John Whalen

This book offers concise summaries of controverisal events, mostly having occured in American history. The authors give the basic facts then add two or three other possible variants to official or popular media conclusions. This is followed by three or four bibliographical sources. For example, the aerial attack on Pearl Harbor, according the authors, was known by advance intelligence but was sat upon by Roosevelt since he could not persuade the US to enter the war without major provocation. show more The chapters all end by raising deeper questions which unfortunately make any satisfactory answer even more remote and complex. The authors favor the multiple Oswald theory in the JFK assassination. I liked the book more as a source of logical and historical puzzles. Conspiracies rely, more often than not, on historical fallacies. Index, but no pictures. show less

A detailing of many conspiracy theories; unfortunately, the authors all too often accept the conspiracies uncritically, failing to examine the evidence objectively. A good reference for those who want to understand what conspiracies are out there, and who is promoting them.

Without overly stretching the metaphor of the Shakespearean character of Caliban, this collection evokes the sense of an isolated island, albeit the island of a rural Eastern Washington town instead of a magical isle, inhabited by a creature caught in servitude and desire, a man trapped in a beast striving to be a man.

Conspiracies, real and imagined.