Vankin, Jonathan and Whalen, John. The 60 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time: History's Biggest Mysteries, Cover-ups, and Cabals. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1998. 502 pages.

In 1991 a book by Jonathan Vankin titled "Conspiracies, Cover-ups, and Crimes" discussed various episodes in 17 discrete chapters. This book ups the page count from 319 to 502, and expands the number of episodes to sixty. There is not much overlap between the two books.

The writing is generally balanced and capable. The authors deserve credit for describing the various theories on their ostensible merits, rather than conveniently dismissing them as psychological epiphenomena. They recognize that the "Disney" or "New York Times" or "TV news" version of history, packaged for mass consumption, is the product of vested interests, laziness, armchair psychoanalysis, peer pressure, and the stigma associated with the word "conspiracy."

Some of the topics were chosen for their entertainment value, which gives this book a coffee-table aura that other topics don't deserve. Then there's the problem of whether anything valuable can be imparted in eight pages per topic. Many readers will learn only enough about any particular item to discuss it unintelligently, or dismiss it more convincingly. But this book is better than nothing, and is probably the last of the genre.
ISBN 0-7607-0882-7

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