In the late 1970’s, the United States was seeing a spike in anxieties over women entering the workforce, the influence of Satanism in entertainment and schools, and the idea of organized child abuse. What had been bubbling up exploded into a full-blown moral panic with the publication in 1980 of Michelle Remembers, which purported to […]
When French journalist and libertarian activist Thierry Meyssan published his book 9/11: The Big Lie in March 2002, the industry of conspiracy theories about the attacks was still in its infancy. There had been conspiracy theories that the hijackings were planned or carried out by the US government as early as that day. But it […]
It is arguably the most popular conspiracy theory book of the late 20th century. Yet Behold a Pale Horse is barely an actual book. It has no overarching narrative, no particular subject matter it focuses on, little prose to speak of, and is clearly plagiarized at points. Long revealed as a mashup of fake documents […]
While the Protocols of the Elders of Zion is one of the most influential and reprinted books in the history of 20th century conspiracy theories, its initial release went almost completely unnoticed. Plagiarized by an unknown author or authors from a variety of sources, the fiercely antisemitic document was first published in Russian in an […]
Despite its title serving as an interrogatory rather than a statement, conspiracy theorist Des Griffin’s 1976 book Descent into Slavery? is not actually asking if we’re descending into slavery, but telling us all the way it’s already happened and who is to blame. Born in Northern Ireland in 1934, a biography of Griffin on an […]
Conspiracy theorist literature is full of both real and hypothesized groups of powerful people meeting in various think tanks, committees, councils, and cabals for the purposes of enriching their own power while stripping the power away from those deemed lesser than them. Some of these groups are real, though their imaginary power far outweighs what […]
What’s bigger than a big secret? The Biggest Secret, according to the British conspiracy theorist author and speaker David Icke. The cover of the prolific writer’s book of the same name promises to reveal long-hidden and deeply suppressed knowledge that will do nothing less than “change the world.” Does Icke deliver on his boast? What […]
When Texas teenager Alex Jones went searching for explanations of who truly had their hands on the levers of power, he came across a text on his father’s bookshelf that more than any other would shape his future: the 1971 bestseller None Dare Call it Conspiracy. That a young Jones was drawn to a book written […]
