That's What They Want You to Think: Conspiracies Real, Possible, and Paranoid

by Paul Simpson

Overview

You don’t need to be wearing a tinfoil hat to accept that Lincoln was assassinated by a conspiracy - it’s a historical fact. But these days the phrase “conspiracy theory” has become synonymous with labyrinthine plots and nebulous clues hidden in blown-up photos and arcane paintings. The simple suggestion of a conspiracy is often dismissed by the mainstream media as if inherently impossible. That’s What They Want You to Think sorts through the most well-known theories—both historically accepted and summarily dismissed—to provide an overview of the real, the possible, and the paranoid. Conspiracies covered include Pearl Harbor, JFK, MLK, Lincoln, Princess Diana, John Lennon, Roswell, Freemasons, Watergate, 9/11 and more!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781610597517
Publisher:	Zenith Press
Publication date:	12/20/2022
Sold by:	OPEN ROAD INTEGRATED - EBKS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	303
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Paul Simpson has written official guides to the TV series Farscape and Smallville and the movies The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, as well as unofficial books on subjects as diverse as James Bond, Nicole Kidman, and the TV series The O.C. He wrote an unofficial guide to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. A regular visitor to film and TV sets, he has reported for many newspapers and magazines, including TV Guide. For five years, he was the editor of the official licensed Star Trek Magazine. He wrote That's What They Want You to Think for Zenith Press and co-authored Middle-earth Envisioned for Race Point Publishing.

Paul Simpson has written official guides to the TV series Farscape and Smallville and the movies The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, as well as unofficial books on subjects as diverse as James Bond, Nicole Kidman, and the TV series The O.C. He wrote an unofficial guide to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. A regular visitor to film and TV sets, he has reported for many newspapers and magazines, including TV Guide. For five years, he was the editor of the official licensed Star Trek Magazine. He wrote That's What They Want You to Think for Zenith Press and co-authored Middle-earth Envisioned for Race Point Publishing.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS
 
Introduction
 
Part I: In the Way: Assassination Conspiracies
Chapter 1         President Abraham Lincoln
Chapter 2         Joseph Stalin
Chapter 3         Marilyn Monroe
Chapter 4         President John F. Kennedy
Chapter 5         Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Chapter 6         Robert F. Kennedy
Chapter 7         Pope John Paul I
Chapter 8         John Lennon
Chapter 9         Diana, Princess of Wales
Chapter 10       Dr. David Kelly
 
Part II: To Serve and Protect? Military Conspiracies
Chapter 11       Pearl Harbor
Chapter 12       Operation Valkyrie
Chapter 13       Pan Am Flight 103
 
Part III: We Are Not Alone: Extraterrestrial Conspiracies
Chapter 14       The Roswell Incident
Chapter 15       Area 51
Chapter 16       The Rendlesham Forest Incident
Chapter 17       The Bermuda Triangle
 
Part IV: Brotherly Love: Secret Society Conspiracies
Chapter 18       The New World Order
Chapter 19       Freemasonry
Chapter 20       Propaganda Due
Chapter 21       The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
Chapter 22       The Illuminati
Chapter 23       The Council for Foreign Relations
Chapter 24       The Bilderberg Group and the Trilateral Commission
 
Part V: Just Because You’re Paranoid . . . : Government Conspiracies
Chapter 25       NASA and the Moon Landings
Chapter 26       Alternative 3
Chapter 27       Watergate
Chapter 28       9/11
Chapter 29       The Obama Birth Controversy
 
Acknowledgments
Further Reading

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This lively book looks at a variety of conspiracy theories—many well-known, others not so much—from a historical, investigative point of view. Simpson approaches theories about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, for example, by laying out the accepted version of events, then briefly analyzing how some alternative theories either jibe with or depart from the historical record. Discussing the notion that NASA faked the moon landings, he shows how many of the theory’s key allegations are the results of wishful thinking and a lack of scientific knowledge on the part of the theorists. The scope of the book is limited to conspiracy theories that have some vague substance to them (hence, David Icke’s claim that the world is secretly run by shape-changing reptiles is dismissed), and Simpson adopts an evenhanded reasonableness to demonstrate the tenuousness of the theories. It’s also worth noting that some of the theories in the book are legit. There really was a conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, just not the one some people have imagined. Well worthwhile." - Booklist

Editorial Reviews

"This lively book looks at a variety of conspiracy theories—many well-known, others not so much—from a historical, investigative point of view. Simpson approaches theories about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, for example, by laying out the accepted version of events, then briefly analyzing how some alternative theories either jibe with or depart from the historical record. Discussing the notion that NASA faked the moon landings, he shows how many of the theory’s key allegations are the results of wishful thinking and a lack of scientific knowledge on the part of the theorists. The scope of the book is limited to conspiracy theories that have some vague substance to them (hence, David Icke’s claim that the world is secretly run by shape-changing reptiles is dismissed), and Simpson adopts an evenhanded reasonableness to demonstrate the tenuousness of the theories. It’s also worth noting that some of the theories in the book are legit. There really was a conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, just not the one some people have imagined. Well worthwhile." - Booklist

From the Publisher