The odds of collapsing three towers with two planes, conservatively, are five hundred trillion to one. Aside from the terror, the probability of the attacks on the World Trade Center is fantastically implausible. This new mathematical approach by alternative thinker Paris Tosen exposes the flaws and cracks in the official 9/11 investigation. This concise book reminds us just how powerful illusions can be.

How-and why- were UFOs so prevalent in both conspiracy theories and the New Age milieu in the post-Cold War period? In this ground-breaking book, David G. Robertson argues that UFOs symbolized an uncertainty about the boundaries between scientific knowledge and other ways of validating knowledge, and thus became part of a shared vocabulary. Through historical and ethnographic case studies of three prominent figures-novelist and abductee Whitley Strieber; environmentalist and reptilian proponent David Icke; and David Wilcock, alleged reincarnation of Edgar Cayce-the investigation reveals that millennial conspiracism offers an explanation as to why the prophesied New Age failed to arrive-it was prevented from arriving by malevolent, hidden others. Yet millennial conspiracism constructs a counter-elite, a gnostic third party defined by their special knowledge. An overview of the development of UFO subcultures from the perspective of religious studies, UFOs, Conspiracy Theories and the New Age is an innovative application of discourse analysis to the study of present day alternative religion.

UFOs. Aliens. Strange crop circles. Giant figures scratched in the desert surface along the coast of Peru. The amazing alignment of the pyramids. Strange lines of clouds in the sky. The paranormal is alive and well in the American cultural landscape. In UFOs, Chemtrails, and Aliens, Donald R. Prothero and Tim Callahan explore why such demonstrably false beliefs thrive despite decades of education and scientific debunking. Employing the ground rules of science and the standards of scientific evidence, Prothero and Callahan discuss a wide range of topics including the reliability of eyewitness testimony, psychological research into why people want to believe in aliens and UFOs, and the role conspiratorial thinking plays in UFO culture. They examine a variety of UFO sightings and describe the standards of evidence used to determine whether UFOs are actual alien spacecraft. Finally, they consider our views of aliens and the strong cultural signals that provide the shapes and behaviors of these beings. While their approach is firmly based in science, Prothero and Callahan also share their personal experiences of Area 51, Roswell, and other legendary sites, creating a narrative that is sure to engross both skeptics and believers.

Did You Know That . . . ?: "Revised and Expanded" Edition: Surprising-But-True Facts About History, Science, Inventions, Geography, Origins, Art, Music, and More is an uncommon compendium of knowledge that will astound, demystify, edify, and debunk. It is a book of ambitious design that is both eminently informative and vastly entertaining. Assiduously researched, it will be the arbiter of disagreements and will stand cherished misconceptions right on their heads. It will also expose factoids, unmask present-day orthodoxy, identify misinformation, clarify the confusing, and present new information. Did You Know That . . . ? is all you need to know . . . for knowledge is power!

GODS AND GODDESS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW. TAKES A LOOK AT SOME OF THE THOUSANDS OF GODS AND GODDESS. THAT MEN AND WOMEN HAVE WORSHIPED OVER THE EONS. I AM NOT HERE TO JUDGE OR HELP YOU DECIDE WHAT GOD OR GODDESS IS RIGHT FOR YOU, BUT MERELY HERE TO HOPEFULLY BROADEN YOUR PERSPECTIVE OF GODS IN GENERAL. THIS BOOK IS NUMBER ONE IN THIS SERIES. WITH YOUR SUPPORT OTHER VOLUMES WILL FOLLOW. BASED ON MY RESEARCH THERE ARE THOUSANDS. IF NOT MILLIONS OF GODS. IN ANCIENT TIMES THERE WERE GODS ASSIGNED TO ALMOST EVERY PART OF MAN'S DAILY LIFE. A GOD FOR FOOD, A GOD FOR SHELTER, AND ALMOST ANY OTHER BASIC NEED OR DESIRE OF MAN. WE WILL TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THESE LESSER KNOWN GODS. FROM THE GREAT KINGS OF EGYPT TO THE LONELY FISHERMAN. THERE IS A GOD TO GUIDE AND PROTECT THEM. OR AT LEAST THAT WAS THE COMMON BELIEF OF THE TIME PERIOD. SO IN PARTING, I HOPE THIS BOOK WILL HELP YOU APPRECIATE THE BEAUTY OF GODS AND GODDESS. NO MATTER WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN MAY YOUR GOD HELP YOU APPRECIATE AND UNDERSTAND YOUR FELLOW MAN OR WOMAN. THAT SHARE THIS WORLD WITH YOU. GOD IS THE GREATEST MYSTERY IN THE UNIVERSE AND WILL PROBABLY NEVER BE TRULY UNDERSTOOD BY MERE HUMANS LIKE OURSELVES. BUT IN THE MEAN TIME ENJOY SOME OF THE GODS AND GODDESS THAT WE HAVE EXPOSED YOU TO IN THIS BRIEF HISTORY. OF GODS AND GODDESS. UNTIL WE MEET IN THE NEXT ONE. ENJOY

The essential voyage companion: a text to stimulate the bored and the curious. This fascinating volume is packed with useful bits of information on the rarely known facts, enigmas, and curiosities of our world, serving the purpose of entertainment and enlightenment with captivating articles on the oddities of human behavior, eccentric historical figures, dead and dying languages, uncontacted peoples, sin-eaters, sky-burials, hidden metros, bizarre micronations, and puzzling manuscripts.

"An engrossing account of wine fraud and forgery . . . Hellman clearly knows his stuff."--The Wall Street Journal "[Hellman] presents . . . the macho, competitive, one-upmanship world of the collectors, an atmosphere that perhaps contributed to their gullibility in the high-rolling economy of the early 2000s."--The New York Times "Heady, intoxicating . . . shines a light on the esoteric and intriguing world of ultrarare, ultrafine wines."--Foreword, starred review "In Vino Duplicitas is a cautionary tale of how we can let the romance of wine get the better of us. . . . None of us are immune."--Washington Post Few gain entry to the privileged world of ultrafine wines, where billionaires flock to exclusive auction houses to vie for the scarce surviving bottles from truly legendary years. But Rudy Kurniawan, an unknown twentysomething from Indonesia, was blessed with two gifts that opened doors: a virtuoso palate for wine tasting, and access to a seemingly limitless (if mysterious) supply of the world's most coveted wines. After bursting onto the scene in 2002, Kurniawan quickly became the leading purveyor of rare wines to the American elite. But in April 2008, his lots of Domaine Ponsot Clos Saint-Denis red burgundy--dating as far back as 1945--were abruptly pulled from auction. The problem? The winemaker was certain that this particular burgundy was first produced only in 1982. Journalist Peter Hellman was there, and he would closely investigate as a singular cast of characters--including a Kansas-born billionaire and self-proclaimed "hoarder," a dignified Burgundian winemaker, a wine-loving young prosecutor, and a crusty FBI agent who prepared for the case by reading French Wine for Dummies--worked to unravel the biggest con in wine history. Whether driven by the love of wine or of justice, all were asking the same question: Was the mild-mannered Kurniawan himself a dupe? Or had one young man--with little experience and few connections--ensnared the world's top winemakers, sellers, and drinkers in a web of deceit?