Conspiracies of Conspiracies
How Delusions Have Overrun America
by Thomas Milan Konda
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Pub Date Mar 15 2019 | Archive Date May 01 2019
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Description
In this sweeping book, Thomas Milan Konda traces the country’s obsession with conspiratorial thought from the early days of the republic to our own anxious moment. Conspiracies of Conspiracies details centuries of sinister speculations—from antisemitism and anti-Catholicism to UFOs and reptilian humanoids—and their often incendiary outcomes. Rather than simply rehashing the surface eccentricities of such theories, Konda draws from his unprecedented assemblage of conspiratorial writing to crack open the mindsets that lead people toward these self-sealing worlds of denial. What is distinctively American about these theories, he argues, is not simply our country’s homegrown obsession with them but their ongoing prevalence and virulence. Konda proves that conspiracy theories are no harmless sideshow. They are instead the dark and secret heart of American political history—one that is poisoning the bloodstream of an increasingly sick body politic.
Advance Praise
Michael Barkun | author of A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America "Conspiracies of Conspiracies is clearly written and deeply researched, a fine-grained account of American conspiracism from the earliest years of the Republic to the present day. There is scarcely a manifestation that Konda has omitted, and periods that others have merely sketched out are presented here in a detail that can be found in few other places. The times being what they are, the subject is (alas!) likely to remain of interest for many years to come."
Michael Butter | author of Plots, Designs, and Schemes: American Conspiracy Theories from the Puritans to the Present “Bridging the divide between quantitative and qualitative approaches to the topic, Konda provides a comprehensive overview of the cultural and political work that conspiracy theories have done in the United States over the past two hundred years. He explains why these theories have recently made a comeback on the political stage and dissects a media landscape that increasingly tends to detect conspiracism everywhere.”
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780226585765 |
| PRICE | $32.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 432 |
Featured Reviews
Librarian 431790
A very interesting book.
It's well researched, engaging and well written.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC
Sumit R, Reviewer
In Conspiracies of Conspiracies, Thomas Konda traces America’s obsession with conspiracies from the early days of the republic till today. Though the book focuses on American people & conspiracies, I believe the theme of book is universal, especially in today’s Post-Truth Era.
Conspiracies of Conspiracies details centuries of sinister conspiracies—from antisemitism and anti-Catholicism to UFOs and reptilian humanoids. Thomas Konda has analysed several conspiracy theories, has shown their origins and how they fit into the conspiracy world. From the Invention of Conspiracy Theory to the Emergence of the Hidden Hand & New World Order to Pan-Ideological Conspiracy Theories: Denialism and Cover-Up, the book covers a range of topics. Konda explains why these theories have recently made a comeback on the political stage and dissects a media landscape that increasingly tends to detect conspiracy everywhere.
Konda attempts to explore the mindsets that lead people toward these conspiracies and how these conspiracy theories have influenced history, particularly United States history. This book also attempts to track the origins of some of the more prevalent conspiracy theories like America leaving the gold standard, Communism being a Jewish conspiracy among others, since many have common origins and mostly they overlap and contradict each other.
This book doesn't come with easy answers and you may need some background knowledge of history including the Illuminati, the Free Masons etc to truly grasp it all but it does help you understand it. Overall, it’s a well researched and well written book offering some new insights.
Many thanks to the publishers University of Chicago Press, the author Thomas Milan Konda and NetGalley for the ARC.
Christopher H, Reviewer
Open any social media platform and you can slam into a conspiracy theory in a matter of clicks. These often asinine views have been stretched and further distorted in an attempt at legitimization— forum posts become memes become tweets become … well, information sharing goes on and on. However, though digital distribution is relatively new, there’s absolutely nothing new about the theories themselves, as Professor Thomas Milan Konda thoroughly explores.
The research presented is more than thorough. Konda explores the rise of the illogical, tracing conspiracy theories at least to the origins of Freemasonry, its high visibility playing into the idea of something nefarious hiding in plain sight. However, they were hardly the last group to be targeted, and Konda convincingly concludes that consparcism is really the “belief-system” of today. Look no further than false political memes regularly shared or climate change deniers masquerading as television pundits.
Konda’s prose does trend academic, but this is refreshing when paired with over-the-top noise of conspiracy theories. It’s logic and reason versus unbelievable schemes, the clinical versus the flashy. Konda keeps his points grounded, and the result is a slow yet interesting approach that doesn’t take the bait of some of the more extreme propositions.
This careful approach also allows Konda to explore some incredibly serious topics with tact. A lot of the conspiracies examined here stem from an anti-Semitic or xenophobic viewpoint. Konda squashes this hateful rhetoric quickly without giving it any legitimacy. However, he also expresses the seriousness of these ideas gaining more mainstream traction.
It’s frustrating, fascinating, and intensely informative.
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