'Brilliant, a 5 out of 5 masterpiece' Evening Standard The renowned historian of the Third Reich takes on the conspiracy theories surrounding Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, in a vital history book for the 'post-truth' age The idea that nothing happens by chance in history, that nothing is quite what it seems to be at first sight, that everything that occurs is the result of the secret machinations of malign groups of people manipulating everything from behind the scenes is as old as history itself. But conspiracy theories are becoming more popular and more widespread in the twenty-first century. Nowhere have they become more obvious than in revisionist accounts of the history of the Third Reich. Long-discredited conspiracy theories have taken on a new lease of life, given credence by claims of freshly discovered evidence and novel angles of investigation. This book takes five widely discussed claims involving Hitler and the Nazis and subjects them to forensic scrutiny: that the Jews were conspiring to undermine civilization, as outlined in 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'; that the German army was 'stabbed in the back' by socialists and Jews in 1918; that the Nazis burned down the Reichstag in order to seize power; that Rudolf Hess' flight to the UK in 1941 was sanctioned by Hitler and conveyed peace terms suppressed by Churchill; and that Hitler escaped the bunker in 1945 and fled to South America. In doing so, it teases out some surprising features these, and other conspiracy theories, have in common. This is a history book, but it is a history book for the age of 'post-truth' and 'alternative facts': a book for our own troubled times.

Human beings have believed in conspiracies presumably as long as there have been groups of at least three people in which one was convinced that the other two were plotting against him or her. In that sense one might look back as far as Eve and the serpent to find the world's first conspiracy. Whereas recent generations have tended to find their conspiracies in politics and government, the past often sought its mysteries in religious cults or associations. In ancient Rome, for example, the senate tried to prohibit the cult of Isis lest its euphoric excesses undermine public morality and political stability. And during the Middle Ages, many rulers feared such powerful and mysterious religious orders as the Knights Templar. Fascination with the arcane is a driving force in this comprehensive survey of conspiracy fiction. Theodore Ziolkowski traces the evolution of cults, orders, lodges, secret societies, and conspiracies through various literary manifestations-drama, romance, epic, novel, opera-down to the thrillers of the twenty-first century. Arguing that the lure of the arcane throughout the ages has remained a constant factor of human fascination, Ziolkowski demonstrates that the content of conspiracy has shifted from religion by way of philosophy and social theory to politics. In the process, he reveals, the underlying mythic pattern was gradually co-opted for the subversive ends of conspiracy. Cults and Conspiracies considers Euripides's Bacchae, Andreae's Chymical Wedding, Mozart's The Magic Flute, and Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, among other seminal works. Mimicking the genre's quest-driven narrative arc, the reader searches for the significance of conspiracy fiction and is rewarded with the author's cogent reflections in the final chapter. After much investigation, Ziolkowski reinforces Umberto Eco's notion that the most powerful secret, the magnetic center of conspiracy fiction, is in fact "a secret without content."

This is a remarkable look into the intrigue surrounding the mysterious death of Rudolph Hess and why hundreds of millions of pounds a year were spent to keep him from having any communication with the outside world. This not only includes his association with the Vril flying saucers and Antarctica but other aspects of his legacy that have gone unnoticed. Told in the context of a historical novel, Peter Moon also fills in missing pieces of the Montauk saga by adding time travel to the mix and connecting dots that have previously been overlooked. This includes a look at three notable people who all lived in Egypt at the same time: Noble Drew Ali, Aleister Crowley, and Rudolph Hess. Directed by Tibetan elders, the Germans sought to harness the Vril, an energy so powerful that it can change the very nature of the elements themselves. To succeed, however, a major change was required in the evolutionary development of the human species. A dramatic scenario of events unfolded, however, which not only ensured that this endeavour was sabotaged but included an undertaking designed to prevent humanity from ever discovering its ancient heritage and the secrets of the Vril. It was against this backdrop that two of the most colourful characters of World War II, Rudolph Hess and George S. Patton, became immersed in an age old battle involving the legions of light and darkness. The end of World War II precipitated more intrigue and struggle for power than the war itself. Much of this centred around the secret projects sponsored by Rudolph Hess which included not only the Antarctic project but the construction of Vril flying saucers. Patton's job, as the war came to a close, was to recover the secret technology of the Germans and safeguard it for American use. After accomplishing his mission and compiling a German history of the war, General Patton was killed in a dubious accident, the mystery of which has never been solved and has been magnified by government refusal to declassify the file on the investigation of his death. Far more conspicuous and powerful than Patton was Rudolph Hess, the Deputy Fuhrer of Germany, who flew to England in 1941 as an envoy of peace and was imprisoned for life and suspiciously killed just before his imminent release. The current of intrigue and power which permeated these two individuals and led to their downfall was the same current which led to a repatriation of the U.S. Government and an undermining of a constitutional government that is run by and for the people. Besides technology, much of this intrigue centred around the banking files the Nazis confiscated from the Freemasons. The effort to keep this secret is still a factor in today's politics. It was thus that Patton and Hess wore different uniforms but shared common interests and held within their grasp a force so powerful that, if harnessed, it might raise the ancient civilisation of Atlantis itself. It was for this power that both were killed and so begins our mystery.

This is the story of one of the most enduring conspiracy theories in British politics, an intrigue that still has resonance almost a century later: the Zinoviev Letter of 1924. Almost certainly a forgery, no original has ever been traced, and even if genuine it was probably Soviet 'fake news'. Despite this, the Letter still haunts British politics nearly a century after it was written; it was the subject of major Whitehall investigations in the 1960s and 1990s, and cropped up in the media as recently as during the Referendum campaign and the 2017 general election. The Letter, encouraging the British proletariat to greater revolutionary fervour, was apparently sent by Grigori Zinoviev, head of the Bolshevik propaganda organization, to the British Communist Party in September 1924. Sent to London through British Secret Intelligence Service channels, it arrived during the general election campaign and was leaked to the press. The Letter's publication by the Daily Mail on 25 October 1924 just before the General Election humiliated the first ever British Labour government, headed by Ramsay MacDonald, when its political opponents used it to create a 'Red Scare' in the media. Labour blamed the Letter for its defeat, insisting there had been a right-wing Establishment conspiracy, and many in the Labour Party have never forgotten it. The Zinoviev Letter has long been a symbol of political dirty tricks and what we would now call 'fake news'. But it is also a gripping historical detective story of spies and secrets, fraud and forgery, international subversion and the nascent global conflict between communism and capitalism.

Beginning in the 1950s, alleged sightings of unidentified flying objects in Canadian skies bred tension between the state and its citizens. While the public demanded to know more about the phenomenon, government officials appeared unconcerned and unresponsive. Suspicion of government deepened among certain sectors of Canadian society in the decades that followed, leading to demands for greater public transparency and a new kind of citizen activism. In Search for the Unknown Matthew Hayes uncovers the history of the Canadian government's investigations into reports of UFOs, revealing how these reports were handled, deflected, and defended from 1950 to the 1990s. During this period Canadians filed more than 5,000 reports of UFO sightings - many with striking descriptions and illustrations - with branches of government and law enforcement. Although the government conducted some exploratory studies, officials were unable to solve the mystery of UFOs or provide satisfactory answers about their alleged existence, and they soon declared the matter closed. Dissatisfied citizens responded by taking matters into their own hands, starting UFO clubs and civilian investigation groups, and accusing the government of a cover-up. A mutual mistrust developed between citizens who were suspicious of their government and officials who dismissed their fears and anxieties. This provided fertile ground for anti-authoritarian attitudes and the cultivation of conspiracy theories. In an era of political division, and amid heightened awareness of states' responsibilities for their citizens, Search for the Unknown reveals the challenges that governments face in responding to public anxieties and preserving trust in public institutions.

Through their part in some huge controversies, conspiracy theorists are being branded the Number One Enemies of our times - the new heretics. They are seen to threaten the very fabric of modern society, spreading doubts and fears that result in Washington Capitol invasions, transmission mast burnings or the spread of anti-vaxx material. Yet the theorists prefer to call themselves "truth seekers" and see the mainstream establishment as the real disruptor, treating its increasingly harsh censorship as direct validation of their views. In truth, the new heretics, whose numbers are swelling, are symptoms of a wider polarization splitting apart much of the world in ideological divisions. Many have lost trust in politicians and the media, while nuanced debate is crushed and information overload and manipulation breeds uncertainty, civil unrest and mental health issues. How does the age old strategy of divide-and-rule play out in such an environment? Using his extensive experience of negotiating disputes between cynics and truth seekers, Andy Thomas explores the proliferation of conspiracy thinking, peeling back unhelpful layers of biased thinking on all sides to find more insightful ways to bridge the polarised divides and create a better way forward. The New Heretics scrutinises the future of freedom of expression in a censorious world which unwisely seeks to close down discussion of everything alternative, expanding into a truly thought-provoking and expansive treatise on our relationship to truth, technology, politics and the paranormal - and the future of humanity itself.

Amid the intense colors of a foreign land, JIM LIVES is the story of a man searching for his son-a correspondent for a popular american newspaper-who vanished into thin air after sending one last, enigmatic message: "Jim Morrison isn't dead. He's hiding out in Italy. I saw him with my own eyes. I'll call you tomorrow and tell you everything..." Come along with the Creators of PAUL IS DEAD as they reveal the second chapter in their "conspiracy trilogy:" a new, fascinating vision of the most mysterious legend in the history of rock that envisions what happened "When the Music's Over."

The evidence in this book may not ultimately give you the "smoking gun" you are looking for on your journey, but I guarantee it will give you a box of bullets when you find it. In 1996, John Greenewald, Jr. began researching the secret inner workings of the U.S. Government at the age of fifteen. He targeted such agencies as the CIA, FBI, Pentagon, Air Force, Army, Navy, NSA, DIA, and countless others. Greenewald utilized the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to gain access to more than two million pages of documents. This archive includes information relating to UFOs, the JFK Assassination, chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, and top secret aircraft. He took the millions of pages, and over the course of more than two decades, has built an archive known around the world, as The Black Vault. Inside The Black Vault: The Government's UFO Secrets Revealed takes you on a journey within the secret world of unidentified aerial phenomenon that has plagued the military since at least the 1940s. Declassified records prove that the UFO topic is one of the most highly classified and most elusive subjects the U.S. Government has ever dealt with. Each chapter explores various agencies and their documents, and Greenewald breaks down the meaning of why some of the most important documents are relevant to proving a massive cover-up. Along with declassified documents, Greenewald outlines the struggle it took him to get them. No other topic has proven so difficult, in more than 8,000 FOIA requests that he has filed. He explores why that might be and meets skeptics and debunkers head on, outlining why some of their more prominent rebuttals for it all cannot be true.

Machiavelli is one of the most famous strategists of all time. In this collection he discusses the dangers of conspiracies, and the component parts of an army, vital for gaining and holding power in his day. He also gives advice on tactics and discipline, and explains why promises made under force ought not to be kept. GREAT IDEAS. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

This is the story of one of the most enduring conspiracy theories in British politics, an intrigue that still has resonance nearly a century after it was written: the Zinoviev Letter of 1924. Almost certainly a forgery, no original has ever been traced, and even if genuine it was probably Soviet fake news. Despite this, the Letter still haunts British politics nearly a century after it was written, the subject of major Whitehall investigations in the 1960s and 1990s, and cropping up in the media as recently as during the Referendum campaign and the 2017 general election. The Letter, encouraging the British proletariat to greater revolutionary fervour, was apparently sent by Grigori Zinoviev, head of the Bolshevik propaganda organization, to the British Communist Party in September 1924. Sent to London through British Secret Intelligence Service channels, it arrived during the general election campaign and was leaked to the press. The Letter's publication by the Daily Mail on 25 October 1924 just before the General Election humiliated the first ever British Labour government, headed by Ramsay MacDonald, when its political opponents used it to create a 'Red Scare' in the media. Labour blamed the Letter for its defeat, insisting there had been a right-wing Establishment conspiracy, and many in the Labour Party have never forgotten it. The Zinoviev Letter has long been a symbol of political dirty tricks and what we would now call fake news. But it is also a gripping historical detective story of spies and secrets, fraud and forgery, international subversion and the nascent global conflict between communism and capitalism.

Fascination with conspiracies is massive right now, especially since the rise of Donald Trump, who is both the subject of many conspiracy theories and also the purveyor of them. New theories appear on social media on a near-daily basis, and with continual claims and counter-claims about fake news, it's hard to know what to believe. To help clear up the confusion, here is a new edition of the most balanced and informed book on the topic, now updated with all the latest events, including pro- and anti-Trump theories, Edward Snowden's mass-surveillance claims, post-truth issues, and much more. In this outstanding guide to conspiracies, researcher Andy Thomas looks at all the major theories, from the Roman Empire to the present day, exploring the social and psychological factors that have prompted them to spread. The accounts are stripped of unfounded opinion and presented factually, dramatically highlighting the core issues. Are we really under everyday mass-surveillance, as Edward Snowden claims? Is the rise of Donald Trump and global populism a genuine movement of the people or a manipulated social control experiment? Is there a secret governing elite ruling from the shadows, using fear and economic manipulation to create a network of global superstates? Could the attacks of 9/11 have been engineered by agencies within the USA itself? Andy Thomas invites you to read accounts and analyses of these and many other issues, to consider the facts and decide for yourself.

**AS FEATURED ON HOAXED PODCAST** This definitive book delves into why so many people are ready to believe in conspiracy theories, and the damage it can cause. Voodoo Histories entertainingly demolishes the absurd and sinister conspiracy theories of the last 100 years, such as:Did Neil Armstrong really set foot on the moon?Was the United States government responsible for the 11 September attacks?Should we doubt the accidental nature of Princess Diana's death?David Aaronovitch reveals not only why people are so ready to believe in these stories but also the dangers of this credulity. 'This book leaves us in no doubt that arriving at the truth is a vital matter - at times a matter of life and death' Financial Times.

THE CLASSIC LOST THRILLER FROM THE ICONIC NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER 'Shockingly good' The Sun 'A prescient, high-octane thriller' Daily Express 'Totally on the money - and ripe for this republication' i Newspaper * * * * * It always starts with a small lie. That's how you stop noticing the bigger ones. After his friend suspects something strange going on at the satellite facility where they both work - and then goes missing - Martin Hepton doesn't believe the official line of "long-term sick leave"... Refusing to stop asking questions, he leaves his old life behind, aware that someone is shadowing his every move. But why? The only hope he has is his ex-girlfriend Jill Watson - the only journalist who will believe his story. But neither of them can believe the puzzle they're piecing together - or just how shocking the secret is that everybody wants to stay hidden... DISCOVER THE CLASSIC LOST THRILLER FROM THE ICONIC NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER. * * * * * 'Rankin is a master storyteller' Guardian 'Great fiction, full stop' The Times 'Ian Rankin is a genius' Lee Child 'One of Britain's leading novelists in any genre' New Statesman 'A virtuoso of the craft' Daily Mail 'Rankin is a phenomenon' Spectator 'Britain's No.1 crime writer' Mirror 'Quite simply, crime writing of the highest order' Express 'Worthy of Agatha Christie at her best' Scotsman

The contributors to this volume argue that whilst there is a commonplace superstition conspiracy theories are examples of bad beliefs (and that the kind of people who believe conspiracy theories are typically irrational), many conspiracy theories are rational to believe: the members of the Dewey Commission were right to say that the Moscow Trials of the 1930s were a sham; Woodward and Bernstein were correct to think that Nixon was complicit in the conspiracy to deny any wrongdoing in the Watergate Hotel break in; and if we either accept the terrorist events of 9/11 were committed by Al-Qaeda, or that the Bush Administration was responsible, then it seems we are endorsing some theory about a conspiracy to commit an act of terror on American soil. As such, there is no reason to reject conspiracy theories sui generis. This volume challenges the prima facie that conspiracy theories are irrational beliefs, arguing that we should treat conspiracy theories and the phenomena of conspiracy theories seriously. It presents fresh perspectives from the wider philosophical, sociological and psychological community on what is becoming an issue of increasing relevance in our time.

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE . . . Who was Jack the Ripper? Where did the Nazis stash their gold? Who are the real Men in Black? Did aliens send the 'WOW' signal? And how will the world end? 100 Things They Don't Want You to Know sets out to uncover the truth behind the world's most mysterious cover-ups and unexplained events that have been shrouded in secrecy for generations. From suspicious deaths and disappearances to enigmatic identities, from Cold War cover-ups to puzzling paranormal phenomena and from ancient artefacts to coded documents, 100 Things They Don't Want You to Know takes you on a quest to solve the greatest mysteries, strange disappearances, suspicious cover-ups and conspiracy theories. Including: Black Dahlia, the Marfa Lights, the Turin Shroud, Spontaneous Combustion, Lost Literature of the Mayan Civilisation, Disappearance of Jean Spangler, Shakespeare's True Identity, the Turin Shroud, the Easter Island Glyphs, the Death of Lee Harvey Oswald, the Mothman, The Flying Dutchman, the Secret Mission of Ruldolph Hess, the 'WOW" signal, Lewis Carroll's Lost Diaries, the Man in the Iron Mask and the Beast of Bodmin Moor.

Sifting through the historical and archaeological evidence, Ancient Gods: Lost Histories, Hidden Truths, and the Conspiracy of Silence by Jim Wills probes the myths, stories, history and facts of ancient civilisations, lost technologies, past catastrophes, archetypical astronauts and bygone religions to tease out the truth of our distant past and modern existence.

Many Americans believe that their own government is guilty of shocking crimes. Government agents shot the president. They faked the moon landing. They stood by and allowed the murders of 2,400 servicemen in Hawaii. Although paranoia has been a feature of the American scene since the birth of the Republic, in Real Enemies Kathryn Olmsted shows that it was only in the twentieth century that strange and unlikely conspiracy theories became central to American politics. In particular, she posits World War I as a critical turning point and shows that as the federal bureaucracy expanded, Americans grew more fearful of the government itself-the military, the intelligence community, and even the President. Analyzing the wide-spread suspicions surrounding such events as Pearl Harbor, the JFK assassination, Watergate, and 9/11, Olmsted sheds light on why so many Americans believe that their government conspires against them, why more people believe these theories over time, and how real conspiracies-such as the infamous Northwoods plan-have fueled our paranoia about the governments we ourselves elect.

A history so funny, so true, so scary, it's bound to be called a conspiracy.
"Meticulous in its research, forensic in its reasoning, robust in its argument, and often hilarious in its debunking, "Voodoo Histories" is a highly entertaining rumble with the century's major conspiracy theorists and their theories" (John Lahr).
From Pearl Harbor to 9/11 to the assassination of JFK to the Birther movement, David Aaronvitch probes and explores the major conspiracy theories (and theorists) of our time. This entertaining and enlightening conspiracy theory book-aimed to provide ammunition for those who have found themselves at the wrong end of a conversation about moon landings or the Twin Towers-examines why people believe these conspiracies, and makes an argument for a true skepticism: one based on a thorough knowledge of history and a strong dose of common sense.

From the food we eat, the water we drink to the air we breathe, everything these days seems capable of killing us. Recently we have seen an unprecedented number of deaths due to medications for diseases that may not even exist, obscure cancers caused by our modern devices, and brutal police tactics. All a coincidence? Think again. In Population Control, acclaimed journalist Jim Marrs lays out a stunning case for his most audacious conspiracy yet: the scheme concocted by a handful of global elites to reduce the world's population to 500 million by whatever means necessary and make a profit from it. Marrs, the bestselling author of Rule by Secrecy and The Trillion Dollar Conspiracy, pulls no punches in exposing this evil and chillingly effective plan. He explains how a small group of tremendously wealthy and powerful people control virtually every important industry - guns, oil, pharmaceuticals, food, and of course the media - and how it uses this vast network of conglomerates to take actions that lead to the deaths of men and women all over the world. In the explosive Population Control, Marrs lays bare the damning truths corporate owners don't want you to discover: how they've spied on private citizens, intentionally spread disease, and destroyed the planet chasing profits, all to improve the lives of a privileged few while eliminating everyone else. Finally, he offers a citizen's blueprint for fighting back.