Conspiracy Theory in America by Lance DeHaven-Smith

Many thanks to Larry Haapanen for calling attention to this fine, academic book by Lance deHaven-Smith.

As we have been deluged with dozens if not hundreds of narratives that belittle conspiracy theories, putting all together in the same basket, as if what happened at Dealey Plaza is similar to UFOs and fake news stories, this book is a fresh and objective look that acknowledges the fact that conspiracies do occur and the Kennedy assassination is one of them.  – BK

Conspiracy Theory in America

Discovering America

By: Lance deHaven-Smith

Narrated by: Bobby Dobbs

https://www.audible.com/pd/Conspiracy-Theory-in-America-Audiobook/B00NMNZVQK

Length: 6 hrs and 39 minsiracy Theory in Amer

https://utpress.utexas.edu/books/dehcon

Asking tough questions and connecting the dots across decades of suspicious events, from the Kennedy assassinations to 9/11 and the anthrax attacks, this book raises crucial questions about the consequences of Americans’ unwillingness to suspect high government officials of criminal wrongdoing.

Ever since the Warren Commission concluded that a lone gunman assassinated President John F. Kennedy, people who doubt that finding have been widely dismissed as conspiracy theorists, despite credible evidence that right-wing elements in the CIA, FBI, and Secret Service - and possibly even senior government officials - were also involved. Why has suspicion of criminal wrongdoing at the highest levels of government been rejected out-of-hand as paranoid thinking akin to superstition?

Lance deHaven-Smith asks tough questions and connects the dots among five decades' worth of suspicious events, including the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy, the attempted assassinations of George Wallace and Ronald Reagan, the crimes of Watergate, the Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages deal, the disputed presidential elections of 2000 and 2004, the major defense failure of 9/11, and the subsequent anthrax letter attacks.

Sure to spark intense debate about the truthfulness and trustworthiness of our government, Conspiracy Theory in America offers a powerful reminder that a suspicious, even radically suspicious, attitude toward government is crucial to maintaining our democracy.

©2013 University of Texas Press (P)2014 Redwood Audiobooks

 

A remarkable book that critiques the cynical management of domestic political thought by intelligence agencies in the U.S., particularly the CIA. The phrase “conspiracy theory” is a highly successful tool for preventing dissent, and marginalizing the dissenting authors and texts that do sometimes emerge in spite of such disinformation campaigns. A much-needed corrective to the flood of propaganda published every day by intellectual prostitutes in our country. Check out the author on You Tube.

Critic Reviews

"DeHaven-Smith offers an intriguing take on the origins and implications of conspiracy theories and the paranoid mindset itself in this accessible academic study." ( Publisher's Weekly)

" Conspiracy Theory in America is an excellent presentation, logical and well documented." (James Richard Bailey, FiredogLake.com)