Everything Is Under Control: Conspiracies, Cults, and Cover-ups

I'm somewhat of a fan of Robert Anton Wilson.This book around the time it was published would have been great for anyone who's way big into conspiracies, UFO's and whatnot. but in today's day and age, this book is more or less both somewhat of a dictionary and an Iceberg meme in a book. second of all the book does not go way into the conspiracy theories it list, I would say it's more of a guide if anything. some topics discussed are about one or two pages long, other's are pretty short excerpts, and some theories have no information given except for a source and/or reference. Every topic discussed in this book has a source and/or reference of where the author got the information from, for you to look up on your own. I find this as a positive since you're the one doing the research.There are some problems though, and that is that this book is old, and some of the sources it provides, such as websites for example, some if not most, probably no longer exist and/or are available since these websites were made sometime around the mid to late 90's. Same goes for any books and magazines mentioned, that are also a lot older more rare to find. My solution is that you can always try to find them at your local library or go to the internet archive (dot) org to search for them, including using the wayback machine to find those old websites.A small gripe I have about this book is that it doesn't have any sort of glossary or table of contents.Do I recommend it? it's hard to say. I don't think it's for everyone, especially for those who just got started getting into this kind of stuff. If your a fan of RAW it's kinda both a Yes and a No. but for a someone who's super way into conspiracy theories, loves doing their own research and maybe even likes the iceberg meme too, I totally recommend it.

`Everything is Under Control' is an A to Z listing of hundreds of conspiracy theories and cover-ups that pervade the minds of paranoids. The main issue I had with the book is how quickly the author cruises through topics. Some items are touched on so lightly that I'm not even sure what Mr. Wilson is talking about. It's disappointing not because the subject matter is boring but because it's so interesting that the short descriptions left me wanting more.Although the author is clearly a skeptic concerning many of the classic conspiracy theories not all conspiracies are equal and his lack of commentary may leave some readers confused. The Church of the Sub-Genius is fairly self evident as parody while others like the Discordian Society may be less so and the author doesn't discern between parody and sincere conspiracy theories. The other problem is that he doesn't differentiate between the absurd and the likely, for instance when Noam Chomsky claims that the media is owned by a handful of billionaires it's not really a conspiracy theory since it's pretty much true. On the other hand the Illuminati's relationship with extra-terrestrials is clearly the product of some overactive imaginations. When Mr. Wilson talks about a seemingly legit conspiracy like the P2 in Italy (which I had never heard of) it's hard for me to know whether or not to take it seriously. I think the book would have been improved if the author had gone into more detail on less subjects. Do people really care about Howard Hughes's legal difficulties with TWA or whether John Hull ran guns through Costa Rica or that psychologists spent a million dollars to avoid government regulations?In some ways the author is like a magician who doesn't want to reveal his tricks. There is a tiny bit of debunking and some subtle tweaks to the reader but the conspiracies are generally presented as is leaving it up to us to decide. Did our government really do extensive testing with chemical agents on unsuspecting American populaces during the 50's and 60's? There is enough known evidence that it is certainly plausible.Despite any issues I had with the organization and focus of the book I found it absolutely fascinating and had a difficult time putting it down. I suppose it might fall under the category of a reference guide or introductory primer to the world of paranoia. I look forward to reading other books by the author that go into more detail.

Bob's tweaking your mind. I mostly just skim this book but recently I was reading about the 1968 Grizzly attacks in Montana and was surprised to find that here under a " men in black " sighting. I think the tweak is that a priest really was there to pray with one of the victims! And they wear black ! Because I was thinking it sounded too bizarre to be real ! Perhaps Bob's sense of humor at work. It kind of makes me angry for him to play with my reality like that. I know he was a Crowley fan so there's probably more mind bending I haven't even noticed yet.

What I like was that you could follow some of the links (kind of like the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon) and end up right back where you started.A bit dated. I had lent my copy out years ago and it was never returned. Nice to have a fun read back on the shelf.

Very entertaining. Would read again. Fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord fnord. Good day.

R.A.W writes in the usual humorist tone, while sharing what still amounts to the most popular conspire theories. As a novice, this book will appeal to learn, as a grizzled conspiracy vet, it'll serve to at least laugh at all the absurdities, whatever the truth really is.I will say the book is too old in that most of the web links provided to follow up on his sources, no longer work. Which proved sad, but not the fault of the book. I'd love to see updated sources though.All hail Bob. Or not.

Great fun book: I check most entry’s on google and it is a great learning experience things I never new in my 85 years just a great trip being a Robert Anton Wilson fan for pver 40! years

Love it! So happy

cool book

Absolutely fine

Perfect

Este libro lo compré más que nada como una curiosidad, lo que en él se puede leer no deja de ver más que ideas locas de alguien que ve conspiraciones por todas partes. Este libro es un compendio que, además de dar cuenta de ellas, las mantiene vigente para los nuevos loquitos.