Everything You Know Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Secrets and Lies [Paperback]

Russ Kick (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2002 | Series: Disinformation Guides

This book begins where You Are Being Lied To left off. Once again, an amazing group of investigative journalists, researchers, insiders, dissidents, and academics peels back consensus reality and shows us what's really happening. Hard, documented evidence on the most powerful institutions and controversial topics in the world. Among the revelations:

Antidepressants trash your brain.
China has repeatedly threatened to nuke the US.
Young people are less violent now than they have been in over 30 years.
Mad Cow disease is killing people in America.
Many disabled people don't want to be "cured" and don't admire Christopher Reeve.

Plus previously unpublished revelations about the International Monetary Fund, the Vatican Bank, the Olympic Games, Henry Lee Lucas, the drug war in South America, unpublicized accidents at nuclear power plants, and much more. Includes reproductions of rare documents and photos, including an unpublished eyewitness sketch of a mysterious third gunman at Columbine.

Among the 50+ contributors: Naomi Klein Douglas Rushkoff Arianna Huffington Howard Zinn Paul Krassner Gary Webb Howard Bloom Noreena Hertz Alexander Cockburn Thomas Szasz William Blum James Ridgeway Kalle Lasn Wendy McElroy

Marketing Plans:
Heavy promotion on Disinformation site (500,000+ unique visitors/month) and Disinformation email newsletter (50,000+ subscribers).
Disinformation TV series will air nationally on Sci-Fi Channel during 2002; contains profiles of several of the book's contributors.
Marketing campaign by Green Galactic publicity agency.

Disinformation Books editor Russ Kick has previously written two popular alternative reference books: Outposts and Psychotropedia. The Disinformation Company operates the most popular counterculture and alternative news site on the Web, Disinformatio

Also Available:

You Are Being Lied To

TP $19.95, 0-9664100-7-6 CUSA

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

From the people who brought us You Are Being Lied To, here is another engrossing and infuriating compilation of muckraking articles, expos s, and provocative claims. Some of the pieces in the book are very timely: an assertion that the government had advance warning of the September 11 terrorist attacks, reports of additional gunmen at Columbine High School, and additional details on Senator Bob Kerrey's actions in Vietnam. Most of the articles were written for this volume, though some appeared previously in reputable magazines and journals (e.g., the Village Voice, Toronto Globe & Mail, and Journal of Medical Ethics). Not all the pieces deal with political issues; readers will find a wide range of social ("Mad Cow Disease"), financial ("World Bank and the WTO"), and cultural topics. A few familiar names appear among the contributors (Howard Zinn, Paul Krassner), but most are investigative reporters not well known to the public. This contrarian collection will attract a diverse readership from conspiracy nuts to academics and is recommended for most public libraries. Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Even if you just check it out from the library, you owe it to yourself to read it." -- Movement (Jacksonville, FL), May 2002

"It's a great read." -- Jane Magazine, August 2002

"Much of it will shock your sensibilities. It's mindboggling stuff. But read it you should." -- Discourse & Disclosure, Summer 2002

"The kind of book you want to buy and give to everyone you know" -- Rain Taxi Summer 2002

"These stories can be scary" -- Seven Magazine, July 2002

"This book could change the way you process information. This book could actually make you smarter." -- Tacoma Reporter, July 25, 2002

"[A] fun and compelling read" -- Enter Stage Right, June 2002

"[A]nother engrossing and infuriating compilation of muckraking articles, exposes, and provocative claims ... recommended for most public libraries." -- Library Journal

"a bracing collection of contrarian articles covering a broad spectrum of subjects" -- The Guardian, October 5, 2002

"bold and brash and just a little bit frightening, irregardless of which side of the political center readers find themselves" -- The Boox Review, July 10, 2002

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: The Disinformation Company; First edition. edition (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971394202
• ISBN-13: 978-0971394209
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 1 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,389 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > History > World > Religious > Ethnic & Tribal
  • #58 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Specific Topics > Censorship

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 95 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Everything You Know Is Subject to Debate October 22, 2002

By Kevin L. Nenstiel TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Richard Metzger claims, in his preface to this book, that concensus reality laid over and died in 1996. If that's true, why is this book necessary? Rather than support his claim, the book as a whole supports the exact opposite, reminding us that everything we think we know is subject to debate by someone.

This book is of uneven quality. Some of the articles offer information that really does challenge readers' expectations. Howard Zinn's history of the Ludlow Massacre is an excellent example, and should be shown to all Libertarians who think that Industry serves the common good. Editor Russ Kick offers ample documentary evidence that the Columbine school shooting was more complex than we realize, while Mike Males comes from another direction, suggesting that kids are a lot healthier and more law-abiding than we realize.

Other articles aren't so hot. Tristan Taormino's praise of polyamory uses vulgar terminology sure to keep anyone on the fence from changing their minds. Are we really likely to agree to multiple partners if our best argument is full of language to make sailors blush? Greg Palast and Oliver Shykles' condemnation of the International Monetary Fund, though probably correct, refuses to cite sources and has a flip tone that won't sway any key undecided minds. Thomas Szasz, in claiming that mental illness is a fiction, simply states his opinion that psychoses don't exist, and then behaves as though his assertion is as good as proof.

This is not a scholarly book. It is written with a distinct popular tone, though no clear political position. Some articles are liberal, some conservative; some pro-industry, some anti-neoclassical economics; some pro-religion, some openly athiest. David T. Hardy claims that law enforcement was too proactive and caused the disaster at Waco, but Philip W. Cook claims law enforcement doesn't do enough to protect men from domestic abuse.

In the end, this book, despite the declarative title, isn't trying to prove a point or change your mind. It's trying to remind you that your belief doesn't equal ultimate truth. It simply calls the opinions many of us share into question in a sheer attempt to keep us from marching lock-step into the slaughterhouse.

This is an excellent book if you're seeking to expand your thinking or if you want to hold your own in an argument. If you can't handle a challenge to what you believe, don't bother with this book. If you don't mind changing your opinions to suit the facts, this is the book for you.

43 of 47 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Getting the other side of the story July 28, 2002

By Harold McFarland HALL OF FAMEVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Have you ever wondered if the media is telling you the complete story? Have you ever wondered if there is another side to the stories that is just plain not being told? Is it possible that everything you are being taught is not necessarily true but is instead just the position that the government, media or other group wants you to believe? If you have then you owe it to yourself to read this book.

Just a couple of examples from the book include the current situation with Mad Cow disease in America, the fact that violence involving young people is at it's lowest level in over 30 years (despite the impression you get from the news), how French authorities kidnapped a girl in California and took her to France. Other areas include nuclear safety, globalization, serial killers, the Vatican Bank, Olympic Games, the Columbine murders and many others.

While at times the book seems like a series of articles from a "conspiracy theory" group, it has the advantage of each article being contributed by an authority in that field. The authorities include everything from investigative journalists to researchers to commentators and academic authorities. Each article includes well-documented evidence to backup all claims.

If nothing else, you owe it to yourself to learn the alternative possibilities and explanations that are out there, most of which are at least as plausible and sometimes more so than the "official" or "accepted" version. A fascinating read that opens the mind, answers many questions and at times creates more questions than it answers. Fun and irreverent, sometimes politically left, sometimes politically right, it is a recommended read.

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Even Better Than The Last One! May 13, 2002

By majestic

Format:Paperback

I bought (and reviewed) the first Disinformation Guide, You Are Being Lied To, and gave it a rave review. I didn't really think that book could be beaten, but I was wrong. Everything You Know Is Wrong is so compelling that I sat down and read it non-stop for a whole (3 day) weekend. That's many, many hours of reading.

Return names are Howard Bloom, Howard Zinn, Richard Metzger and several others. There's more variety this time though, with contributions from Naomi Klein, Arianna Huffington, Noreena ("Silent Takeover") Hertz, John Taylor Gatto and several other notable authors.

Standouts for me were Russ Kick's "more than two shooters" expose on Coulmbine, Peter Breggin MD's outing of the real effects of antidepressants, David Lochbaum's unveiling of US nuclear accident secrets and John ("NY Teacher of the Year")Taylor Gatto's riveting spin on the purpose of the education system (it's not about educating!).

It's worth mentioning too that the book is a beautiful thing in itself, coffee table worthy, huge, and a tremendous value when you see how much is in it. Buy it - you won't regret it!