Forensic pathologist Philippe Charlier - dubbed the "Indiana Jones of the graveyards" - travels to Haiti where rumors claim that some who die may return to life as zombies. Charlier investigates these far-fetched stories and finds that, in Haiti, the dead are a part of daily life. Families, fearing that loved ones may return from the grave, urge pallbearers to take rambling routes to prevent the recently departed from finding their way home from cemeteries. Corpses are sometimes killed a second time...just to be safe. And a person might spend their life preparing their funeral and grave to ensure they will not become a wandering soul after death. But are the stories true? Charlier's investigations lead him to Vodou leader Max Beauvoir and other priests, who reveal how bodies can be reanimated. In some cases, sorcerers lure the dead from their graves and give them a potion concocted from Devil's Snare, a plant more commonly known as Jimsonweed. Sometimes secret societies use poudre zombi - "zombie powder" - spiked with the tetrodotoxin found in blowfish. Charlier eagerly collects evidence, examining Vodou dolls by X-ray, making sacrifices at rituals, and visiting cemeteries under the cloak of night. Zombies follows Charlier's journey to understand the fascinating and frightening world of Haiti's living dead, inviting readers to believe the unbelievable.

A stirring work that offers a chilling glimpse into the negligence, greed, murder, and, at times, comical disorganization behind some of the CIA's most controversial secret operations, this book collects the first five issues of the zine. Summarizing the influence the CIA had in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.; the AIDS virus; the killing of Filiberto Ojeda Rios, a Puerto Rican independence movement leader; the Patriot Act; and the Iran-Contra affair, this forthright representation provides an behind the scenes look at the United States' foreign and domestic policies. The radical claims presented are built on fact and posit an accessible alternative to mainstream histories that help to contextualize current events and the worldwide anti-American backlash.

They are tiny. They are tall. They are gray. They are green. They survey our world with enormous glowing eyes. To conduct their shocking experiments, they creep in at night to carry humans off to their spaceships. Yet there is no evidence that they exist at all. So how could anyone believe he or she was abducted by aliens? Or want to believe it? To answer these questions, psychologist Susan Clancy interviewed and evaluated "abductees"--old and young, male and female, religious and agnostic. She listened closely to their stories--how they struggled to explain something strange in their remembered experience, how abduction seemed plausible, and how, having suspected abduction, they began to recollect it, aided by suggestion and hypnosis. Clancy argues that abductees are sane and intelligent people who have unwittingly created vivid false memories from a toxic mix of nightmares, culturally available texts (abduction reports began only after stories of extraterrestrials appeared in films and on TV), and a powerful drive for meaning that science is unable to satisfy. For them, otherworldly terror can become a transforming, even inspiring experience. "Being abducted," writes Clancy, "may be a baptism in the new religion of this millennium." This book is not only a subtle exploration of the workings of memory, but a sensitive inquiry into the nature of belief.

"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?

Since the early days of the AIDS epidemic, many bizarre and dangerous hypotheses have been advanced as to the origins of the disease. In this compelling book, Nicoli Nattrass explores the social and political factors prolonging the erroneous belief that the American government manufactured the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to be used as a biological weapon, as well as the myth’s consequences for behavior, especially within African American and black South African communities.

Contemporary AIDS denialism, the belief that HIV is harmless and that antiretroviral drugs are the true cause of AIDS, is a more insidious AIDS conspiracy theory. Advocates of this position make a “conspiratorial move” against HIV science by implying its methods cannot be trusted, and that untested, alternative therapies are safer than antiretrovirals. These claims are genuinely life-threatening, as tragically demonstrated in South Africa when the delay of antiretroviral treatment resulted in nearly 333,000 AIDS deaths and 180,000 HIV infections thatcould have been prevented – a tragedy of stunning proportion.

Nattrass identifies four symbolically powerful figures ensuring the lifespan of AIDS denialism: the hero scientist (dissident scientists who lend credibility to the movement), the cultropreneur (alternative therapists who exploit the conspiratorial move as a marketing mechanism), the living icon (individuals who claim to be living proof of AIDS denialism’s legitimacy), and the praise-singer (journalists who broadcast movement messages to the public). Nattrass describes how pro-science activists have fought back by deploying empirical evidence and political credibility to resist AIDS conspiracy theories, which is part of the crucial project to defend evidence-based medicine.

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.

The "Canadian Oxford Dictionary" defines hoax as a "humorous or malicious deception," and hex as "a magic spell." In "Hoaxes and Hexes," Barbara Smith explores these intriguing reflections of human nature, showing our curious desire to believe in the impossible and explain the inexplicable. Here are tales of swindlers, charlatans and imposters, among them the flamboyant 19th-century financier known as Lord Gordon-Gordon; David Walsh, author of the horrendous Bre-X gold-mine hoax of the 1990s; and the eccentric Josef Papp, who claimed to have crossed the Atlantic in a homemade submarine. The persistent power of hexes is recorded in stories of cursed places-including a strange haunting in the Cypress Hills and a deadly Lake Superior lighthouse-and weird coincidences, such as the legendary Hollywood hex on Oscar-winning actresses. Whether you believe in the power of hoaxes or hexes, these bizarre stories show them to be a fascinating part of our history.

Since our very beginnings, human beings from all civilisations across the globe have encountered the Others - intelligent, self-motivated beings that are clearly not human in their origins. This book offers the most comprehensive survey ever made of such otherworldly visitors, from gods, angels, demons and djinns to hobgoblins, poltergeists and ghosts to UFOs and aliens. In addition to fully detailing the history of these encounters, the book attempts a bold explanation (never before undertaken) of the true nature of these beings. The book will explore the increasingly frequent "entheogen" encounters facilitated by substances such as dimethyltryptamine, ayahuasca, 5-Meo-DMT and LSD, as well as the beings encountered by individuals suffering from Alzheimer's-related Charles Bonnet Syndrome, young children's non-corporeal companions, and the seemingly independent beings met during lucid dreaming and near-death and out-of-body experiences.This book continues Anthony Peake's work in developing a completely original model of reality based upon an amalgamation of ancient belief systems, subjective human experiences of the extraordinary, and the latest discoveries of neurology, neurochemistry, quantum mechanics and cosmology. This model proposes that consciousness, far from being simply an accident of evolution, is the actual root source of the material universe. It suggests that at its most basic level everything that is seemingly physical is rendered into existence by consciousness.

This Is Not a Hoax shows how the work of some contemporary artists and writers intentionally disrupts the curatorial and authorial practices of the country's most respected cultural institutions: art galleries, museums, and book publishers. This first-ever study of contemporary Canadian hoaxes in visual art and literature asks why we trust authority in artistic works and how that trust is manifest.This book claims that hoaxes, far from being merely lies meant to deceive or wound, may exert a positive influence. Through their insistent disobedience, they assist viewers and readers in re-examining unquestioned institutional trust, habituated cultural hierarchies, and the deeply inscribed racism and sexism of Canada's settler-colonial history. Through its attentive look at hoaxical works by Canadian artists Iris Haussler, Brian Jungen, and Rebecca Belmore, photographer Jeff Wall, and writers and translators David Solway and Erin Moure, this book celebrates the surprising ways hoaxes call attention to human capacities for flexibility, adaptation, and resilience in a cultural moment when radical empathy and imagination is critically needed.

Zen Cat MindfulnessReaders of Start With Why, You Are Here and Whatever You Are, Be A Good One will love the quotes and teachings of Zen Cats Advice from Zen Leaders: Join some cuddly kittens for a collection of sayings from the Buddha in Zen Cats. Don't let the adorable cats fool you-they have plenty of mindfulness wisdom to share in the form of quotes and verses. These timeless verses, taken from the Dhammapada, will continue to be helpful and relevant to your life for years to come. Daily Mindfulness: Meditate along with these verses daily to gain a greater understanding of you, your life and your purpose. Learn from the clever cat to be true in body and mind. If you appreciated the mindfulness encouragement from Peace Is Every Step, The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching and Together Is Better, you will love the quotes in Zen Cats. Let your inner Zen Cat guide you to enlightenment.

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.

From the author of Fake History, Otto English, comes a shocking yet hilarious look at ten of the greatest liars from our past, examining these previously unquestioned idols and exposing what they were trying to hide.

Was Che Guevara really a revolutionary hero? Should Mother Teresa be honoured as a saint? Is Henry V actually England's greatest king? And why does JFK's legend continue to grow?

Having exposed some of the greatest lies ever told in Fake History, journalist Otto English turns his attention to some of history's biggest (and most beloved) figures.

Whether it's virtuous leaders in just wars, martyrs sacrificing all for a cause, or innovators changing the world for the better, down the centuries supposedly great men and women have risen to become household names, saints and heroes. But just how deserving are they of their reputations?

Exploring everything from Captain Scott's reckless hunt for glory and Andy Warhol's flagrant thievery to Coco Chanel's murky Nazi past, Otto English dives into the hidden lives of some of history's most recognisable names. Scrutinising figures from the worlds of art, politics, business, religion and royalty, he brings to light the murkier truths they would rather have kept buried away, at the same time as celebrating the unsung heroes lost to time.

Fake Heroes exposes the truth of the past and helps us understand why that matters today.

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.

"The enemy in washington is more to be feared than the enemy in Moscow" Communism did not destroy tariff protection created by George Washington. Communism did not force the United States to adopt graduated income tax. Communism did not create the Federal Reserve Board. Communism did not force the United Nations on America. Communism did not take away the Panama Canal away from the American people. Communism did not create the Global 2000 report mass genocide plan. It is socialism that has brought forth these evils upon the United States. "One World Order: Socialist Dictatorship" tells how this was, and is being accomplished.

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.