Imprisoned in a remote Turkish POW camp during the First World War, two British officers, Harry Jones and Cedric Hill, cunningly join forces. To stave off boredom, Jones makes a handmade Ouija board and holds fake seances for fellow prisoners. One day, an Ottoman official approaches him with a query: could Jones contact the spirits to find a vast treasure rumoured to be buried nearby? Jones, a lawyer, and Hill, a magician, use the Ouija board - and their keen understanding of the psychology of deception-to build a trap for their captors that will lead them to freedom. The Confidence Men is a nonfiction thriller featuring strategy, mortal danger and even high farce - and chronicles a profound but unlikely friendship.

Conspiracy theories are no longer just a curiosity for afficionados but a politically salient theme in the age of Trump, Brexit and "fake news". One of the countries that has been entrapped in conspiratorial visions is Turkey, and this book is the first comprehensive survey in English of the Turkish conspiratorial mind-set. It provides a nuanced overview of the discourses of Turkish conspiracy theorists and examines how these theorists argue for and legitimize their worldview. The author discusses a broad range of conspiracy theories, including some influenced by Kemalist and Islamist perspectives as well as those of the ruling Justice and Development Party. The most influential authors, books, references and images within the conspiracist milieu are all examined in detail. This book will be an important source for scholars interested in extremism in Turkey and the societal and political impact of conspiracy theories.

The ultimate quest for the world's most mysterious creatures

The Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, the Abominable Snowman -- these are the names of the elusive beasts that have caught the eye and captured the imaginations of people around the world for centuries. Recently, tales of these "monsters" have been corroborated by an increase in sightings, and out of these legends a new science has been born: cryptozoology -- the study of hidden animals.

Cryptozoology A to Z, the first encyclopedia of its kind, contains nearly two hundred entries, including cryptids (the name given to these unusual beasts), new animal finds, and the explorers and scientists who search for them. Loren Coleman, one of the world's leading cryptozoologists, teams up with Jerome Clark, editor and author of several encyclopedias, to provide these definitive descriptions and many never-before-published drawings and photographs from eyewitnesses' detailed accounts. Full of insights into the methods of these scientists, exciting tales of discovery, and the history and evolution of this field, Cryptozoology A to Z is the most complete reference ever of the newest zoological science.

Political assassinations and terrorism have both outraged and fascinated the public throughout American history, particularly in the modern era. Providing biographical summaries of more than 100 assassins and terrorists, this book aims at a more complete understanding of the motivations behind violent extremism. The lives of the subjects are analyzed with a focus on psychological and ideological factors, along with details of investigations and criminal trials. Conspiracy theories are evaluated for credibility. Social media features prominently in explaining political violence by members of extremist groups in the 21st century, including radical Islamic terrorists, anti-abortion activists and white supremacists.

During the summer of 1924, everyone was obsessed with Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, the two wealthy, brilliant, lovers who had brutally murdered a boy with a chisel just for the "thrill." Between the charm and accessibility of the dashing teenage defendants, their "deviant" sexual appetites, and the 1920s' culture wars over the generational shift in acceptable morality, it is no wonder it was labeled the trial of the century. 100 years after the murder, this groundbreaking new biography reveals the motivations behind Bobby's death and the secret life of one of his killers. Pulling on previously unseen archival collections from across the country, Arrested Adolescence looks at the full life of Nathan Leopold to discover the secrets hidden from history.

Journalist Allum Bokhari has spent four years investigating the tech giants that dominate the Internet: Google, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter. He has discovered a dark plot to seize control of the flow of information, and utilize that power to its full extent-to censor, manipulate, and ultimately sway the outcome of democratic elections. His network of whistleblowers inside Google, Facebook and other companies explain how the tech giants now see themselves as "good censors," benevolent commissars controlling the information we receive to "protect" us from "dangerous" speech. They reveal secret methods to covertly manipulate online information without us ever being aware of it, explaining how tech companies can use big data to target undecided voters. They lift the lid on a plot four years in the making-a plot to use the power of technology to stop Donald Trump's re-election.

Conspiracies have always been part of American culture, but with the rise of social media has come an increase in belief in nontraditional explanations of events. This book highlights a subset of conspiratorial beliefs that grew in popularity in the early 21st century. These beliefs and the growing cynicism of the media have left conspiracy theorists with deep distrust of those in authority. A number of theories that have arisen over the years are explored. From QAnon beliefs regarding the United States government to UFO reports and other hidden agendas, it is clear that we continue to challenge old ways of thinking.

Humans are unique in their ability to create systematic accounts of the world - theories based on guiding cosmological principles. This book is about the role of cognition in creating cosmologies, and explores this through the ethnography and history of Yijing divination in China. Diviners explain the cosmos in terms of a single substance, qi, unfolding across scales of increasing complexity to create natural phenomena and human experience. Combined with an understanding of human cognition, it shows how this conception of scale offers a new way for anthropologists and other social scientists to think about cosmology, comparison and cultural difference.

Much has been written about the group of 14th-century warrior monks known as the Knights Templar. Some authors, such as Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code, portray them as folk heroes wrongly accused. Others disagree, saying the Templar story is ultimately one of greed, deception, and idolatry. Just who were the Knights Templar? And what is their legacy? In The Templar Papers, historian Oddvar Olsen has assembled a veritable Who's Who of experts to unravel the mystery. Instead of rehashing previous scholarship, this book delves into new aspects of Templar lore, such as the origins of the order an its supposed survival after 1314. The Templar Papers offers the inquisitive reader several lifetimes of research and insight. This is a distinctive and truly unique compilation that will stimulate your mind and settle the controversy.

Is the world we know a lie? Could the truth be something very different from the information we get from mainstream media and conventional history? Whether it's the sinking of the Titanic, Shakespeare's true identity or the secrets of the Illuminati, Conspiracy Theories has something to capture the curiosity and imagination of every reader. As well as popular mysteries such as the Loch Ness Monster, this book explores the return of old beliefs such as the idea of a flat Earth, current affairs including Donald Trump and - in this revised edition - new information and evidence on the mysterious disappearance of Amelia Earhart, the Moon Landing and the assassination of JFK.

Throughout history, individuals have planned events that have harmed others and some of these actions have become conspiracy theories and mysteries. Through spirit board communications with the other side, explore the details of 26 of the world's most famous cases. Learn what President John Kennedy has to say about his own assassination and murder. Consider the words of General George Custer as he tells what happened at the Battle of the Little Big Horn-and who killed him. Find out about the murder of Abraham Lincoln and trace the strange events surrounding John Wilkes Booth. Discover secrets of Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy, General George Patton, manipulation of the weather, the alien conspiracy, and much more. As you will soon see, the spirits on the other side know all and are willing to talk about it.

Concise introduction to the development of conspiracy theories during the pandemic. Takes a balanced approach drawing on empirical data and social science research rather than sensationalism. Seeks to understand rather than just condemn or mock conspiracy theorists.

Concise introduction to the development of conspiracy theories during the pandemic. Takes a balanced approach drawing on empirical data and social science research rather than sensationalism. Seeks to understand rather than just condemn or mock conspiracy theorists.

The U.S. government is now practically screaming that a new avian super-flu will likely kill millions of Americans. The mainstream media is entirely onboard, as are drug companies and other corporations poised to benefit immensely off the paranoia. "But there is NO coming bird flu pandemic." It's an elaborate scheme contrived by the government and big business for reasons that boil down to power and money.

Presenting eye-opening evidence that casts serious doubt on the truthfulness of reports about the virus's ability to transmit, and its mortality rates around the world, renowned physician Dr. Joseph Mercola reveals the secrets about the great bird flu hoax. In compelling fashion he provides you the "real" facts you need to know to protect you from a far greater ill - corporate and governmental greed.

Are the marketing men of the world deluding us? Can we believe all that we hear and see? Or are we deluding ourselves? How many of us are truly happy? This book is the result of an awakening. It is the same awakening to the self and to the wonder of the cosmos that has driven thinking men and women for generations. It is the same awakening that has been the generative cause of the affect of religion and belief. It is the same awakening that has then caused man to revolt against the same. Delusion is a human phenomenon and it is the cause of almost every problem mankind has created. This book is an attempt to explain the processes of delusion and in so-doing we find answers to some of the biggest mysteries: Alien abduction and UFO's ghosts and the paranormal, marketing, propaganda and religious, and mind control of the masses. Is mankind ready for truth? Not only is it out there, it's been waiting for us.

Professor Carroll Quigley presents crucial "keys" without which 20th century political, economic, and military events can never be fully understood. The reader will see that this applies to events past-present-and future. "The Rhodes Scholarships, established by the terms of Cecil Rhode's seventh will, are known to everyone. What is not so widely known is that Rhodes in five previous wills left his fortune to form a secret society, which was to devote itself to the preservation and expansion of the British Empire. And what does not seem to be known to anyone is that this secret society ... continues to exist to this day. ... This group is, as I shall show, one of the most important historical facts of the twentieth century." -Quigley

Vampires and Vampirism (1914) is a work from another era, a time when belief and wonder led some to travel down pathways of knowledge in search of truth and terror, not knowing what they would find. Written in response to an "awakened [popular] interest in supernormal phenomena" in the early twentieth century, Dudley Wright's Vampires and Vampirism traces the history of vampirism around the world, from ancient Babylonia, Assyria, and Greece, to Great Britain, Germany, and Eastern Europe. Beginning with the question "What is a vampire?", Wright seeks to first define the term before moving into an analysis of how belief in vampirism emerged from various and distant religious and cultural traditions. Each chapter uses a scholarly mix of ancient and modern sources to enlighten the reader, and the book culminates in a chapter titled "Fact or Fiction?", which allows the reader to hear from believers and skeptics alike. The book includes harrowing personal accounts of outbreaks of vampirism in British India and Mexico, as well as a lengthy bibliography. In a world where matters of occult nature, such as astrology, have reentered the popular consciousness, Vampires and Vampirism is sure to be of interest. It is also a fascinating document of a time when Europeans-faced with spiritual doubt and inspired by religious traditions and myths from the outer reaches of empire-sought to establish new systems of belief, new orders they hoped could replace those they feared were quickly becoming lost. At times despicable, and always controversial, Dudley Wright was a tireless searcher whose life included conversions to Islam and Catholicism, forays into anti-Semitism-later retracted-and a deep, spiritual involvement with organizations dedicated to matters both visible and invisible, true and beyond belief. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this new edition of Dudley Wright's Vampires and Vampirism is a classic of history and horror reimagined for modern readers.