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The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory Paperback – October 14, 2014

by Jesse Walker (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 246 ratings
Editors' pick Best Nonfiction
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Jesse Walker’s The United States of Paranoia presents a comprehensive history of conspiracy theories in American culture and politics, from the colonial era to the War on Terror.

The fear of intrigue and subversion doesn’t exist only on the fringes of society, but has always been part of our national identity. When such tales takes hold, Walker argues, they reflect the anxieties and experiences of the people who believe them, even if they say nothing true about the objects of the theories themselves.

With intensive research and a deadpan sense of humor, Jesse Walker’s The United States of Paranoia combines the rigor of real history with the punch of pulp fiction.

This giftable edition includes primary-source documentation in the form of archival photographs, cartoons, and film stills selected by the author.

“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

Previous page
  1. Print length
    464 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harper Perennial
  4. Publication date
    October 14, 2014
  5. Dimensions
    1.2 x 8.1 x 5.2 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0062135562
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0062135568
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A superb analysis of American paranoia…terrific, measured, objective.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Prepare to be amazed.” — Jeet Heer, author of In Love with Art

“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

“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

From the Back Cover

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.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (October 14, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062135562
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062135568
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 1.2 x 8.1 x 5.2 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 246 ratings

About the author

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Jesse Walker

Jesse Walker

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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.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
246 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Dave P.
5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful romp through American History
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2013
Verified Purchase
The book's main thesis is, debunk the notion that conspiracy theories come exclusively from right-wing nuts. The left-wing also has its conspiracy theories, as does the center, those in power, and those on the fringes. The most dangerous conspiracy theories are held by those who also hold the reins of government and the will to exercise that power. This conception is understandable, coming from Jesse Walker, the books editor of Reason magazine and, thereby, a libertarian thought leader.
My thoughts while reading this, particularly the section on Christian conspiracy theories, gravitated to Jesus' commands to (1) not bear false witness and (2) not gossip. Bearing false witness must include telling stories when one doesn't have the full story. Gossip includes re-telling stories that one hasn't (or can't) verify.
Overall, United States of Paranoia is a fun read.
2 people found this helpful
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Frank Scoblete author of Confessions of a Wayward Catholic
5.0 out of 5 stars I Conspired with Myself to Like This Book
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2015
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I’ve been reading on Facebook a lot from various conspiracy theorists. Some are so far out that I think what they are writing has to be satire or evidence of a serious mental befuddlement.

For example, the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings by Adam Lanza that killed 20 children and six adults --- and also his mother. the woman who helped train this young man(iac) --- is thought to be a conspiracy perpetrated by the whole town. Yes, the police, the parents, the firemen, the local grocery store owner, the media, the teachers, the garbage men, the electricians and the old folks rocking in the nursing home and, add to that, the little kids themselves.

To these conspiracy theorists, Lanza never killed anyone and all the kids are alive and well as is everyone else. In fact, there might not even exist an Adam Lanza.

With that in mind, I purchased "The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory" by Jesse Walker, an exhaustive study of conspiracy theories going back to the very first Europeans to come to this land --- actually even before the Europeans arrival, the American Indians were damn good at spinning conspiracy yarns too.

Walker takes us through every type of outrageous and even seemingly logical conspiracies, and he shows that many of them in different guises and forms are basically made from several categories: the enemy within, the enemy without, the strong clique manipulating events, even minor daily events in history and in your own little life. The conspiracies can even be a combination of these types.

Now, no one would say there are no conspiracies. Most spies are involved in conspiracies but these spies don’t belong to groups such as the Illuminati or the psychic underground or Aunt Emma’s sewing club. Normandy was a conspiracy after all.

In our own lifetime we have been subjected to the Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy (seems everyone from politicians and the mafia were into that one), the Martin Luther King Conspiracy (some of which blame Jesse Jackson), the Robert Kennedy Conspiracy, the World Trade Center Conspiracy (we bombed ourselves), the War is Good conspiracy that blames Republicans or Democrats for starting us on the path to lucrative wars that make individuals a lot of money supplying weapons or gaining oil rich lands for greedy corporations, rich people and politicians. The list goes on and on.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in clearing the air about the paranoia that travels throughout our history like a hand in a glove, which is probably a conspiracy of glove makers in huge cabals.

Conspiracy theorists might want to read the book to see exactly where on the conspiracy continuum their particular favorites fall.

Frank Scoblete is the author of "I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps!"
5 people found this helpful
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Brendan Moody
4.0 out of 5 stars A fine overview of American manifestations of a human foible
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2019
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This morning I finished reading The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory, Jesse Walker's brief but surprisingly comprehensive history of conspiracy theories in American life. The first half of the book identifies a few major types of conspiracy theory and observes how they appeared and reappeared in the American past, while the second half focuses on paranoia in modern America. Throughout, Walker is evenhanded, thoughtful, humane, and quietly funny.

The discussion of conspiracy theories in modern American politics has some odd lacunae. Walker acknowledges that birtherism and 9/11 trutherism are emblematic of the modern paranoid mindset, but he discusses the details of the former only briefly and the latter not at all. Nor does he even mention the Clinton conspiracy theories of the 1990s. From his telling, the predominant paranoid trend in the politics of the last 25 years would seem to be left-wing and centrist overhyping of the far-right threat. This is perhaps not a perspective that has aged well since the book's publication in 2013. Walker isn't wrong that sloppy thinking has led to the conflation of distinct types of right-wing thought (though it is odd for a writer whose thesis is that cross-pollination is central to modern paranoia to become suddenly meticulous about distinguishing the secular, libertarian far right from the fundamentalist, authoritarian far right), but I'm not sure that rises to the level of a conspiracy theory.

The larger point of this fine book is that conspiracy theories are inevitable because they are a logical extension of the fundamental human impulse to impose meaning onto the universe. A world run by the Illuminati or the lizard people or the Rothschilds is at least a world with a discernible order that generates a clear sense of purpose. As Joan Didion wrote, we tell ourselves stories in order to live. And that's what a conspiracy theory is at the end of the day: a dramatic, unlikely, but internally consistent story.
20 people found this helpful
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Papa Place
5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Let Facts Get In The Way of Your Paranoia or Your Conspiracy Theory
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2019
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A very interesting history of conspiracy theories and paranoia in our history. We are a deeply paranoid nation and as you read some of this stuff you wonder how did anyone take this serious. That said its fascinating and captivating. I really liked some of the explanations of psychology behind some of the paranoia and conspiracy theories. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. More Please!
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Top reviews from other countries

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Mr D.Ward
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 11, 2018
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Excellent
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gylora
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on April 20, 2015
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Une enquête qui démontre l'importance de la paranoina pour assoir le pouvoir.
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Ross
4.0 out of 5 stars Everyone's paranoid
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 25, 2014
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A refreshing take on the history of paranoid cultures- conspiracy theories and moral panics- in the United States. The various forms of paranoia are grouped into enemies above, below, outside and within society as well as beliefs in benevolent conspiracies. What is interesting is how flexible the belief systems are- a belief in an enemy below, for example slave conspiracies can easily morph to fit a foreign enemy who are controlling them. The panics re-emerge repeatedly in slightly different forms over the centuries with a few superficial modifications to keep them updated.

What makes this book different to typical works about paranoid subcultures is that it acknowledges two under-appreciated points:

- Not all paranoid beliefs are unfounded. The US government for example has genuinely conspired to sabotage peaceful protesters and civil rights campaigners.

- Paranoia isn't confined to the margins, sometimes the powerful and mainstream have indulged in paranoid nonsense- one example Walker cites is the belief of the federal government that the militia movement of the 1990s was formenting rebellion, which led to the Waco siege when the false beliefs that a minor religious cult was stockpiling weapons, running a meth lab and holding people hostage leaving dozens of people dead.

The second half of the book is devoted to paranoia in modern culture- looking at films, television and ironic conspiracism.

It's well worth reading for a different take on a well explored genre.
2 people found this helpful
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