Conspiracy Theories: Secrecy and Power in American Culture

Rating:
Summary: Not just another conspiracy book.
Review: ....What makes this book special? Whatmakes this book a must read?

The answers are simple, this book has details. This book has facts. This book has information that is hard to find anywhere else. Above all this book isn't conjecture. Fenster's ability to bring to life the conspiracy and what it means to society is nothing short of remarkable.

From the very beginning, we find that author's attention to detail almost incredible. Fenster has taken what society has reduced to nothing more than tabloid trash and revealed secrets that will make you scared and judging from the writing you should be.

Fenster covers Militia groups, JFK, the Millennium, Bill Clinton and other and does it very well. I am certainly glad to have had the chance to read this remarkable book. I would hope the author is in the process of a second edition. Once again - excellent job!

Rating:
Summary: Epitome of Academic Dryness
Review: I read a lot, and more than a few books by academics. But even though I was keenly interested in the subject of this book, and what Fenster would have to say about it, I found the reading so utterly dry and boring that I couldn't get even a third of the way through the book. I put it down and came back to it several times, trying to bring a freshness to it. But each time I was drugged to catatonia within a few pages. I gave up trying to read it straight through, and tried skimming and jumping around to get some key points. It didn't help. The author appears more intent on scholarly notes and quotes and references, than on making a clear and readable narrative. Unless you are an academic doing research, or a lay reader with an iron stomach for this kind of material, I would find another book.

Rating:
Summary: The truth is out there...
Review: I recall a quote from Robert Anton Wilson who said, "Anyone in the United States who isn't paranoid must be crazy." I always thought that was an amusing quote, and it should've shown up in this book, probably! Fenster explores the prevalence of conspiracy theory in American culture in this very academic book. While his writing style is good, I warn you that this book seems aimed at academics, and not your garden-variety conspiracy buffs.

He begins with exploring Richard Hofstadter's work on the paranoid style of American politics, and leaps into studying the militia movement, later focusing on JFK, the X-Files, and other forms of "conspiracy as entertainment" and also examines millennial Christian groups and apocalyptic predictions, etc. Fenster is rigorous in his exploration of conspiracy theories-as he explains in the beginning, he is not detailing the theories so much as examining what they represent, both culturally and individually. In this, he does an excellent job, particularly regarding the militias.

He seeks to get past the old notion of conspiracy theory as pathology to seeing it as a legitimate, if extreme and disempowering expression of popular dissatisfaction with the status quo. This is an important observation: that conspiracy theory, by embracing the idea of all-powerful individual villainy (a secret group behind it all), instead of structural problems (capitalism, American democracy) people can actually affect and change, conspiracy theory saps the strength from people by making them paranoid bystanders to their own lives. But he's clear to point out how the structure of the American political system creates this line of thought, albeit unintentionally-the majority of Americans are marginalized in this society. The tonic for this would seem to be action, rather than taking refuge in conspiracy theory.

Overall, this book is worth your time, but don't read it as a titillating account of conspiracies or you will be disappointed. If you're curious about what makes these things tick, then this book is for you.

Rating:
Summary: The truth is out there...
Review: I recall a quote from Robert Anton Wilson who said, "Anyone in the United States who isn't paranoid must be crazy." I always thought that was an amusing quote, and it should've shown up in this book, probably! Fenster explores the prevalence of conspiracy theory in American culture in this very academic book. While his writing style is good, I warn you that this book seems aimed at academics, and not your garden-variety conspiracy buffs.

He begins with exploring Richard Hofstadter's work on the paranoid style of American politics, and leaps into studying the militia movement, later focusing on JFK, the X-Files, and other forms of "conspiracy as entertainment" and also examines millennial Christian groups and apocalyptic predictions, etc. Fenster is rigorous in his exploration of conspiracy theories-as he explains in the beginning, he is not detailing the theories so much as examining what they represent, both culturally and individually. In this, he does an excellent job, particularly regarding the militias.

He seeks to get past the old notion of conspiracy theory as pathology to seeing it as a legitimate, if extreme and disempowering expression of popular dissatisfaction with the status quo. This is an important observation: that conspiracy theory, by embracing the idea of all-powerful individual villainy (a secret group behind it all), instead of structural problems (capitalism, American democracy) people can actually affect and change, conspiracy theory saps the strength from people by making them paranoid bystanders to their own lives. But he's clear to point out how the structure of the American political system creates this line of thought, albeit unintentionally-the majority of Americans are marginalized in this society. The tonic for this would seem to be action, rather than taking refuge in conspiracy theory.

Overall, this book is worth your time, but don't read it as a titillating account of conspiracies or you will be disappointed. If you're curious about what makes these things tick, then this book is for you.

Rating:
Summary: The Why behind conspiracy theories and buying this book...
Review: This book challenges and takes the reader to the next level by asking WHY! Why do conspiracy theories exist in American society and culture?

The answers are set in an eloquent academic prose but does tend to "quote" "incessantly" in a "few" chapters which becomes "really" really "annoying." However the author delivers an expectant high level of proficiency in subsequent chapters.

Buy this book if (1) you appreciate academic prose, (2) are fascinated in the WHY theories behind conspiracy in American culture and society and (3) this is your first peek into the genre.