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Everything You Know Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Secrets and Lies

Everything You Know Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Secrets and Lies

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $15.72
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: (starsearch score guide) - 3 and 3/4 stars -
Review: this book sat under my bed for a very very long time. although i do fancy myself a social lubricator of leftist awakenings spliced with the reserve of a right wing conservative, i personally thought this was going to be another excercise in proving what type of an idiot consumer the reader is by giving examples of colonial atrocity, world bank/imf plundering, and just terrible depictions of the human condition and the pretentiousness with which we disguise the driving disease of the world: consumerism. in short, i thought this was going to be a routine slap in the face by some fanatical liberal, which is really a way over the top description of this collection of articles. everything you know is wrong is an interesting mix of articles slapped together for the 'disinformation series' containing authors ranging from howard zinn who writes about the ludlow massacre to a wide range of investigative historians and journalists. i found brad shellady's article 'henry: fabrication of a serial killer' coincidentally very interesting. for about two weeks before i rediscovered these articles under my bed, i had wanted to see henry: portrait of a serial killer, the film starring michael rooker (?), which to my understanding now after reading brad shellady's story is far more fictitious and takes far more artistic liberties than i first understood about the film.

the articles themselves are rather short and texty with few enhancing photos. there are around thirty articles ranging from some side stories concerning the government's prior knowledge of the 9-11 attacks, the routine government-media censorships of global atrocities, and even the history of the vatican bank and money laundering.

all in all, collections like 'everything you know is wrong' is clearly needed every few years for stories probably needed to be heard but somehow, mysteriously, always escape the public eye.

can be a lil tedious and texty, but indispensible for the born-again liberal

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: (starsearch score guide) - 3 and 3/4 stars -
Review: this book sat under my bed for a very very long time. although i do fancy myself a social lubricator of leftist awakenings spliced with the reserve of a right wing conservative, i personally thought this was going to be another excercise in proving what type of an idiot consumer the reader is by giving examples of colonial atrocity, world bank/imf plundering, and just terrible depictions of the human condition and the pretentiousness with which we disguise the driving disease of the world: consumerism. in short, i thought this was going to be a routine slap in the face by some fanatical liberal, which is really a way over the top description of this collection of articles. everything you know is wrong is an interesting mix of articles slapped together for the 'disinformation series' containing authors ranging from howard zinn who writes about the ludlow massacre to a wide range of investigative historians and journalists. i found brad shellady's article 'henry: fabrication of a serial killer' coincidentally very interesting. for about two weeks before i rediscovered these articles under my bed, i had wanted to see henry: portrait of a serial killer, the film starring michael rooker (?), which to my understanding now after reading brad shellady's story is far more fictitious and takes far more artistic liberties than i first understood about the film.

the articles themselves are rather short and texty with few enhancing photos. there are around thirty articles ranging from some side stories concerning the government's prior knowledge of the 9-11 attacks, the routine government-media censorships of global atrocities, and even the history of the vatican bank and money laundering.

all in all, collections like 'everything you know is wrong' is clearly needed every few years for stories probably needed to be heard but somehow, mysteriously, always escape the public eye.

can be a lil tedious and texty, but indispensible for the born-again liberal

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Offensive
Review: This book was disgusting and offensive. It was explosive for the sake of being explosive. I am not conservative or right wing. This book is against pretty much everything and does not offer any ideas as to how to change the problems of the mainstream. It seems that it was written just to make money for a corporation, the corporation that published it. Yes, thats right, it isn't some underground independant book, big shocker. It was VERY offensive to women. It also denied mental illness. I would DEFINETLY not recommend this book.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: He is lying.
Review: This book was published by a fake arm of the CIA, by the government. Hilary Clinton had Karl Rove drugged and now Bill is running the government again.
The Pope has taken over Oklahoma and plans to invade Kansas. Everybody knows this but no one will admit it.
Dupes.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Interesting Assortment Of Censored Info & Views
Review: This compilation of "Disinfo" challenging articles is varied and not directed toward any specific consensus other than the notion that various special interests manipulate information presented to the public for self-serving agendas. Some of the articles that challenge conventional views about social phenomena were very insightful, as was the section on the authoritarian socialist agenda guiding the educational system. The articles about political issues like 9-11 seemed rather short and could have dug deeper into these topics. Whether or not you agree with the various ideas expressed in this book you will find some things that challenge you to expand your views and understandings on some issues. Perhaps you will even take the time to research and explore some of the topics in greater depth in other sources. After all, if people made the effort to educate themselves and not rely on "experts" and "authorities" to tell them what to think then there might not be a need for a book that tells us "Everything You Know Is Wrong."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A very different view of America
Review: This is a group of articles, some previously published, that give a very different interpretation of many contemporary issues. This isn't a "liberal" or "conservative" book, since the authors come from all over the political spectrum.

The Vatican Bank, with the Pope as sole shareholder, has been involved in financial scams, tax evasion and money laundering of Nazi gold. Some groups have an interest (usually financial) in taking the tiny number of Americans who belong to hate groups and making them into a tidal wave about to engulf the whole country. Conventional wisdom says that Henry Lee Lucas was one of the biggest serial killers in American history. On more than one occasion, he confessed to any murder put in front of him, even if he wasn't in the same state at the time (the police usually didn't care about that part), to increase his chances of going to the electric chair. Many witnesses say that there was a third, older, shooter that day at Columbine High School.

Mad cow disease is spreading virtually unchecked in America. There is a very graphic look at what a meat-based diet is all about, for animals and for humans. Another piece is titled, "Psychiatric Drugging of Children for Behavioral Control." It is a mistake to assume that all disabled people want to be "cured." Despite their high-sounding words in public, in private, all major religions subjugate women and treat them as inferior to men. Press coverage of the Branch Davidian siege at Waco, Texas, consisted of little more than FBI press conferences, and bore little relation to the truth. In many large cities and smaller towns, seeing the money to be made from crime, police have become the crooks. A piece by the editor detailing the large number of warnings received by the US government before the September 11 attacks, is, by itself, worth the price of the book.

I loved this book. Like its prequel "You Are Being Lied To", this book is full of information that will never be covered in the American news media. There is something here to upset or offend everyone. This book is extremely highly recommended.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Is the cup half empty?
Review: To begin, I'm not a fan of the mass media. Truly, their biases have been covered in countless well-researched texts of varying degrees of credibility. So "the other side" is nearly always welcome. (Remember, though, that "the other side" is often nonsense. Ideologues attract each other to some of the wildest foolishness imagineable, and the web is full if that stuff!)

This book seems to want to express that other side. In some cases I agree with it. (I plan to e-mail at least one of the authors thanking him for his insights.) In fact, I'm personally acquainted with some of the authors who make some very good points. However, some of the book is also, frankly, pretty sensationalistic.

Then there's those with whom I have some agreement but lack the academic expertise to confirm or deny it definitively. The critic of mental health is one with whom I tend to agree. I find some of the "diagnoses" of contemporary society to rival those who sent Soviet dissedents to the gulags. However some other mental health professionals of a skeptical vein find that author to oversimplify, to make a decision then to rely on evidence that confirms that decision.

There's a lot in the volume that's no surprise to me too. But, then, I tend to criticise the "mainstream" media as using "news" to sell advertising rather than to inform, the latter being conventional wisdom.

If you're budget conscious, don't bother purchasing this. If you're fond of arguing with the mainstream, than you may want to add it to your library. Expect some things you know, many by which you're not surprised, and some that, if it weren't for the erudite subject matter and vocabulary, you might see it in the supermarket tabloids.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Not nearly as controversial as it thinks it is
Review: What you really want to read is "Travels with Dr. Death" by Ron Rosenbaum, which is a far more interesting, less pretentious exposition of the conspiracy theory pulp.

This book is a just ...like pseudo-intellectual pap. Most well-read people can poke holes in the oh-so-insightful arguments and rants without breaking a sweat.

This book does not uncover anything you haven't seen exposed on 60 Minutes or any dozen web sites already. Fun to flip through but I would be ashamed to put it on my bookshelf for fear that a legitimate intellectual might see it and snicker.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Hey, guess what? I'm a liberal!
Review: Yeah, that's right. I'm a super-far-left, bleeding heart liberal with near-socialist ideas who wants to rock feeble minds in uptight conservative towns with my loud, crazy music and my bizarre, twisted clothing styles, and I'm giving this book a one-star rating. I'm also reasonably intelligent and have a great fondness for rational thought, logic, and science. This is why I can't stand "Everything you Know is Wrong" (or its companion, "You Are Being Lied To").

Other reviewers (for both books) have already made note of some of the more severe errors contained within. Articles about human psychology and medicine, in particular, are at fault; for the most part, the authors of the articles do not cite any scholarly texts or actual scientific studies. Sure, you could be a paranoid nut and claim that they are refusing to cite credible sources because "those sources are evil, man, and they're giving us the wrong information!" But you'd be a paranoid nut, and that's usually not a good thing. The way it works in the real world is this: if you want to prove something, such as the effectiveness of an herbal treatment for cancer, then you need to test your hypothesis many times and show to us that your success can be replicated by anybody. You can't just make wild claims and then pretend they're true just because you're being rebellious and sticking it to The Man. I tried that game in high school and it didn't work---that's why I have to calm down and prove my points in rational, correct ways.

What is so offensive to me about these books is that they go to such a great effort to make themselves seem important and credible. They assert themselves as being the one voice in our world that you can trust. This is a dangerous thing to read---particularly when many of the articles are based on speculation, anecdotal evidence (always a terrible sign), and simple opinion.

This book, and its partner, are an example of why the first amendment does need some limits. Simply put, everything about these two titles is full of false advertising and empty promises. You are trying to read them to find out the truth about the world, and instead you just get a bunch of disorganized half-truths, lies, and ramblings that end up doing more damage than they do good.

I would go so far as to say that this book is dangerous. Believing certain things can be detrimental to one's physical and mental health---or even deadly. Do yourself a favor and avoid this title, no matter how delightfully controversial it may appear to be.


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