Conspiracies,
Cover-Ups and Crimes
by Jonathan Vankin
If you believe everything you are told on TV
and in the newspapers, then you are the "real nut". Plans have been being
hatched behind closed doors for as long as two men could get together and
"conspire". Facts have been altered for as long as anyone in power had
the chance to present reality in a way which portrays them in the most
positive light, and which acts to increase their position of power. It's
no longer a question of whether or not deception occurs - it does - but
whether modern civilization will ever progress when so much of it goes
on now as "business as usual".
Conspiracies, Cover-Ups and Crimes
is a great compendium of alternative views on current events and world
history.
Reviews
Amazon.com
In the first half of this entertaining guide
to contemporary paranoia, Jonathan Vankin introduces us to some of the
leading figures in modern conspiracy, from self-styled political leader
Lyndon LaRouche to Kerry Thornley, co-creator of the underground religion
Discordianism and a possible "second Oswald." Then, in part two, he puts
together all the disparate strands of conspiracy theory into one overarching
narrative that includes the Freemasons, Nazi occultists, CIA-brainwashed
assassins, the Mafia... you name it, Vankin's probably found a way to fit
it into the puzzle. The point is not that this is the secret history of
the world order, but, as he writes, "civilization is a conspiracy against
reality." In order for the world to run smoothly, and for us to be "normal"
participants, Vankin argues, we have to accept a lot of things on faith.
Conspiracy theorists refuse to do that, and consequently are usually dismissed
as mentally unbalanced. But what if they are right and what we've been
led to believe turns out to be wrong? A fascinating and provocative book
that may well lead you to never trust the newspapers and nightly broadcasts
again.
The author, Jonathan Vankin , April 22,
1999
I think this is the best book that I
have ever written
I enjoyed writing this book, and I think
that this is the ideal book for casual or investigative reading ENJOY!
The author, Jonathan Vankin (vankin@conspire.com)
, March 2, 1999
My journey into the netherworld of CONSPIRACY
THEORY!...
I began researching this, my first book,
in 1988, when The X-Files was still but a gleam in Chris Carter's eye and
Bill Clinton was just a guy who'd made a really boring speech at the Democratic
National Convention. First published in 1991, the book is the result of
my two years spent interviewing conspiracy theorists of all stripes, opening
my mind while struggling not to lose it (with limited success). But the
book was really my attempt to understand why this country (that would be
the USA) so often seems, well, insane! That's why I still, immodestly,
think of this book as the original document of The Conspiracy Decade. Robert
Anton Wilson called it "The sanest and at the same time most exciting conspiracy
book I've read in this decade," while Adam Parfrey deemed it "Excellent!
Pithy and dispassionate but always absorbing." This third edition, published
by Illuminet Press, contains the text of the 1991 hardcover and the 1992
afterword I wrote for the Dell mass-market paperback - PLUS a new introduction
looking back on my experience from a late 1990s perspective. Even if you're
not into conspiracy theories, I think you'll find this book an interesting
an unexpected take on strange subculture that may not be so "sub" anymore.
Let me know what you think.
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