This book is an excellent survey of conspiracy literature. The central thesis of the book is that in the 1980s and 1990s there has been a cross-pollination of ideas between right wing extremist groups of the secular and Christian varieties and the ufologists. He traces the history of the main themes in current conspiracy theories - e.g. the world is run by a secret cabal, variously, the Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, Bilderburgers, Masons, Jesuits, Jewish bankers, etc. The negative reviews on Amazon are obviously conspiracists who spend their nights with Art Bell and George Noory. There is a certain amount of "Just because I am paranoid doesnt mean they arent out to get me." This stuff is pretty far fetched. As Barkun says, the "evidence" is mostly sources cross-citing each other. There are two problems in Barkuns book: 1. he is blind to the conspiracy theories that have been adopted from the right-wing, through the New Age movements, into the vestiges of the hard left-wing. I dont know his political leanings, but most academics are socialists or Greens, which may explain the omission. 2. for all his subtle ridicule of right-wing apocalypses, he finishes the book with an over-the-top apocalyptic warning - that because conspiracy theories have passed into popular culture, it makes it more likely that it will lead to violence and social upheaval.
Like Daniel Pipes useless work (Conspiracy), this one mixes totally unrelated issues together in order to criticize socio-political critiques. For similar misinformation see Peter Knights "Conspiracy Culture," which again mixes aliens with other legitimate concerns about global power structures.
Its funny; all of the people who refute and attack all of the so-called "conspiracy theorists" never use any facts, history, or documented evidence to back up their attacks. The scary part is that the "theorists" have so many facts that, once one has studied many topics thoroughly, it all speaks for itself. This book is 250 pages of fluff and uninformed opinion. Instead of wasting your time reading this, go investigate the history of our great nation. "All truth passes through 3 stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer, Philosopher
