Everything You Know Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Secrets and Lies (Paperback)

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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 (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971394202
• ISBN-13: 978-0971394209
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #90,385 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 79 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 "omnivore" (Kearney, Nebraska) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

38 of 41 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 (Florida) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What They Can't Teach You in School, March 21, 2005

By	Acute Observer (North Jersey Shore) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This book has 46 articles whose purpose is to educate you about some story that has been ignored, or is in error, by the Corporate Media. Its human nature to listen to gossip that pretends to give you secrets. Sometimes these facts can't be corroborated easily. So when you read these articles, consider that they may be one-sided. But you have to be one-sided to correct a widespread error. Anyone who's had years of experience with events in the news has figured out "you are being lied to".

The 'Introduction' mentions the censorship about various events. The contributors of these articles do not necessarily agree with each other. That is a sign of "objectivity", not printing to fit. The articles will challenge or educate you, they shouldn't bore you. You can decide which you like better. You are not likely to find them in your local newspaper or national magazines.

The first article "Burn the Olive Tree, Sell the Lexus" is a good overview on the disastrous policies of globalization. Arianna Huffington writes a good report on "Drug Companies". Is this why her column is no longer printed in NJ? Jonathan Levy's article will not be found in your local newspaper; stories like this are too hot to handle. Dominick Armentano's essay is an example of sophistry; don't believe him. It denies the history of the late 19th and early 20th century. Lucy Komisar explains how corporations and the rich avoid taxes by using secret offshore bank accounts. Taxes are for the middle-classes. Noreena Hertz tells how globalization has impoverished more people than before.

Mike Males' discusses the "Myths About Youth". They are not more violent, homicidal, criminal, suicidal, or smoking and drinking more. They are in general more responsibly behaved than their Baby Boom parents (p.115)! Special interest groups, like the Carnegie Corporation, are pushing an agenda to convince people that more repression is needed. Many of their claims are false and deliberately misleading, like "injury and violence have now replaced illness as the leading cause of death for adolescents". Many fewer teens die from the infectious diseases common before the mid 1950s! The truth is that poverty correlates to the problems of teens, but this fact is banned by the politics of those spreading fears. It would require changes that they don't want to discuss (p.118). "Toxic TV Syndrome" by Kalle Lasn explains why watching TV makes you sick: the more you watch, the more depressed you become (p.142).

David T. Hardy reports the truth about the Waco Incident, when the ATF raided a communal church (p.183). It debunks the story in the Corporate Media. William Blum presents the censored facts about the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, "a mass of conflicting evidence" (p.190). Peter Gorman tells of the secret coup that overthrew the President of Peru, and how this relates to another secret war to seize control of the coca fields of Colombia. Are there hidden oil fields there?

Russ Kick explains why 9-11-2001 was not a surprise: there were many warnings that something was going to happen (pp.241-257). In Manila 1995 they found plans to hijack a commercial plan and crash it into CIA headquarters, the Pentagon, the White House, the Sears Tower, the Transamerica Tower, or the World Trade Center (p.246). Crashing a plane into a Tower was attempted in December 1994 (p.247). Were telephone calls being intercepted (p.249)? [But some of these stories sound like "urban legends" (p.253).] Was this attack as big a surprise as Pearl Harbor?

Howard Bloom's article on the Chinese Century is must reading! J. T. Gatto's hidden history of American education is very important for your understanding on how the system works. Before WW I "the Education Trust" was created to attack the middle-class of owner-operated businesses (p.274). Future generations were to be trained as economic serfs for the big corporations. Children would be deprived of the traditional education learned in farms and villages, and be told of what to think. Schools were like factories that took in raw materials and shaped them into finished products (p.275). The hidden policies created a rise in school violence and chaos due to the process of restricting the ability of teachers to control and discipline children. This created a market for drugs for kids. Big corporations would control schools and children, not the family and church (p.277). The literacy rate for soldiers in WW II, Korea, and Vietnam kept dropping; this measured the "dumbing down" in the education system (p.278). This was due to the "whole-word method" (p.279). Was the schooling of the masses aimed at destroying democracy (p.285)? Were today's high-cost, low-value schools created for big corporations (p.286)? What will be the effect of well-educated people who can't find work (p.287)? Can the perverse education philosophy of the last century be cured and corrected? Can we afford anything else? If illiteracy causes crime and violence, doesn't that make our schooling system responsible (p.279)?