- Paperback: 251 pages
- Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (May 4 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0520248120
- ISBN-13: 978-0520248120
- Product Dimensions: 22.5 x 17 x 1.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 249 g
- Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #318,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Many people assume that the X-Files conspiracy theory-malevolent space aliens in cahoots with shadowy government agencies-is the brainchild of caffeinated scriptwriters with an overnight deadline. But according to this fascinating cultural study, such scenarios have a long and disturbing intellectual pedigree. Political scientist Barkun (Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement) traces them to a venerable tradition of "New World Order" conspiracy theories combining fundamentalist dread of the Antichrist with secular right-wing suspicions that the powers that be are controlled by Masons, Jesuits, Jews and, above all, the Illuminati. Starting in the 1980s, extraterrestrials began to appear at the summits of these conspiracy-theory hierarchies, a process accelerated by the Internet's anarchic dissemination and recombination of myths and rumors. The resulting "improvisational millennialism" has yielded any number of baroque "superconspiracies" (one theory yokes together UFOs, the Gestapo, the Mafia and the Wobblies), but Barkun contends there are serious repercussions. As New World Order themes have infiltrated the previously apolitical UFO subculture, he argues, they have become more respectable and widespread: racialist and anti-Semitic ideologies have resurfaced in the coded guise of alien cabals, and a vast popular audience has been introduced by Hollywood to the notion that the government is a totalitarian clique in black helicopters-a view once confined to right-wing extremists. Scholarly but fluently written and free of excessive jargon, Barkun's exploration of the conspiratorial worldview combines sociological depth with a deadpan appreciation of pop culture and raises serious questions about the replacement of democracy by conspiracy as the dominant paradigm of political action in the public mind.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
"This book is a welcome contribution to the growing body of literature and continuing debate on the subject and is highly recommended to those interested in conspiracy theory, millenarianism and other forms of right wing, religious and occult phenomena." - Aaron Winter, E-extreme "Ideas, even bizarre and marginalized ideas, do have consequences, and we ignore them at our peril. Barkun's explorations, like the canary in the coal mine, warn us of what may lie ahead." - Paul Boyer, Christian Century "Millennial dreams, apocalyptic nightmares populated by agents of the Antichrist, space aliens, and acolytes of the New World Order - with a calm approach and scrupulous academic bearings, Barkun navigates through the reefs of conspiracist allegation from the cosmic to the comic, from Biblical prophecy to Internet alerts." - Chip Berlet, co-author of Right-Wing Populism in America "For those who think conspiracy thinking is a fading phenomenon, or a cultural phenomenon of little significance or creativity, think again. Welcome to the third millennium." - Richard Landes, Director, Center for Millennial Studies at Boston University; editor of The Encyclopedia of Millennial Movements and author of Relics, Apocalypse, and the Deceits of History"
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
On January 20, 2002, Richard McCaslin, thirty-seven, of Carson City, Nevada, was arrested sneaking into the Bohemian Grove in Northern California. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
On January 20, 2002, Richard McCaslin, thirty-seven, of Carson City, Nevada, was arrested sneaking into the Bohemian Grove in Northern California. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great review of modern conspiracy literature,
By
This review is from: A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America (Hardcover)
This book is an excellent survey of conspiracy literature. The central thesis of the book is that in the 1980s and 1990s there has been a cross-pollination of ideas between right wing extremist groups of the secular and Christian varieties and the ufologists. He traces the history of the main themes in current conspiracy theories - e.g. the world is run by a secret cabal, variously, the Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderburgers, Masons, Jesuits, Jewish bankers, etc.The negative reviews on Amazon are obviously conspiracists who spend their nights with Art Bell and George Noory. There is a certain amount of "Just because I am paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get me." This stuff is pretty far fetched. As Barkun says, the "evidence" is mostly sources cross-citing each other. There are two problems in Barkun's book: 1. he is blind to the conspiracy theories that have been adopted from the right-wing, through the New Age movements, into the vestiges of the hard left-wing. I don't know his political leanings, but most academics are socialists or Greens, which may explain the omission. 2. for all his subtle ridicule of right-wing apocalypses, he finishes the book with an over-the-top apocalyptic warning - that because conspiracy theories have passed into popular culture, it makes it more likely that it will lead to violence and social upheaval.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
Its a conspiracy!!!,
By A Customer
This review is from: A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America (Hardcover)
Its funny; all of the people who refute and attack all of the so-called "conspiracy theorists" never use any facts, history, or documented evidence to back up their attacks. The scary part is that the "theorists" have so many facts that, once one has studied many topics thoroughly, it all speaks for itself. This book is 250 pages of fluff and uninformed opinion. Instead of wasting your time reading this, go investigate the history of our great nation. "All truth passes through 3 stages. ~ Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
A total peice of establishment propaganda,
By randy grant (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America (Hardcover)
This book is just like watching the evening news you get lots of jingoism, and little in the way of factual documentation. Barkun's chapter on Black Helicopters for instance takes the most extreme views such as linking cattle mutilations to black helicopters and does nothing to address the topic of UN Military units operating domestically within the USA. Black Helicopters operating out of Fort Hood Texas are real, yet Barkun never bothers to tell his readers that Black Helicopters operated by the UN are real, and have even been involved in law enforcement activities here in the US. Shame on Mr. Barkun for his highly distorted take on historical events and people such as the Rockerfellers, the Council on Foreign Relations (which publically states they wish to destroy the US Constitutional Government and replace it with a UN Style world Government). If you want the truth listen to Alex Jones...
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