Works of Wackadoodle Wonder
I’ll bet you didn’t know that Robert Kennedy was involved in the murder of Marilyn Monroe or that Lyndon B.Johnson was behind the murder of John F. Kennedy. I’ll bet you also didn’t know that the famous Lewis and Clark expedition into the western United States found strange monuments and “nearly white, blue-eyed Indians,” or that Jesus was actually married to Mary the Magdalene. Or how about this: Donald Trump is the greatest president in U.S. history and that Barack Obama is the worst president in U.S. history. That last one’s a real ‘knee-slapper.’
These amazing “facts” and more can be found in the latest issue of Bargain Books which lists a variety of books that have been ‘remaindered.’ These are books that are not selling as well as the publishers would like and so they are sold at a greatly reduced price.
Even though President Kennedy was assassinated more than half a century ago, books about his assassination continue to dominate the publishing world, or at least this list of books. I counted 14 books dealing with the assassination in this latest issue of Bargain Books. Most of them with various wacko scenarios surrounding his death. LBJ wasn’t the only one connected to JFK’s assassination, according to these various books. Others include the CIA, the Mafia, an Argentinian spy and, of course, Fidel Castro. Of course, you know it’s all being covered up by — — insert dramatic music here — a cabal of government agencies.
Here is the blurb that goes along with this book:
“Hidden History is the book that belongs in every conspiracy theorist’s library…
“So sit down, strap in, and get ready to be shocked and awed by how much has been hidden from you by our government over the past fifty years.”
You have to LOVE it, right? More dramatic music needed here.
But here’s the new twist to all this: Donald Trump, the man who… according to him… does everything better than anybody, actually did indeed score better than anybody — with more books about him than virtually any other topic. Interestingly the books are just about evenly split between those that are pro-Trump and those thatareanti-Trump.
Pro-Trump
— The Plot to Destroy Trump by Theodore Roosevelt Malloch — “Exposes the effort orchestrated by anti-Trump forces in the Deep State…”
— The Russia Hoax by Gregg Jarrett — “The illicit scheme to clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump”
— Trump’s Enemies by C.R. Lewandowski and D.N. Bossie — “How the deep state is undermining the Presidency”
— Understanding Trump by Newt Gingrich — “How the new president’s past experiences have shaped his life and style of governing”
— Trump’s America, also by Newt Gingrich — “The truth about our nation’s great comeback”
— Liars, Leakers and Liberals by Jeanine Pirro — “The case against the anti-Trump conspiracy”
Anti-Trump
— Everything Trump Touches Dies by Rick Wilson — “A Republican strategist gets real about the worst president ever”
— Trump on the Couch by Justin A. Frank — “Inside the mind of the president…arguably the most psychologically damaged president we have yet had”
— It’s Even Worse Than You Think by David Cay Johnston — “How the federal agencies that touch the lives of all Americans are being undermined by this new administration”
— Trump is F#CKING Crazy by Keith Olbermann — “This is not a joke… the most outrageous sanity-questioning moments”
— Unhinged by Omarosa Manigault — “An insider’s account of the Trump White House”
— The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump — Edited by Bandy X. Lee — “27 psychiatrists and mental health experts assess our new president and what they find will disturb you”
— A Very Stable Genius by Mike Luckovich — “How do you poke fun at a man who’s so absurd he practically satirizes himself”
(Clarification: There are two books titled A Very Stable Genius. The one cited is a series of cartoons about Trump. Another book with the same title by two investigative reporters was just recently released. It documents his erratic behavior inside the White House.)
At this point it would seem that the Pro and Anti forces are equally divided. However, there are several other books to take into account and one might argue that they weigh in favor of the pro-Trump approach. There are books that are anti-Obama, and therefore by implication, pro-Trump.
One is The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama by two alt-right commentators, Matt Margolis and Mark Noonan which talks about “his real impact on the economy” ignoring of course the fact that he inherited the worst recession since the Great Depression. Conspiracy theorist extraordinaire Michael Savage produced a book titled Scorched Earth: Restoring the Country After Obama which rails against the mythical “anarchists from within”and of course the “complicit liberal media.” Interestingly, both books make the claim that Obama was a “divisive” president which probably reflects their biases more than anything. They ignore the extreme division that has developed during the Trump administration and documented by Gallup and Pew surveys.
Like the Michael Savage book and the Hidden History book cited earlier, many of the conspiracy-theme books could in some ways be considered pro-Trump as they echo the sentiments of Trump supporters who see the U.S. government as part of a secret cabal that is hiding things from its citizens as part of some great coverup.
The subtitle of the book says it all — The Complete Guide to Government Conspiracies, Manipulations and Deceptions. That pretty well covers it all, right? While the author claims it’s the government behind all this, other conspiracy believers claim that it’s much, much bigger and much, much more sinister.
This is the book that is being remaindered through Bargain Books. It claims to provide evidence of “the wealthy and powerful elites (that) threatens to lead to their world domination.”
Even more startling — do a Google search. There are a dozen books with the same theme and even the same title, including one by televangelist Pat Robertson and one which claims there are “sinister meanings” behind the Great Seal of the United States
Now, add into all this the number of books about aliens and extrterrestrials such as… Ancient Aliens in the Bible… Alien Agenda, Investigating the Extraterrestrial Presence Among Us…Eric von Daniken’s Chariots of the Gods… and my favorite — Secret Journey to Planet Serpo: A True Story of Interplanetary Travel:-
“On July 16, 1965, a massive alien spacecraft from the Zeta Reticuli star system, piloted by alien visitors known as the Eben, welcomed 12 astronaut-trained military personnel aboard their craft. This volume exposes the truth of this human-alien interaction, revealing that our government contines to have an ongoing relationship with the Ebens to this day.”
It would be funny if it weren’t quite so disturbing.
Numerous polls over the past decade have shown an increasing political polarization within the country. And, yes, there have been wackos with weird ideas even longer than that. But put all these pieces together:
… the contradictory tone of the respective pro and anti groups
… the extreme statements of each, although mostly by the pro-Trump groups.
… The conspiratorial tomes that echo those feelings to a psychotic level.
… And the books that really are just ‘wackadoodle wonders.’
There are roughly 300 books listed in the Bargain Books mailing under the category of “history.” Of those, I conservativelycounted somewhere between 70 and 80 books that would fall into one of those four categories. That’s roughly one in every four ‘history’ books… books that are supposed to be non-fiction.
As someone who always thought he would have a book published, but hasn’t, I had to wonder why some of these books warranted publication. Even more critical is the question of what they say about our times. As I read through the various books, a certain lyric kept coming into my head.
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you’re always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away
That was in 1967 and it revolved around some young people clashing with police. As Rolling Stone magazine notes, the song became one of the most often played, and cited, protest songs ever since with a lot of it focusing on that one key word — paranoia.
As I go over all those publication, it “seems” that paranoia has gotten worse in the past few years. And yes I believe it is largely because of Mr. Trump’s incendiary speeches and tweets. But put it all together and it paints a frightening image of a country coming apart at the seams.
