Big Book of Conspiracies (Factoid Books) [Paperback]

Doug Moench (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the past, I would roll my rapidly glazing eyes whenever I heard some formerly sensible person carrying the cudgels of conspiracy theories: you know the rants: the Trilateral Commission, CIA, FBI, Masons, and Secret Societies are all out to run the world and silence truth seekers with intimidation, death--or plankton up the nostrils--and it seems the body formerly inhabited by a friend is ready to board a ship to the moon. But then I came across this book, and I was stunned at the volume of detail and even facts that have been amassed by the obsessive believers in these seemingly wacko conspiracy theories. The most disturbing fact is that people investigating conspiracy theories seem to have the highest death rate of any profession -- other than shark dentists.

The editors adopt a sensible attitude: they do not claim that any interpretations in the book are necessarily true, but rather that these are truly things that conspiracy theorists have proposed. Note that this is a comic book of 39 tellings of almost as many conspiracy theories, but the comic-book medium in fact works very well. Recommended, unless some gruff voice calls me late at night and tells me to change my mind.... (Pssst: from the same people who brought you another Amazon.com Books favorite, The Big Book of Weirdos). --Jonathan Kochmer

Product Details

• Paperback: 223 pages
• Publisher: Paradox Press; Graphic No edition (August 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563891867
• ISBN-13: 978-1563891861
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #391,282 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast, easy overviews of the world's greatest conspiracies!, November 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Big Book of Conspiracies (Factoid Books) (Paperback)

This book is an absolute must for anyone even mildly interested in conspiracy theory. You could read a stack of library books and still not get what you'd get out of this. Each "theory" (JFK, RFK, Area 51, Odessa Files, UFO's, etc.) is a legitimate theory which has been proposed elsewhere. The magic here is that the author has prepared, in comic book format, a synopsis of each theory. In ten minutes, you can get a very complete overview of any conspiracy theory out there. If you want more, there's a conveniant bibliography at the end, which I myself have consulted numerous times. I cannot begin to tell you how useful this book is, nor how quickly you can get a clear understanding of what's being said today on almost any conspiracy subject. The comic format is entertaining and very readable.....which is understandable, since the author has also been a top comic book writer for over twenty years now, I think, having authored Batman and some of the other better titles out there. Once again: easy to read, and a fantastic overview of various subjects which you can then find more information on in the bibliography. I STRONGLY recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in conspiracy theory.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars frighteningly enjoyable, May 19, 2000

By 

Louisianian (Lake Charles, LA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Book of Conspiracies (Factoid Books) (Paperback)

Doug Moench has really produced a very fine, entertaining, thought-provoking, not overly fantastic survey of that hot topic, conspiracy theories. The various artists definitely help out too, providing alternately sinister and amusing visual accompaniment to the narrative. Some of the more off-the-wall entries focus on Jim Morrison's perhaps faked death and his subsequent intelligence activities (!), the supposedly faked moon landing, and Robert Lazar's tall tales about flying saucers at secret air force bases in Nevada. More sinister, and credible, theories focus on various assassinations and government coverups from the Cold War era, including the Kennedy assassinations, CIA ties to former Nazis, and various LSD/mind control experiments. Moench knowingly mixes the outlandish and hilarious with darker stuff that we don't want to believe, but that the reader starts to think after a while could have some truth to it after all. Easily the best entry in the Paradox Press "big book" series in terms of entertainment value, and it also deserves credit for (fairly) seriously surveying this fascinating material, some of which should be more openly discussed. Read it with the lights on.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars (Not So) Funnies for the Paranoid, October 26, 2001

By 

Steven F. Scharff (Henderson, NV United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Book of Conspiracies (Factoid Books) (Paperback)

Comic strip depictions of most of the popular fields of debate over what is and isn't real. The JFK/RFK/MLK assassinations, lunar missions, the "pyramids" on Mars, UFO's and the USAF, the mysteries around Jim Morrison's death, Masonic memberships, globalist conspiracy plots, the gang's all here, folks! This book will throw a fresh monkey wrench into the gears of your mind. Just ignore that man on the grassy knoll and those black helicopters hovering over your house and buy this book!