Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies: The Straight Scoop on Freemasons, the Illuminati, Skull and Bones, Black Helicopters, the New World Order,

by Arthur Goldwag

Did you know? - Freemasonry's first American lodge included a young Benjamin Franklin among its members. - The Knights Templar began as impoverished warrior monks then evolved into bankers. - Groom Lake, Dreamland, Homey Airport, Paradise Ranch, The Farm, Watertown Strip, Red Square, "The Box," are all names for Area 51. An indispensable guide, Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies connects the dots and sets the record straight on a host of greedy...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307390675
• ISBN13: 9780307390677
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Not an enjoyable read

Perhaps I was just in a bad space personally but I just could not get into this author and book. His writing style wasn't the easiest to follow along with and I put it back on the bookshelf after 4 chapters. However I do plan to go back and give it another chance and I will edit my review for the better if I'm able to get more out of it in the future

Intriguing and entertaining

This book delivers what it promises. It's an entertaning, thoughtfully written compendium of the major groups, people, and ideas that have attempted to explain and/or manipulate this complex, mysterious, fascinating world we live in. I've known about many of these cults, conspiracy theories and societies since I was a kid. Others have sprung into being during the half century that's elapsed since then. Still others are new to me. The wealth of information in these pages and the new details that Goldwag has unearthed on even familiar topics make this book a valuable resource here in 2009. Some might quibble at the alphabetical organization within each of the book's three sections; I found it a bit odd at first. However, I'm hard pressed to come up with a better structure. It allows Goldwag to tell the full story of each topic he addresses, whether it stretches over tens or hundreds of years. It also makes it easy to zero in on items that might hold particular interest, and to find your way back to them later. Sources are cited frequently throughout the text for anyone interested in delving more deeply into a particular area. Goldwag clearly is writing from the perspective of an interested rationalist. That's bound to push the buttons of some folks who hold certain notions as articles of faith. A few of the reviews here are evidence of that. For me, there's something intruiging and thought-provoking on every page. That's exactly what I want from a book of this sort.

An excellent, broad-ranged survey sure to pique any reader's curiosity

Cults, Conspiracies, & Secret Societies: The Straight Scoop on Freemasons, the Illuminati, Skull & Bones, Black Helicopters, the New World Order, and Many, Many More lives up to its title as an indispensable overview of the histories and practices of numerous secret societies, some from antiquity, some persisting into the modern day. From Satanism to The Benevolent Protective Order of Elks to Weather Underground and its many sub-factions, and more, each of the multitude of secret orders is given a brief yet thoroughly descriptive entry. An excellent, broad-ranged survey sure to pique any reader's curiosity.

Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh, MY!

Yes, Virginia, there really are secret societies. Many of them try their best to indulge in conspiracies, some to advance the cause of their members' well-being ... or wallets, some to arrogate power to themselves, some just to be sneaky. This little book covers most, if not all of them. I would have preferred a bit more depth on a few of the "conspiracies," but by and large Mr. Goldwag does a creditable job. I found a few organizations of which I had never heard, but I couldn't recall one secret society or cult that didn't at least rate a short blurb. As he searches for a common thread or antecedent for these wildly disparate societies and cults, he points out that sometimes the very secretiveness of groups of people leads us to believe that they're up to no good. This perpetuates the impression that they are conspiracies. Thus off we go into that great resivoir of fact and fiction known as "the public consciousness" ( or unconsciousness, as you will ). Reading about these mysterious organizations makes for fascinating reading and would have been vastly amusing but for the fact that some ( such as the Aum Shinrikyo cult in Japan ) try to bring about the "end times" they so inaccurately predict. A very interesting and informative book, and one well worth buying.

Excellent overview.

This is an interesting and well-written book. Ignore the negative reviews by the conspiracy nuts. They are immune to reason and will never give up their fantasies. To understand why they cling so desperately to their bizarre ideas, read this book.