Russ Kick, Editor: You Are Being Lied To: The Disinformation Guide To Media Distortion, Historical Whitewashes And Cultural Myths

A conspiracy-minded book that more than lives up to the bold provocation of its title, Disinformation's You Are Being Lied To collects a series of essays by cranks, conspiracy theorists, investigative reporters, and superstar academics dedicated to asking difficult questions and overturning conventional wisdom. From ancient history to Columbus' voyage to the Columbine massacre, the muckrakers here find lies, conspiracies, and deceptions lurking behind seemingly every event in the history of mankind. Sacrificing depth for breadth, the book addresses a staggeringly broad array of topics, covering everything from the nefarious corporate media to childhood-development theories to the CIA, whose members pop up at an alarming rate. As editor Russ Kick notes early on, most of the book's contributors fall on the leftist side of the political divide, but any collection that attacks the PLO, feminism, radical environmentalists, and the gun-control lobby can't be accused of hewing too closely to orthodox left-wing ideology. As is perhaps inevitable in a compilation in which Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky share space with self-proclaimed conspiracy theorists and small-time zine contributors, the quality of writing and thought in You Are Being Lied To varies wildly. At its worst, Kick's book is the literary equivalent of a "question authority" bumper sticker, making wild, provocative accusations without providing much evidence. And, like many muckraking endeavors, it's better at pointing out problems than offering solutions. Mixing solid investigative journalism with loony theorizing, and hard science with wild-eyed conjecture about UFOs, You Are Being Lied To is best approached with a healthy sense of skepticism. But, as a sort of radical counter-mythology to the accepted notions of the day, it serves an interesting and important function, encouraging readers to judge for themselves whether they are, indeed, being lied to.