Rating: 
Summary: Comedic and Intelligent Are Not Mutually Exclusive
Review: Belzer is an intelligent person who is also a comedian, as well as an actor. Why some people think that being well read, cultured, and intelligent, as well as a comedian/actor are mutually exclusive, is beyond me. (Why do you think Belzer has escaped the cultural wasteland of the USA and moved to France?) Belzer's comedy routines have always been pointed, political, and sardonic. The blending of wit, intelligence and comedy in Conspiracies should not come as a surprise to anyone, especially those familiar with Belzer's comedy.Belzer has obviously followed conspiracy theories, politics and the topics of UFOs, JFK, etc. for years. His personal thoughts on these subjects are hysterically and thoughtfully put together in this book. This book isn't a scientific look at UFOs. It isn't a sociological breakdown of our cultures' fascination with the JFK assassination. The book does not contain "in-depth" interviews, photographs, charts and graphs, surveys or other scientific data. Belzer isn't a scientist, sociologist or psychologist, he is a writer/comedian/actor, and, as such, has put together his personal thoughts regarding these subjects in a book. To expect Belzer to provide some sort of rigid documentation, or in-depth interviews with those "in the know, " is missing the point. Belzer is entitled to his opinion, whether one agrees with him or not. He also is writing in his own style, which is comedic. Don't let the comedic style fool you; beneath Belzer's wit lies perceptions based on intelligent thinking and research through the years on these very topics. Belzer stays true to who he is: a man with a sense of the absurd, a comedic perspective of the world. It has often been the "comics" who have had the most serious things to say. (Mort Sahl, George Carlin, Dennis Miller, etc.) As someone who has been studying UFO and UFO-related phenomena, I found Belzer's insights to be both entertaining and on the mark. Far from finding Belzer's blend of humor and thinking on the topics contradictory or confusing, I found his style to be refreshing and informative. I also admire Belzer for "coming out" publicly with his views on these subjects, particularly the topic of UFOs. Mainstream society still does not treat the sincere exploration of UFOs as valid. Mainstream media and society still consider those of us who explore such topics as nut-cases. Belzer is brave to put himself out there with his insights.
Rating: 
Summary: A Stand-Up's Hysterical Views
Review: As Det. John Munch on NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street, comedian-actor Richard Belzer can often be heard spouting the sardonic cop's paranoid theories about government cover-ups and domestic espionage. Yet who ever thought Belzer himself was such a die-hard conspiracy nut? Or is he just putting us all on? In the first half of his mystifying UFOs, JFK and Elvis (in which the late Mr. Presley, incidentally, gets only a brief mention), Belzer gleefully trashes the 1964 Warren Commission report on JFK's assassination. But Belzer embraces so many alternate explanations that we're left to conclude that a veritable army of assassins from CIA agents to Mafia hit men murdered the President. When he moves on to UFOs, Belzer's approach is slightly more antic. ("The universe is really big," he says, making the case for extraterrestrials. "It's even bigger than Wal-Mart.") Was the 1969 lunar landing merely a huge special-effects hoax? Or did Neil Armstrong spot UFOs on the moon, which NASA then covered up? In sum, Belzer's amusing cockeyed thesis seems to be: Have it your way--just don't believe anything the government tells you. A tongue-in-cheeky read.
Rating:
Summary: The Humor Of JFK
Review: This book was not ufo's jfk and elvis. The I am writing about is called the humor of jfk. It deals with the history of JFK's life by summerizing it in the form of a comedic biography. By the things I read in this book were things that they were not to tell to the public in this book. I found it very interesting and pretty cool too read this book and I am not going to tell the people what happened because you will have to read it to find out. I recomend this book to people who are into comedy and yet to learn about who JFK was and how he affected the United States. This in my mind was a inspiration book saying what JFK had to deal with in his life time. I thank you for taking the time to read my evaluation.
Rating: 
Summary: Belzer needs to write sci-fi!
Review: Belzer reads his findings and theories on these defining events of the 20th Century. Though comic in his sardonic tone and satiric asides, there is nothing funny about the content. Richard lets us in on his obsession with dark brooding over the cover-up and continuing conspiracy to hide the truth of JFK's assassination. More to my interest is his delving into the government's UFO denials. Belzer has a knack for making these seeming coincidences and possible explanations totally unbelievable. He also quotes and refers to other information gatherers as his sources. I just may have to seek out more of this stuff.
Rating: 
Summary: Belzer says: It's hip to be brain-dead
Review: The one mystery not explained by this disorganized hash of a book is why we should listen to actor Richard Belzer's paranoid rants about the JFK assassination, the existence of UFO, and -- well, there's no Elvis in this book, despite the title, but it sure sounds great, doesn't it? Half the book is an extended rant on various JFK assassination theories and the other half a rant about UFO theories. It's disjointed, hostile, irritating and not in the least amusing, as if someone loaded Belzer up with Thorozine and turned on the tape recorder. No theory is too outlandish to consider, and no fact cannot be twisted to fit whatever scheme. With characters like the Umbrella Man, 60 Oswald doubles and a J.Edgar Hoover killed by doctored asperin, and you've got the script for a fanboy "X-Files" episode. After finishing this book -- assuming that anyone will -- you may find yourself concluding that sinister government agencies had recruited Belzer to write "UFOs, JFK, and Elvis." No more effective way exists to discredit these conspiracy theories.
Rating:
Summary: Neither Funny, nor informative.
Review: My expectations, based on the cover, was that this would be an amusing look at conspiracies. Instead, Belzer seems to believe the garbage that he has written - and wasn't all that entertaining. His reasoning is specious and anyone who applies logic to his writing can see it for the nonsense that it is. Here is an example of his "logic" regarding the theory that NASA faked the lunar landing: FACTOID: Been There, Done That. Where do these clever Hollywood scriptwriteers get their ideas? Apparently from NASA! This theory is not only depected in the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds are forever, it resurfaces as an ersatz flight to Mars in Capricorn One. This tidbit is presented as a "factoid." However, the only fact here is that those movies were made - they cannot be presented as evidence that NASA faked anything. FACTOID: Even James Oberg, a space-flight operations engineer at Rockwell International and Kaysing debunker, estimates that there are between 110 and 25 million Americans who doubt the reality of the lunar landing. This may be an interesting statistic - but with even 25 million people disbelieving in the lunar landing, no real evidence has been presented. Belzer's book is filled with speculation and misleading "factoids." Save your money and surf the web for consiracy theories. They'll be both more entertaining and in some cases presented with better logic.
Rating:
Summary: A good introduction
Review: An easy read. It would be good for someone who is interested in some major conspiracy theories but has never researched before. It lightly touches on JFK, Roswell, Black Copters and MIB. Nothing indepth, but he provides a great biblio. That may be worth the price of the book alone. Otherwise, it has little to offer to those in the know. And some of the jokes seem cheezy and below someone of Belzer's ability.
Rating:
Summary: One for the book shelf
Review: Well, so there are no pictures! So go on the internet for pity sake. Plenty of photos there. What Richard has done so nicely, is bring together many problems with the JFK and UFO matters, provides a basic bibliography, and lets the reader do the followup. There is so much information that what he is done is to provide a key that anyone with interest in the subjects can use to go much further into each. Even if he is only 50% accurate the book provides anyone with *any* imagination the basic info. If you are expecting lots of picktures you will be disappointed, but the text will tickle your interest. Don't be put aside by bits of humor. Keeps one sane...
Rating:
Summary: Do not waste your time on this one!
Review: Terrible! There is nothing original or interesting about this book. I bought it because I am more a "conspiracy nut" than Belzer fan, so I am neither friend nor foe (Belzer fans are perhaps a bit generous in their praise). What makes this book so bad is its lack of any sort of originality. Mr. Belzer's research consisted of reading a couple dozen conspiracy books, interviewing one single author, and taking the most ludicrous and simplistic of ideas he could comprehend and tossing them together with pathetic attempts at humor at the level of something one might find on a junior high lavoratory. And even worse, he describes all this photographic evidence without a single photo or illustration in the book. Case in point: describing these incredible extraterrestrial structures that have been photographed and prove beyond any doubt that there is intelligent life in this solar system he tells you that you can see them with your own eyes by spending some time on the internet with search engines! His biggest failure, perhaps, is his attempt to inform his reader of these fantastic revelations but at the same time giving the impression that he is doing so sarcastically and winking his eye at you while making these claims. Is he trying to make you think there may be a greater truth out there or does he want you to believe all these alien abductees are perverted morons? At least I can respect J.Z. Knight for believing that Ramtha gibberish to be true. The one thing I can say in the positive sense is that it is good to bring in to question the true facts behind what we are told is history. Mr. Belzer had an opportunity to do credibly but lightheartedly. He fails badly in both cases. Type "conspiracy" on your search engine and you will find both more facts and more laughs.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Fiction
Review: I enjoyed the book, while dismissing most of the conspiracies. It can be done! What brought the rating down was the lack of photos and/or illustrations....anyone can accuse, give us your proof! And not by telling us to buy someone else's book, either. Otherwise, a city dweller like me who has never seen a flying saucer can have a good laugh!
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