| Document Type
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BL
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| Record Number
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871815
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| Main Entry
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Walker, Jesse,1970-
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| Title & Author
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The United States of paranoia : : a conspiracy theory /\ Jesse Walker.
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| Edition Statement
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First edition.
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| Publication Statement
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New York, NY :: Harper,, [2013]
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| Page. NO
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434 pages ;; 24 cm
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| ISBN
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0062135554
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: 9780062135551
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| Bibliographies/Indexes
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Includes bibliographical references (pages 343-421) and index.
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Includes bibliographical references and index.
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| Contents
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pt. I. Primal myths. The paranoid style is American politics -- The devil in the wilderness -- The devil next door -- The beast below -- Puppeteers -- Conspiracies of angels -- pt. II. Modern fear. The water's gate -- The legend of John Todd -- Operation Mindfuck -- The ghost of Rambo -- The demonic cafeteria -- Everything is a clue -- The monster at the end of this book.
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| Abstract
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Presents a comprehensive history of conspiracy theories in American culture and politics, from the colonial era to the War on Terror. It is a history of America's demons that stretches from the seventeenth century to today, and lays out five conspiracy narratives that recur in American politics and popular culture. 1693: Cotton Mather suggests that the spirits attacking Salem are allied with the colony's human enemies. At their "Cheef Witch-meetings," he writes, "there has been present some French Canadians, and some Indian Sagamores, to concert the methods of ruining New England." 1835: A gunman tries to kill Andrew Jackson. The president accuses a senator of plotting the assassination. Jackson's critics counter that the shooting was arranged by the president himself to gain public support. 1868: An article in the New York Tribune declares that the Democrats have engineered malaria outbreaks in the nation's capital, pumping "the air, and the water, and the whiskey of Washington full of poison." 1967: President Lyndon Johnson asks his cabinet if the Communists are behind the country's urban riots. The attorney general tells him that the evidence isn't there, but Johnson isn't convinced. Conspiracy theories aren't just a feature of the fringe. They have been a potent force across the political spectrum, at the center as well as the extremes, from the colonial era to the present. In this book the author explores this rich history, arguing that conspiracy stories should be read not just as claims to be either believed or debunked but also as folklore. When a tale takes hold, it reveals something true about the anxieties and experiences of those who believe and repeat it, even if the story says nothing true about the objects of the theory itself. -- From book jacket.
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| Subject
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Conspiracy theories-- United States.
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National characteristics, American.
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Paranoia-- Political aspects-- United States.
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Paranoia-- Social aspects-- United States.
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Political culture-- United States.
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Civilization.
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Conspiracy theories.
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National characteristics, American.
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Paranoia-- Political aspects.
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Paranoia-- Social aspects.
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Political culture.
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Politics and government.
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Politische Kultur
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Verschwörungstheorie
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United States, Civilization.
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United States, Politics and government.
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United States.
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USA
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| Dewey Classification
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973
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| LC Classification
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E183.W18 2013
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| NLM classification
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D771.2clc
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