Who Really Runs The World?: The War Between Globalization and Democracy (Conspiracy Books) [Paperback]

Thom Burnett (Author), Alex Games (Author)

Book Description

Series: Conspiracy Books | Publication Date: April 1, 2007

The world is a mess. It’s constantly at war, things cost too much, and the average person struggles to survive against powers they can barely see, let alone control. It appears so at odds with common sense, in fact, that it begs a fundamental question: Who runs the world? This book looks at the conspiracies in everyday life, both hidden and not-so-hidden. It examines actual people, businesses, social networks, corporate alliances, and the dark forces of conspiracy and secret history that hold them together. The conclusions reached may shock and scandalize some people—especially those who fervently believe in democracy—but will fascinate everyone.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Thom Burnett is a pseudonym used by one of Britain's leading experts on security and military matters. He served with UK Special Forces in the 1990s, and has since been undertaking postgraduate research in Conspiracy Theory and Military Intelligence. Alex Games is an author and journalist. He worked on the features desk of the London Evening Standard for five years, including three years as its associate media editor. He now writes regularly for the Financial Times, and has also written profiles, interviews, opinion pieces, columns and reviews for the Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, Guardian and Independent on Sunday.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: The Disinformation Company (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932857583
• ISBN-13: 978-1932857580
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,244,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bypass this one, May 26, 2007

By 

paul_howard "paul_howard" (San Ramon, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Really Runs The World?: The War Between Globalization and Democracy (Conspiracy Books) (Paperback)

This book provides more data for a basic premise already familiar to many of us, that exclusive enclaves of people who run corporations, government and quasi-governmental bodies, and others secretive, manipulate the world to their own ends and much to the harm of millions innocent. It does so through a would-be collage of illustrations that don't connect well to each other nor combine to build a whole greater than the sum of its parts. The presentation suggests someone wanting to capitalize on their career experiences more than a scholarly work that advances our collective understanding of critical topics.

For eminently more worthwhile investments of study effort, refer to works by Klare, Gelbspan, Chomsky, and J. Kunstler.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Keep looking, there are hundreds of books better, July 8, 2007

By 

Smiling Zee "foreigner" (somewhere USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Really Runs The World?: The War Between Globalization and Democracy (Conspiracy Books) (Paperback)

Safely bypass this book. Can be somewhat intriguing to someone without a glance of critical thinking. This book doesn't even answer the question in the title. A collection of well-known facts, some minor factoids of the tabloid level ("Bush executive order # 12345"), just overview of publicly available information, generous use of word "conspiracy" - all this without a strong plot, jumping from topic to topic, and absence of quality argumentation or intriguing facts. Not a single reference to other documents or research in the end of the book - that alone tells you it is an exercise in futility. Zero stars.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Will keep the reader interested, October 25, 2008

By 

Paul Lappen (Manchester, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Who Really Runs The World?: The War Between Globalization and Democracy (Conspiracy Books) (Paperback)

This book examines the conspiracies in present-day life, both hidden and public. It looks at the social networks, corporate alliances and forces of secret history holding them together.

For many years, there has been speculation about secret, shadowy groups who actually control the world. As far as America is concerned, the authors examine groups like Skull and Bones, the Illuminati, the Freemasons and the Bilderberg Group, but none of them really fit as the Group In Charge. According to the authors, a much more plausible place to look is the New York based, and un-secret, Council on Foreign Relations. For most of the 20th Century, it has been the place to go for new administrations to fill their defense and foreign policy jobs.

The book also looks at the role of money in the present day (money really does make the world go round). America's central bank was founded in the early 1900s by a group of bankers during a very secret meeting at a place called Jekyll Island, Georgia. The new institution was specifically called the Federal Reserve System to get away from the words "central bank." Banking and secrecy seem to go together perfectly. That is part of the reason why governments and corporations move hundreds of billions of dollars around the world at any time, in search of the most favorable tax rates. Sometimes, banks are formed specifically to hide, or finance, illegal activities; two recent examples are BCCI and the Nugan Hand Bank from Australia.

Another avenue for corporations to reinforce their power is through institutions like the International Monetary Fund. It was intended to provide short-term loans to member countries. After the 1980s debt crisis, it now imposes harsh financial conditions on member states alongside its loan packages. It serves Wall Street and wealthy countries; it promotes corporate welfare and has no accountability, and it hurts workers, women and the environment.

This is an excellent book with a lot of information that will not be found in the mainstream media. It is really easy to read, and will certainly keep the reader interested.