group, and QAnon, to name a few. Classified background on U.S. Presidents―Lincoln, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Reagan, Obama, Trump, their advisers, and more. Terrible secrets―Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, 9/11, Princess Diana, subliminal messaging, psychotronic weapons, the Matrix, Adolf Hitler, Men in Black, Barcodes, The Great Reset, Unit 731 and germ experiments, Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Gates, the Oklahoma City bombing, Fukushima, HAARP, and many more. Historical riddles―the Ark of the Covenant, Nazi UFOs, the Holy Grail, George Patton and Operation Unthinkable, the Great Pyramid, the Tonkin Gulf incident, Noah’s Ark, alchemy, the true relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, Atlantis, and more. Science mysteries―biochip implants, genetically modified foods, chemtrails, hallow earth, vaccines, fluoridation, Hadron Collider, AIDS/HIV, suppressed medical cures, and many, many more. Originally published in 2006, Brad and Sherry Steiger’s masterwork gets an update, with more than 50 new entries, and a complete review and revision by a panel of experts to incorporate the latest developments and newly uncovered conspiracies. Whether confirming or debunking a conspiracy or secret group, Conspiracies and Secret Societies cites sources to let you do your own research and draw your own conclusions. This important book brings the facts to light and provides insights into conspiracies and the world of conspiracy theorists. Knowledge is our best weapon against these people, groups, and their nefarious schemes. When some of the nation's highest leaders, their wives, and followers promote—and even believe—false conspiracies, knowing which conspiracies are actually real and which you should not trust is more important than ever!
For many years, conspiracy theories have been among the most popular story elements in Hollywood films. According to the "conspiracy culture," Government, Big Business, the Church, even aliens--all of which, bundled together, comprise the ubiquitous "Them"--are concealing some of the biggest secrets in American and world history. From The Manchurian Candidate (1962) to JFK (1991), The Matrix (1999) to The Da Vinci Code (2006), this decade-by-decade history explores our fascination with paranoia. The work paints a vivid picture of several of the more prevalent conspiracy theories and the entertainment they have inspired, not only in theatrical films but also in such television series as The X-Files, Lost and V.
Expanded and Updated Because Weird Things Keep On Happening The effects of the Invisible Hand are all around us, machinations to control the world are happening right under our noses-and The 80 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time lists them all. This book presents a feverish feast of the most far-reaching, far-out, and startling conspiracy theories ever. Now this instant classic has been brought up to date with late-breaking mysteries and coverups, including: * Enron-a faked energy crisis that led to a devastatingly real economic one * Anthrax nation-just who sent lethal bacteria through the mail to the U.S. Congress? * Votescam 2000 * 911 and the theories surrounding the terrorist attacks * Echelon, the global electronic spying network-Big Brother made real * Who was the Zodiac Killer? * And more! Whether you believe any of these theories or merely enjoy a walk on the wild side of alternative history, The 80 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time will provide hours of provocative reading. You will never look at the world in quite the same way again.
Political assassinations and terrorism have both outraged and fascinated the public throughout American history, particularly in the modern era. Providing biographical summaries of more than 100 assassins and terrorists, this book aims at a more complete understanding of the motivations behind violent extremism. The lives of the subjects are analyzed with a focus on psychological and ideological factors, along with details of investigations and criminal trials. Conspiracy theories are evaluated for credibility. Social media features prominently in explaining political violence by members of extremist groups in the 21st century, including radical Islamic terrorists, anti-abortion activists and white supremacists.
A wide-ranging and idiosyncratic look at sixty years of politics and film that uncovers how American movies have mirrored and even challenged anxieties and paranoid perceptions embedded in American society since the start of the Cold War. The first book to take a sweeping look at 60 years of film and analyze them thematically.
A wide-ranging collection of essays on millennial American culture that “marshals a vast pop vocabulary with easy wit” (The New York Times Book Review). From the far left to the far right, on talk radio and the op-ed page, more and more Americans believe that the social fabric is unraveling. Celebrity worship and media frenzy, suicidal cultists and heavily armed secessionists: modern life seems to have become a “pyrotechnic insanitarium,” Mark Dery says, borrowing a turn-of-the-century name for Coney Island. Dery elucidates the meaning to our madness, deconstructing American culture from mainstream forces like Disney and Nike to fringe phenomena like the Unabomber and alien invaders. Our millennial angst, he argues, is a product of a pervasive cultural anxiety—a combination of the social and economic upheaval wrought by global capitalism and the paranoia fanned by media sensationalism. The Pyrotechnic Insanitarium is a theme-park ride through the extremes of American culture of which The Atlantic has written, “Mark Dery confirms once again what writers and thinkers as disparate as Nathanael West, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Sigmund Freud, and Oliver Sacks have already shown us: the best place to explore the human condition is at its outer margins, its pathological extremes.” “Dery is the kind of critic who just might give conspiracy theory a good name.” —Wired
