Overview

Conspiracy theories aren’t just a feature of the fringe. They’ve been a potent force across the political spectrum, at the center as well as the extremes, from the colonial era to the present. In The United States of Paranoia, Jesse Walker argues that conspiracy stories should be read not just as claims to be 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. Stretching from the seventeenth century to today, Walker’s book lays out five conspiracy narratives that recur in American politics and popular culture. With intensive research and a deadpan sense of humor, The United States of Paranoia combines the rigor of real history with the punch of pulp fiction.

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9780062135568

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First there was <i>A People's History of the United States</i>. Now there's a paranoid's history, with Jesse Walker revealing that normal, sensible citizens have been conspiracy nuts ever since our nation's beginning. --Debbie Nathan, author of Sybil Exposed

A superb analysis of American paranoia...terrific, measured, objective. --Publishers Weekly (starred review) Free-floating fear and half-baked ideas about what's really going on have been a more significant part of American history than is generally accepted, according to Jesse Walker's thorough, meticulously researched book. --Vice Oddly entertaining...Walker quickly demolishes [Richard Hofstadter's The Paranoid Style in American Politics]. It's all too rare to come upon a writer willing to attack the sacred cows of the right and left with equal amounts of intelligence and flair. --Los Angeles Times Prepare to be amazed. --Jeet Heer, author of In Love with Art First there was A People's History of the United States. Now there's a paranoid's history, with Jesse Walker revealing that normal, sensible citizens have been conspiracy nuts ever since our nation's beginning. --Debbie Nathan, author of Sybil Exposed

First there was A People's History of the United States . Now there's a paranoid's history, with Jesse Walker revealing that normal, sensible citizens have been conspiracy nuts ever since our nation's beginning. --Debbie Nathan, author of Sybil Exposed

First there was A People's History of the United States. Now there's a paranoid's history, with Jesse Walker revealing that normal, sensible citizens have been conspiracy nuts ever since our nation's beginning. --Debbie Nathan, author of Sybil Exposed

Author Information

Jesse Walker is the books editor of Reason magazine and the author of Rebels on the Air: An Alternative History of Radio in America. He lives in Baltimore with his wife and their two daughters.

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