A Conspiracy Theory Culture?

This book is a comprehensive and authoritative examination of contemporary American conspiracism, revealing the genealogies and permutations of these increasingly widespread ideas. It shows how this web of urban legends has spread among subcultures on the Internet and through mass media, and how a new style of conspiracy thinking has recently arisen. The author discusses a range of material, including inner-earth caves, government black helicopters, alien abductions, secret New World Order cabals, and more, that few realize exists in our culture. In this revised and expanded edition, Michael Barkun delves deeper into America’s conspiracy sub-culture, exploring the rise of 9/11 conspiracy theories, the “birther”.

Barkun dives into the religious and political matrix of what some call the “lunatic fringe”, forcing us to look at the revival and spread of conspiracist thinking on an even grander scale. He explores the similarities and differences between UFO believers, Christian millennialists, and right-wing conspiracy theorists, as well as the role of scholarship in changing how people think, plan, and govern.

American society has changed dramatically since A Culture of Conspiracy was first published in 2001. In this revised and expanded edition, Michael Barkun delves deeper into America’s conspiracy sub-culture, exploring the rise of 9/11 conspiracy theories. The book is available on Amazon.com and can be found in the revised and expanded edition of Michael Barkun’s non-fiction book, “A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America”.