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Debunked!: Conspiracy Theories, Urban Legends, and Evil Plots of the 21st Century
 
 
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Debunked!: Conspiracy Theories, Urban Legends, and Evil Plots of the 21st Century [Hardcover]

Richard Roeper (Author)
3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

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Book Description

June 1, 2008

You know what's really going on, don't you? Flight 93 secretly landed in Cleveland, where the passengers were whisked off to a NASA facility. Nostradamus predicted JFK Jr.'s plane crash, which was engineered by the One World Government. Online poker sites are rigged to knock out the short stacks. Donald Rumsfeld was behind the bird flu panic.

 

That's what it's like to live inside the mind of the 21st-century conspiracy theorist, who believes that all you have to do is look at the signs and you'll see what's really going on. And thousands if not millions of people actually believe this is the way the world works.

 

Debunked! is a breezy but fact-filled dissection of more than two dozen of the most popular urban legends and conspiracy theories of the 21st century. As he did in Urban Legends and Hollywood Urban Legends, and as he has done in dozens of columns for the Chicago Sun-Times over the last decade and a half, Richard Roeper lays out the basics of each conspiracy theory, quotes some of the true believers—and then tears the theory apart with his bare hands.

 

This book will provide you with invaluable ammunition for the next time you communicate with someone from that other, shadow world—that place where secret tribunals pull the strings and influence the outcome of everything from terrorist attacks to professional sporting events.


Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with The Skeptic's Guide to Conspiracies: From the Knights Templar to the JFK Assassination: Uncovering the [Real] Truth Behind the World's Most Controversial Conspiracy Theories $11.66

Debunked!: Conspiracy Theories, Urban Legends, and Evil Plots of the 21st Century + The Skeptic's Guide to Conspiracies: From the Knights Templar to the JFK Assassination: Uncovering the [Real] Truth Behind the World's Most Controversial Conspiracy Theories


Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Newspaper columnist and TV movie reviewer Roeper takes on a variety of widely believed myths about pop culture, politics, sports, business, and even religion. He approaches his targets—whether conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Princess Diana or those mysterious faces appearing on food products—from a commonsensical point of view, asking simply, Where’s the evidence? For instance, you’ve heard that it wasn’t the airplanes crashing into the World Trade Center on 9/11 that caused the towers to fall, but rather that the collapse resulted from the towers being rigged with explosives in advance. Perfectly logical, except that the biggest piece of evidence in support of the theory (that jet fuel doesn’t burn at a temperature high enough to melt steel) is irrelevant (because the steel of the towers wouldn’t need to melt, just weaken and buckle). Along with pointing out why much-loved legends are asinine, Roeper isn’t above going for laughs (and getting most of them). Recommend this one to fans of Al Franken’s Lies (and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them) or the works of noted skeptics James Randi, Robert Baker, and Michael Shermer. --David Pitt

Review

"Along with pointing out why much-loved legends are asinine, Roeper isn't above going for laughs (and getting most of them)."  —Booklist


"[Roeper's] hyped up on information and lays it all out there in easy-to-follow logic."  —Chicago Sun-Times


"Roeper injects lots of humor and fun into his dissections and isn't afraid to get on his soapbox."  —Pop Syndicate



"A very entertaining book."  —blogcritics.org

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Chicago Review Press; 1 edition (June 1, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1556527071
  • ISBN-13: 978-1556527074
  • Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #995,819 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Shallow & Silly November 24, 2008
Format:Hardcover
In this age of new conspiracy theories being hatched daily, we are in need of a thoughtful work to shed the light of reality on many of them. Unfortunately, this book is not it. Most of the chapters, if submitted as Jr. High English or Creative Writing assignments, would be lucky to receive a passing grade. One problem is that it is too ambitious for the amount of work the author was willing to put in: He takes on 28 issues of varying significance (from 9/11 to the Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese sandwich,) and tries to cover them all in less than 200 pages of actual text. The results are necessarily superficial, but the author's attitude and choices make them even more so. For example, on the nuanced issue of media bias, the author merely compiles a simple list of 55 conservative columnists, publications, commentators and bloggers, sandwiches it between two sarcastic comments, and Presto! That's his chapter debunking "The Vast left-Wing Conspiracy." If you want to see urban legends debunked, go online to [...] and avoid wasting your time and money on this amateurish effort.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By JHM
Format:Hardcover
So many of the articles in this book have explanations for conspiracy theories "debunked" by explanations such as "how could so many people be fooled" or "wouldn't someone have seen it". If the book had more humor (OK, 9/11 isn't a funny subject, but many of the topics are), it would have gained at least one star from me. However, I found it flat, repetitive, and generally boring. I know Roeper can do better then this.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have to hand it to Richard Roeper, he has taken on a task that should have been done a long time ago and achieved something worth while. Much like cleaning out an old garage, he has dared to throw down the gauntlet and show just how silly and stupid most theories are. What makes this work so entertaining is that Roeper doesn't bother to hide his contempt for the the theories themselves. He also has fun with the people who push these theories which I am sure he enjoys doing.

I read his columns and reviews and will admit I do not agree with all of his viewpoints. What makes this book enjoyable is that it is, like his columns, written in his own voice and opinion and very readable. Richard Roeper encourages debate and that makes it very enjoyable to read his work.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Same drivel, different fool
Just more idiocy from the left. Roeper never misses a chance to bash the usual targets on the right. Read more
Published 20 months ago by First Time Caller
Easy to read and entertaining page-turner.
This book was possibly the easiest to read book I've ever opened. Pages just seemed to fly. It covers a lot of conspiracies and urban legends and it never ceases to entertain you. Read more
Published on January 30, 2009 by M. Paul
More Conspiracies Please! ! !
Roeper had me hooked from his FOXNEWS interview about his book - though in the book he makes his distaste for FOXNEWS apparent. Read more
Published on August 13, 2008 by Sean K. Anderson
Enjoyable Read
Richard Roeper again writes a book that is very enjoyable to read.I recommend every one to get yourself a copy to read.
Published on July 22, 2008 by LindaM
Fun read
This was a fun informative read. It makes you shake your head to think that so many people buy into the strangest theories about how something happened rather than going to the... Read more
Published on July 22, 2008 by H. Gracia
Who's looking out for you! It's Roeper's turn to....
I completely agree with Demon Ted's review, especially regarding the 9/11 issue. Roeper's book adds no weight to the subjects he talks about. Read more
Published on July 12, 2008 by RickChicago
Assumptive Opinions Don't Hold up to Documented Facts
Richard Roeper of Ebert & Roeper attempts to avoid the facts with his personal opinions & assumptions as if real life were just another movie for him to rate on a thumb scale. Read more
Published on June 2, 2008 by Demon Ted
A Refreshing Island in an Ocean of Drivel
Roeper's "Debunked" is a witty, no-holds barred look at a few of the sacred cows of conspiracy theorists and believers in urban legends. Read more
Published on May 24, 2008 by William Holmes
A good read!
I just got the book today, great read, I like the chapter on the war on christmas, keep up the good work.
Published on May 19, 2008 by Michael Desantis
Nothing to see here, folks. Move along, please.
Richard Roeper tries to walk in the footsteps of sharp tongued, humorous writers like Ann Coulter and Mark Steyn - and fails. Read more
Published on May 9, 2008 by Jerry Saperstein
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
casino culture, media blackout, conspiracy movies, bloody sock, pet psychic
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Super Bowl, The Secret, United States, New Orleans, American Idol, White House, Virgin Mary, The Sopranos, Loose Change, World Trade Center, Red Sox, National Fixed-Ball League, Soylent Green, New York, The Steel Didn't Have, Merry Christmas, Washington Post, Barack Obama, Wag the Dog, Associated Press, Nicolas Cage, Bill Clinton, George Bush, National Treasure, Capricorn One
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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