Conspiracy Theories & Secret Societies for Dummies

By: Christopher Hodapp, Alice Von Kannon

Narrated by: Chris Sorensen

Length: 18 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Entering the world of conspiracy theories and secret societies is like stepping into a distant, parallel universe where the laws of physics have completely changed: black means white, up is down, and if you want to understand what's really going on, you need a good reference book. That's where Conspiracy Theories & Secret Societies for Dummies comes in.

Whether you're a skeptic or a true believer, this fascinating guide, packed with the latest information, walks you through some of the most infamous conspiracy theories - such as Area 51 and the assassination of JFK - and introduces you to such mysterious organizations as the Freemasons, the Ninjas, the Mafia, and Rosicrucians. This behind-the-curtain guide helps you separate fact from fiction and helps you the global impact of these mysterious events and groups on our modern world. Discover how to:

• Test a conspiracy theory
• Spot a sinister secret society
• Assess the Internet's role in fueling conspiracy theories
• Explore world domination schemes
• Evaluate 9/11 conspiracy theories
• Figure out who "they" are
• Grasp the model on which conspiracy theories are built
• Figure out whether what "everybody knows" is true
• Distinguish one assassination brotherhood from another
• And understand why there's no such thing as a "lone assassin"

©2008 Wiley Publishing, Inc. (P)2019 Tantor

The title should be "Written by dummies"!

Basically the the entire 18 hours of this incredibly boring and one sided book is that if you do not 100% trust the government and if you have ever even thought there could have ever been a conspiracy in all of the world then you are a tin hat wearing physcopath. A typical woke liberal diatribe of listen and believe what I say because if you think different your nuts. Liberal gas lighting at its finest. Kudos to the dude who read this shit for 18 hours, he probably jumped off a bridge when he left the studio.

The world needs this book in todays day and age

In the modern world where Facebook is everyone’s current events news source, this book is needed and necessary. With modern algorithms it’s not very hard for a person to find the right information to fuel the fire of their fears. I feel this book gives a very unbiased and balanced take on a lot of modern conspiracy theories as well as shedding light on some new ones. If folks are open minded enough, I feel, this book can help them come back to reality. I actually have a few friends who have really been struggling since the pandemic that I will recommend this too.

For me.. overall the book was an excellent read (listen) that I enjoyed in its entirety; even though, at times it gets dry and I found it difficult to stay focused. I feel this issue may be able to be resolved with a different narrator, but in all fairness… this is basically a book of facts I’m sure it was difficult to narrate.

Great baseline, but Dismissive.

This is a decent introduction to the world of conspiracy theories at large. But it definitely takes the standpoint that the vast majority are false. The authors seem to cherry pick facts to fit their assumptions. It doesn't help that the narrator also adopts a dismissive, smug tone.

Weirdly entertaining

A fascinating overview of many of the secret societies, cults and conspiracy theories that keep many of us curious and entertained.
It certainly gives the reader/listener much food for thought and may provoke the desire to investigate further.
The narration is quite peculiar and may divide listeners. I didn’t like the almost robotic delivery at first, but kind of got used to it and eventually found it suited the subject matter and the nature of the subject in a way that I can’t explain. Some of the pronunciation of the none American words is quite funny, and one glaring mistake is to call the British Secret Service’s ‘M fifteen’ and ‘M sixteen’ rather than their actual titles M.I.5 and M.I.6 (Ministry of Information 5 and Ministry of Information 6).
That aside I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook.

Entertaining look at some completely nuts ideas

This is a brilliant overview of a plethora of conspiracies - some real but mostly utter twaddle - and secret societies. Loads of detail yet clearly and logically presented as per the typical Dummies format. The narration does sound a bit AI from time to time, but it's generally quite easy on the ear once you get used to it. The authors' barely concealed scorn for some of the more bonkers theories is very entertaining.