Customer Reviews

Everything Is Under Control: Conspiracies, Cults, and Cover-ups

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Ordinarily, I would not touch anything sub-titled "Conspiracies, Cults, and Cover-ups" with a ten foot pole. However, I noticed that it was written by Robert Anton Wilson- I had already read all three of his _Cosmic Trigger_ books plus his excellent _Coincidance_. I had Wilson to thank for explaining the work of James Joyce to me so that I could finally comprehend him, so I knew that this book ,too, must be written with intelligence and perception. I was not dissappointed.
If you are jaded and believe that there is nothing new under the sun that you have not already heard of, then get this book. It has been the starting point for so much of my personal research and developement over the last few years that I don't know where to start. It was this book that introduced me to Noam Chomsky's work. And there is just so much more: the Illuminati, the Federal Reserve, the Bank of America Conspiracy, the Bilderbergers, the Great Satanic Conspiracy, the gnostic thought of Phillip K. Dick, the corruption index, the Council on Foreign Relations, Daimonic Reality, the Merovingian Kings, Fletcher Prouty, the "Great Pirates" of Bucky Fuller, LAWCAP, etc., etc., etc.

`Everything is Under Control' is an A to Z listing of hundreds of conspiracy theories and cover-ups that pervade the minds of paranoids. The main issue I had with the book is how quickly the author cruises through topics. Some items are touched on so lightly that I'm not even sure what Mr. Wilson is talking about. It's disappointing not because the subject matter is boring but because it's so interesting that the short descriptions left me wanting more.

Although the author is clearly a skeptic concerning many of the classic conspiracy theories not all conspiracies are equal and his lack of commentary may leave some readers confused. The Church of the Sub-Genius is fairly self evident as parody while others like the Discordian Society may be less so and the author doesn't discern between parody and sincere conspiracy theories. The other problem is that he doesn't differentiate between the absurd and the likely, for instance when Noam Chomsky claims that the media is owned by a handful of billionaires it's not really a conspiracy theory since it's pretty much true. On the other hand the Illuminati's relationship with extra-terrestrials is clearly the product of some overactive imaginations. When Mr. Wilson talks about a seemingly legit conspiracy like the P2 in Italy (which I had never heard of) it's hard for me to know whether or not to take it seriously. I think the book would have been improved if the author had gone into more detail on less subjects. Do people really care about Howard Hughes's legal difficulties with TWA or whether John Hull ran guns through Costa Rica or that psychologists spent a million dollars to avoid government regulations?

In some ways the author is like a magician who doesn't want to reveal his tricks. There is a tiny bit of debunking and some subtle tweaks to the reader but the conspiracies are generally presented as is leaving it up to us to decide. Did our government really do extensive testing with chemical agents on unsuspecting American populaces during the 50's and 60's? There is enough known evidence that it is certainly plausible.

Despite any issues I had with the organization and focus of the book I found it absolutely fascinating and had a difficult time putting it down. I suppose it might fall under the category of a reference guide or introductory primer to the world of paranoia. I look forward to reading other books by the author that go into more detail.

Unplug the phones and find a safe corner, away from The Big Screen. Prepare to be enthralled and sucked into the Paranoid world of Conspiracy Theory.

All the "Secret Societies," supposed CIA / FBI "cover-ups," assassinations, occult groups, mind control scenarios, banking, NWO, UFO-related, "regression therapy" theories, delusions and confusions you can handle.

This book is an Amazing collection of all the most popular Conspiracies, urban myths, paranoid delusions, Cult Weirdness and valid info, imaginable. It's up to YOU to decipher the Truth from the fiction.... R.A.W. just lays the info on the table--You sort it out.

Anyone interested in "Secret Societies," Anthropology, Psychology or simply seeks an entertaining read, should add this encyclopedic tome to their collection.

You will laugh, you will cry, you will hide under the bed & build a bomb shelter in your spare time. (and don't forget to unplug the phone.... "they" are listening).

This is absolutely the best resource for entertaining (and sometimes scary) "Conspiracy Theories." It is an Anthropologist's delight !!!

Two thumbs-up to R.A.W.

* Note: OTO, Thelema, Sub-Genius & Discordian members will treasure this book, forever.... & F&AM members will enjoy it, if they have a sense of humor <g>

"Everything is Under Control" may not be the most handy conspiracy reference book possible, but the breadth of what it covers is remarkable and it's as funny and accessible as all Wilson books. I read most of the book in coast-to-coast transit, and I was singled out to be searched at every airport while this book was in my carry-on. I can't help but interpret that as meaning that "Everything is Under Control" is the kind of book that Big Brother worries about, and that speaks pretty highly for it.

If you look in the "pop culture" section of your local Big Record Store, or if you look in the occult section of your local bookstore, you'll probably find Robert Anton Wilson's latest book: "Everything is Under Control: Conspiracies, Cults, and Cover-ups." This oversized paperback is apparently RAW's attempt to cash in on the "hipness" of conspiracy theories; not that there's anything wrong with him trying to make a buck off of Pink gullibility, of course. My Queen of the [CENSORED] Universe picked this one up for me as a gift, and I've been flipping through it for the past couple of days.

The book is an oversized paperback printed in large type, obviously meant to appeal to the same crowd that Ivan Stang's famous "High Weirdness By Mail" aimed for. It presents itself as an encyclopedia of many of the most famous, infamous, and wide-reaching conspiracy theories, their authors, and the publications that spawned them. It delves into the histories of the past, and provides glimpses at major events in the development of conspiracies, up to and including the advent of the Internet.

Wilson's "Illuminatus!" Trilogy is often promoted as a must-read for faithful SubGenii, but I've found his writing hard to get into. He's rarely boring, but his scholarly, dry style can make those books a tough read, especially when he piles on his plots upon sub-plots galore. "Everything Is Under Control" has a simplistic, A-to-Z presentation that suggests the book is presenting itself as A Beginner's Guide to Robert Anton Wilson as well as a basic introduction to conspiracy theories. It's easy to read, and you can spend hours just flipping through it and scanning hundreds and hundreds of topics you've probably heard of, but don't really know much about. Like most encyclopedias, the book doesn't cover its subjects with extraordinary depth, but it does give you enough basic information to provide you with a starting point if you want to look more closely at the intriguing topics therein. Each entry also includes a suggested reading list, Web sites, and ample references to Wilson's own books for anyone wishing to do additional research.

The topics covered include the Illuminati, One World Government theories, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the Hearst conspiracy to ban hemp, Diana's death, Philip K. Dick's "Great Satanic Blasphemy," the Church of the SubGenius, Discordianism, Inslaw and the infamous PROMIS surveillance system, the IRS, Aleister Crowley, the famous zine "Conspiracy Nation" (known to most of the denizens of alt.conspiracy), Freemasonry, alien abductions, the A-Albionic Research group, and hundreds of pamphlets, books, and people I've never heard of. Modestly referring to himself as "the present author" (as when he states that Lyndon Larouche called him a member of the Illunimati), Wilson presents all of the data within the book as honest truths (in much the same way that Donna Kossy does). He tries to keep his biases and opinions to a minimum, instead providing us with a supposedly "honest" presentation of the "facts;" though even he can't resist the temptation to let fly with a barb or two. When describing ZOG (the Zionist Occupational Government), for instance, Wilson notes: "I would like to live in a world where all the conspiracy theories are as absurd as this one." When noting the incident when the CIA's Web site was hacked and the hackers called themselves the "Swedish Hacker's Assocaition," he suggests that this "may provide the Agency with a clue as to where this gross indecency came from. The present author would suspect anywhere except Sweden." (Of course, this is the CIA we're talking about here.)

Maybe it's the skeptic in me, but I've tended to enjoy writing in this area where the author doesn't take himself or his subject matter seriously. In this respect, this book would look good on your shelf right next to the "Big Book of Conspiracies," which also presents all of the conspiracies as fact, though the presentation also suggests that everything should be taken with a large grain of salt. The subject matter of "Everything Is Under Control" is also deserving of a hefty dose of skepticism, but Wilson's portrayal of the world according to Them doesn't seem as disbelieving as you may want to think. Of course, Wilson has been researching these subjects for most of his life, and he may know a lot more than he is telling us here.

Wilson also introduces the book with a ten-page essay describing his fascination with the fringe. He also ends with a warning: after delving into the world of conspiracy theories for even a short period of time, you'll begin wondering which of the many conspiracies are fake...and which ones are NOT. When something strange or unfortunate happens to you, is it just a coincidence? Or...maybe they really ARE out to get us?

Not having much experience in the world of conspiracy theories, I bought this book as a sort of intro/reference. I must say that Wilson does a good job at keeping things in order (the book is in alphabetical order). The author generously cross-references many interesting topics, lists further reading and supplies ample amount of websites for further clarification. I am a novice in this field, but this book seems to be a great starter for the uninitiated.

If you are new to the labyrinth world of conspiracy theory and the Generally Weird, and if you are new to the writing of R.A.Wilson, this book is a good beginning to explore his other writings. If you are a Wilson fan, though, you may be disappointed if you are expecting New Wilsonian Revelations. Much of what Wilson covers in the "Cosmic Trigger" books is re-hashed here, especially the Vatican Bank-Roberto Calvi scandal and R.A.W's affection for Discordianism in general and the Church of the subGenius in particular. For conspiracy afficianados, you may be bewildered by Wilson's interest in the Priory of Sion,(even if some of the French Aristocracy fancy themselves progeny of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene...who cares?), and you are bound to wonder why your own favourite conspiracy or Secret Society isn't mentioned,(I would have loved hearing Wilson's spin on Opus Dei, that scary right-wing Roman Catholic organization that sometimes seems like it wants to turn the world into a Carthusian Monastery and also no mention of the proliferation of strange contrails in our skies. Sound TOO paranoid? If it is daytime as you read this, and it's a sunny day and not very windy, leave your computer for a moment, go outside, scan the skies and I bet more than a few of you will see not one, but several contrails in the sky...) Still, a fun/frightening read by one of the world's great truly free thinkers.

This book is great for browsing through occasionally - would probably be good bathroom reading - as long as you don't take it too seriously. The "conspiracies" range from satirical to loopy to almost believable. My favorite is the unbelievably convoluted "plot" surrounding the death of Princess Diana. Since I've just finished another book about conspiracy theories, I was disappointed not to find anything on the "reptilian" aliens, which seem to be quite popular on the late-night fringe - or at least they were a few years ago when I worked the third shift across from an Art Bell fan.

I would love to see a new edition - a lot has happened since 1998.

I would say that if you were well versed in conspiracy theories this book would largely be a waste of time. However for those with a bit of curiosity and only a basic knowledge (e.g. JFK, Roswell or other well-known conspiracies of popular culture) this might be a good primer. It covers a lot of ground but doesn't go all that deep. But it does provide a starting point.

While Robert Anton Wilson is not the most prolific writer in recent years, yet what has been written by Wilson stands on the forefront of one of the most original and sharp-witted thinkers in the past two decades. Influenced by his good friend Timothy Leary, along with the writings of Aleister Crowley and Alfred Korzybski (and more recently Richard Bandler), Robert Anton Wilson has written something in just about every subject with clarity, humor and profundity. 'Everything is Under Control' maintains Wilson's intellectual charm by weaving all the various bits of strange persona's, freakish cults and humorous paranoia, into a website with page numbers. While all of the information I found intriguing from beginning to end, I felt what was lacking was original material. If you have read the Cosmic Trigger Trilogy, his screenplays, Coincidance, Sex and Drugs, New Inquisition, and whatever else R. A. Wilson has in print, then pretty much this book becomes 'Robert Anton Wilson's Greatest Hits. Entries for Aleister Crowley and Timothy Leary seem out of place as if they were just plug-ins for people whom he admired the most in his life. Entries of Buckminster Fuller, H. P. Lovecraft, Ezra Pound, if one is familiar with Wilsons work, again seems obligatory to the Wilson Reader. While some speculation surrounds each of these characters, it was more space filler than cover-ups or conspiracies or cults for that matter. In some instances I felt as if I was reading a speculation of a speculation. In a nutshell, if you enjoy Wilson's works and are out to get every one of his books for posterity, then by all means, this will be a good addition to your collection. If you have not read anything by Wilson, but perhaps are reserved, then this might be a good place to begin to get an overall general idea of what he is about (although this does not stand as an epitome, but rather will give you an impression on the direction of Wilson's thinking and what you might be in for if you decide to pursue beyond this edition). For the intermediate, those that have read a few of his books, or minimally, the Cosmic Trigger series, this book will feel like his works encapsulated under many different headings. The book does serve as a purpose beyond just reading, however, it does pose as a biliography to gather more information on a particular subject, or a "quick-guide" to get the scoop on something that will lead you in the direction you want to go in if a subject strikes your fancy. Robert Anton Wilson has my utmost respect more as a thinker than a writer, but his ability to convey many difficult subjects in seemingly obvious perspectives puts him in even higher ranks.