Piltdown was an archaeological site in Sussex where, in 1908 and 1912, human, ape and other mammal fossils were found together. Widely accepted as a creature who had a human cranium and an ape's jaw, the Piltdown 'Man' was, however, exposed as a fraud in 1953. Dr Weiner carefully reveals his own theories which led to this exposure and describes the controversies and difficulties which beset the scientific evaluation of the discovery. This new edition contains a foreword and afterword by Professor Chris Stringer, of the Natural History Museum.

Was our planet visited by alien astronauts in prehistory? Did it suffer collisions with a comet or asteroid? Do ancient myths and tales describe these visits and disasters in graphic detail? This is an exploration of 'hidden history', an area of enquiry that continues to fascinate an ever wider audience. In this massive compendium, editor Preston Peet brings together an all-star cast of contributors to question established wisdom about the history of the world and its civilisations.

Conspiracy theorists claim impossible knowledge, such as knowledge of the doings of a secret world government. Yet they accept this impossible knowledge as truth. In effect, conspiracy theories detach truth from knowledge. Knowledge without power is powerless. And the impossible knowledge claimed by conspiracy theorists is rigorously excluded from the regimes of truth and power - that is not even wrong. Yet conspiratorial knowledge is potent enough to be studied by researchers and recognized as a risk by experts and authorities. Therefore, in order to understand conspiracy theories, we need to think of truth beyond knowledge and power. That is impossible for any scientific discipline because it takes for granted that truth comes from knowledge and that truth is powerful enough to destroy the legitimacy of any authority that would dare to conceal or manipulate it. Since science is unable to make sense of conspiracy theories, it treats conspiracy theorists as individuals who fail to make sense, and it explains their persistent nonsense by some cognitive, behavioral, or social dysfunction. Fortunately, critical theory has developed tools able to conceive of truth beyond knowledge and power, and hence to make sense of conspiracy theories. This book organizes them into a toolbox which will enable students and researchers to analyze conspiracy theories as practices of the self geared at self-empowerment, a sort of political self-help.

In recent decades, as women entered the US workforce in increasing numbers, they faced the conundrum of how to maintain breastfeeding and hold down full-time jobs. In 2010, the Lactation at Work Law (an amendment to the US Fair Labor Standards Act) mandated accommodations for lactating women. This book examines the federal law and its state-level equivalent in Indiana, drawing on two waves of interviews with human resource personnel, supervising managers, and lactating workers. In many ways, this simple law - requiring break time and privacy for pumping - is a success story. Through advocacy by allies, education of managers, and employee initiative, many organizations created compliant accommodations. This book shows legal scholars how a successful civil rights law creates effective change; helps labor activists and management personnel understand how to approach new accommodations; and enables workers to understand the possibilities for amelioration of workplace problems through internal negotiations and legal reforms.

A perfect life. A perfect lie. When Nancy Cooper moved from Canada to Cary, North Carolina with her new husband Brad, their future was bright: living in one of the most picturesque towns in the US, the couple mingled with neighbors, attended parties, and raised two daughters. Then, on July 14th, 2008, the facade came crashing down when Nancy's strangled body was found in a storm pond. Nancy's husband claimed that she had gone for a jog and never come back. But as the police investigation deepened, and as Brad was brought to trial for murdering his wife, a complex web of affairs and lies was uncovered involving multiple residents of Cary's idyllic neighborhoods. At the heart of it stood the Coopers' soured marriage, Nancy's threat to leave with the children, and her own cold-blooded murder. It would take a mountain of damning evidence before justice was served.

"Marcius writes with genuine narrative power. Her depth of research provides insights into this historical escape that we can't get anywhere else " --Anthony Flacco, New York Times and international bestselling author A gripping, true-crime debut of imprisonment, escape, and survival from New York Daily News crime reporter Chelsia Rose Marcius. On June 6, 2015, inmates Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility, New York State's largest maximum security prison. The media was instantly obsessed with the story: aided by a prison seamstress, who smuggled hacksaw blades, chisels, and drill bits inside the facility via a vat of raw hamburger meat, the two convicted murderers sliced their way through steel cell walls, meandered through a maze of tunnels, climbed out of a manhole, and walked off into the night. Only a handful of inmates had successfully broken out of Clinton since the facility opened in 1845, and not many had made the attempt. Barbed wire, stone walls, and the wilderness of the Adirondacks have all served as physical and psychological barriers to freedom. This seemingly impossible Shawshank-esque escape had the makings of a Hollywood film, and the public hung on to every twist as the story developed. After nearly three weeks on the run, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent Christopher Voss shot and killed Matt on June 26, 2015. Two days later New York State Police Sgt. Jay Cook shot Sweat twice in the back. He survived. While we have come to learn how Matt and Sweat pulled off perhaps the most elaborate modern day prison break, no reporter, except Chelsia Rose Marcius, has talked directly to Sweat to ask the most important question in the case: Of all the inmates who dream of escape, why was he the one who could make it happen? "The details Marcius has amassed are comprehensive and stunning and serve to heighten the impact of her story. This is first-rate journalism, written about a crime and a criminal from the inside out." --Stephen Singular, New York Times bestselling author

The first survey of the many redesigned and imitation historical landmarks and objects that dot the globe "John Darlington shows . . . it is not just written history that is malleable; it is also history on the ground, heritage in brick and stone, wood and metal."-Simon Jenkins, Times Literary Supplement What happens when the past-or, more specifically, a piece of cultural heritage-is fabricated? From 50 replica Eiffel Towers located around the world to Saddam Hussein's reconstructions of ancient cities, examples of forged heritage are widespread. Some are easy to dismiss as blatant frauds (the Piltdown Man), while others adhere to honest copying or respectful homage (the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee). This compelling book examines copies of historic buildings, faux archaeological sites, and other false artifacts, using them to explore the ethics and consequences of reconstructing the past; it also tackles the issues involved with faithful, "above-board" re-creations of ancient landmarks. John Darlington probes questions of historical authenticity, seeking the lessons that lurk when history is twisted to tell an untrue story. Amplified by stunning images, the narrative underscores how the issue of duplicating heritage is both intriguing and incredibly complex, especially in the twenty-first century-as communication and technology flourish, so too do our opportunities to be deceived.

Best-selling conspiracy writer Jim Keith follows up his previous books with this investigation of various Men in Black stories. Known to Ufologists as M.I.B.s, Keith chronicles the strange goings on surrounding UFO activity and often bizarre cars that they arrive in-literal flying cars Men In Black incidents straddle the realms of mysticism and science, occultism and UFOs, material reality and fantasy; partaking of all, defined by none. Since ancient times these mysterious beings have stalked the planet. In recent years they have tried to silence witnesses of UFO sightings with threats, harassment and worse. Who are these strange beings garbed all in black? Are they government agents? Aliens? Creatures from another dimension? In Casebook on the Men in Black, author Jim Keith traces the path of these unusual visitors through history, and presents startling evidence about their origin and purpose. According to the lore, UFO witnesses are sometimes harassed or intimidated by mysterious men dressed entirely in black. Are they government agents, sinister aliens, time-travel police from the future or some other interdimensional creatures?

Aliens. Ley lines. Water dowsing. Conspiracies and myths captivate imaginations and promise mystery and magic. Whether it's arguing about the moon landing hoax or a Frisbee-like Earth drifting through space, when held up to science and critical thinking, these ideas fall flat. In Weird Earth: Debunking Strange Ideas About Our Planet, Donald R. Prothero demystifies these conspiracies and offers answers to some of humanity's most outlandish questions. Applying his extensive scientific knowledge, Prothero corrects misinformation that con artists and quacks use to hoodwink others about geology-hollow earth, expanding earth, and bizarre earthquakes-and mystical and paranormal happenings-healing crystals, alien landings, and the gates of hell. By deconstructing wild claims such as prophesies of imminent natural disasters, Prothero provides a way for everyone to recognize dubious assertions. Prothero answers these claims with facts, offering historical and scientific context in a light-hearted manner that is accessible to everyone, no matter their background. With a careful layering of evidence in geology, archaeology, and biblical and historical records, Prothero's Weird Earth examines each conspiracy and myth and leaves no question unanswered.

This is an innovative and wide-ranging study of the myth of 'The Last of the Race' as it develops in a range of literary and non-literary texts from the late seventeenth to late nineteenth centuries. The perennial fascination with the end of the world has given rise to many 'last men', from the ancient myths of Noah and Deucalion to contemporary stories of nuclear holocaust. Endangered peoples such as the Maasai or Bush People, continue to attract intense interest. Fiona Stafford begins with Milton and ends with Darwin, exploring the myth-making of their texts in the light of contemporary literary, scientific, political and religious views. Chapters on Milton, Burnet, Defoe, Ossian, Cowper, Wordsworth, Byron, Mary Shelley, Fenimore Cooper, Bulwer-Lytton, and Darwin combine to form an important account of the traces of this most resonant of cultural preoccupations, providing a distinguished contribution to cultural history as well as to literary studies.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities promotes ability equality, but this is not experienced in national laws. Australia, Canada, Ireland, the UK and the US all have one thing in common: regulatory frameworks which treat workers with psychosocial disabilities less favorably than workers with either physical or sensory disabilities. Ableism at Work is a comprehensive and comparative legal, practical and theoretical analysis of workplace inequalities experienced by workers with psychosocial disabilities. Whether it be denying anti-discrimination protection to people with episodic disabilities, addictions or other psychological impairments, failing to make reasonable accommodations/adjustments for workers with psychosocial disabilities, or denying them workers' compensation or occupational health and safety protections, regulatory interventions imbed inequalities. Ableism, sanism and prejudice are expressly stated in laws, reflected in judgments, and perpetuated by workplace practices and this book enables advocates, policy makers and lawmakers to understand the wider context in which systems discriminate workers with psychosocial disabilities.

Do you touch wood for luck, or avoid hotel rooms on floor thirteen? Would you cross the path of a black cat, or step under a ladder? Is breaking a mirror just an expensive waste of glass, or something rather more sinister? Despite the dominance of science in today's world, superstitious beliefs - both traditional and new - remain surprisingly popular. A recent survey of adults in the United States found that 33 percent believed that finding a penny was good luck, and 23 percent believed that the number seven was lucky. Where did these superstitions come from, and why do they persist today? This Very Short Introduction explores the nature and surprising history of superstition from antiquity to the present. For two millennia, superstition was a label derisively applied to foreign religions and unacceptable religious practices, and its primary purpose was used to separate groups and assert religious and social authority. After the Enlightenment, the superstition label was still used to define groups, but the new dividing line was between reason and unreason. Today, despite our apparent sophistication and technological advances, superstitious belief and behaviour remain widespread, and highly educated people are not immune. Stuart Vyse takes an exciting look at the varieties of popular superstitious beliefs today and the psychological reasons behind their continued existence, as well as the likely future course of superstition in our increasingly connected world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Are conspiracy theories everywhere and is everyone a conspiracy theorist? This ground-breaking study challenges some of the widely shared assessments in the scholarship about a perceived mainstreaming of conspiracy theory. It claims that conspiracy theory underwent a significant shift in status in the mid-20th century and has since then become highly visible as an object of concern in public debates. Providing an in-depth analysis of academic and media discourses, Katharina Thalmann is the first scholar to systematically trace the history and process of the delegitimization of conspiracy theory. By reading a wide range of conspiracist accounts about three central events in American history from the 1950s to 1970s - the Great Red Scare, the Kennedy assassination, and the Watergate scandal - Thalmann shows that a veritable conspiracist subculture emerged in the 1970s as conspiracy theories were pushed out of the legitimate marketplace of ideas and conspiracy theory became a commodity not unlike pornography: alluring in its illegitimacy, commonsensical, and highly profitable. This will be of interest to scholars and researchers interested in American history, culture and subcultures, as well, of course, to those fascinated by conspiracies.

The controversy surrounding the publication of the Zinoviev letter in The Daily Mail in October 1924 has close parallels with events today: Was it leaked by British officials or fake news to influence the outcome of the forthcoming election? On the basis of compelling evidence this book overturns the generally accepted view about the authenticity of the Zinoviev letter, proving it was genuine. The minority Labour government under Ramsay MacDonald had called an election for November. In the last days of the election campaign the press broke the news of a letter purporting to have been sent from Moscow by Grigory Zinoviev, Chairman of the Soviet-controlled Communist International, to the Communist Party of Great Britain. The letter urged members of the Party to increase their efforts to gain power by manipulating the Labour Party, which was hostile to Communist aims, so as to move the Labour Party to a revolutionary position, and by recruiting disenchanted military personnel to form the basis of a British `Red Army'. The Zinoviev letter had reached the Foreign Office via the Secret Service. It caused a storm, with accusations that it was a fabrication by White Russians or by British elements hostile to Ramsay MacDonald's Labour Government, and possibly lost Labour the election. It has never been established whether it was leaked to the Daily Mail by British officials or by someone from the British Communist Party. The author reveals that Zinoviev's letter, sent to British Communists by the Comintern, was not a fabrication, as has been widely believed for almost a hundred years. The evidence to show that this is so has been publicly available since 1930. The book ends with the question, was it overlooked or deliberately concealed by those with an allegiance to the Soviet Union? That is the new and real mystery of the Zinoviev letter.

In recent decades, as women entered the US workforce in increasing numbers, they faced the conundrum of how to maintain breastfeeding and hold down full-time jobs. In 2010, the Lactation at Work Law (an amendment to the US Fair Labor Standards Act) mandated accommodations for lactating women. This book examines the federal law and its state-level equivalent in Indiana, drawing on two waves of interviews with human resource personnel, supervising managers, and lactating workers. In many ways, this simple law - requiring break time and privacy for pumping - is a success story. Through advocacy by allies, education of managers, and employee initiative, many organizations created compliant accommodations. This book shows legal scholars how a successful civil rights law creates effective change; helps labor activists and management personnel understand how to approach new accommodations; and enables workers to understand the possibilities for amelioration of workplace problems through internal negotiations and legal reforms.

Since earliest times, human beings have pondered the incomprehensible questions of the universe, life . . . and the afterlife. Where did mortal man go to join the immortal Gods? Was the immense and complex structure at Giza an Egyptian Pharaoh's portal to immortality? Or a pulsating beacon built by extraterrestrials for landing on Earth?

In this second volume of his trailblazing series "The Earth Chronicles," Zecharia Sitchin unveils secrets of the pyramids and hidden clues from ancient times to reveal a grand forgery on which established Egyptology is founded, and takes the reader to the Spaceport and Landing Place of the Anunnaki gods--"Those Who from Heaven to Earth Came."

The year 2011 will mark the tenth anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, those history-changing events that have come to be known simply as 9/11. In "The Terror Conspiracy Revisited," the world's leading conspiracy writer updates his authoritative dissection of the official story of 9/11. This revised edition is packed with explosive new material including: The revelations of former New Jersey attorney General John Farmer, who served as Senior Counsel to the 9/11 Commission: "At some level of the government, at some point in time. . .there was an agreement not to tell the truth about what happened."Commission co-chairman Thomas Kean's suspicions of deceit: "We to this day don't know why NORAD told us what they told us. It was just so far from the truth."The European scientists' determination that there was nano-thermite in the World Trade Center debris, a high explosive generally available only through the US military.Pilots For 9/11 Truth's findings that Flight 77's flight deck door was never opened during flight, and their conclusion that hijackers could not have accessed the cockpit.

What is the truth? It is quite simply that the truth has not yet been presented to the American public. Jim Marrs busts wide open whatever credibility the US government's version of 9/11 ever had and leaves the reader with some unsavory but indisputable conclusions.

Jim Marrs is the "New York Times" best-selling author of "Rule By Secrecy," "The Trillion Dollar Conspiracy: The Plot That Killed Kennedy," and "Above Top Secret."

The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660 changed the lives of English republicans for good. Despite the Declaration of Breda, where Charles II promised to forgive those who had acted against his father and the monarchy during the Civil War and Interregnum, opponents of the Stuart regime felt unsafe, and many were actively persecuted. Nevertheless, their ideas lived on in the political underground of England and in the exile networks they created abroad. While much of the historiography of English republicanism has focused on the British Isles and the legacy of the English Revolution in the American colonies, this study traces the lives, ideas and networks of three seventeenth-century English republicans who left England for the European continent after the Restoration. Based on sources from a range of English and continental European archives, Gaby Mahlberg explores the lived experiences of these three exiles - Edmund Ludlow in Switzerland, Henry Neville in Italy, and Algernon Sidney - for a truly transnational perspective on early modern English republicanism.

Like the McCarthy era of the 1950s, there is a strong current of paranoid social thought as the end of the century approaches. Conspiracy theories abound, not only in extremist ideologies and groups, but in commerce, science, and economics-arenas where a paranoid style is least expected. A curiosity about paranoia at its most reasonable is at the root of this volume.
Some pieces develop conversations that reveal the post-Cold War situations of countries such as Italy, Russia, Slovenia, and the United States where conspiratorial explanations of national dramas seem to make sense. Other pieces tackle paranoia as a style of debate in such diverse realms as science, psychotherapy, and popular entertainment, where conspiracy theories emerge as a compelling way to address the inadequacies of rational expertise and organization in the face of immense changes that undermine them. Like all of the volumes in the Late Edition series, "Paranoia Within Reason" offers a provocative challenge to our ways of understanding the ongoing watershed changes that face us.

'A first class, edge-of-your-seat thriller. Fast-paced, flawlessly executed and hugely entertaining, it'll leave you breathless.' Sara Lotz A missing plane. A cabin full of suspects. One woman's quest for the truth. When Atlantic Airlines Flight 702 disappears mid-flight between London and New York, the world is stunned. With the public clamouring for answers, authorities seem at a loss as to how to explain the plane's disappearance. There were 256 passengers on Flight 702, with many carrying dark secrets on board with them. Could one of them hold the truth behind the plane's disappearance? College student Kaitlin Le's beloved twin brother Conor was on that plane. She refuses to believe the official statements, or to join her parents in their blind acceptance of Conor's death. But as she journeys deeper into the murky heart of what really happened on board that plane, it becomes clear she's drawing attention to herself. And there are some people who would rather the truth behind the fate of Flight 702 stayed buried...

Ruthless killers and murderers for hire: they are here, there, and everywhere. They lurk in the shadows, ready to pounce. They terminate on command. They change the course of the world. From the cunning, calculating, government-trained warriors to the psychopathic, homegrown freelancers, Assassinations: The Plots, Politics, and Powers behind History-Changing Murders exposes the hidden agendas, the open warfare, the cynical preparations, and devastating aftermaths of history's assassinations. You will be immersed in a world that is filled with killings made to seem like suicides, murders that were designed to look like heart-attacks or overdoses, and accidents that, in reality, were carefully orchestrated deaths. Covering 28 assassinations, attempts, and plots, this absorbing book takes an in-depth look at why so many famous and influential figures just had to go. With more than 120 photos and graphics, this tome is richly illustrated. A helpful bibliography and index add to its useful