Arthur GoldwagRecensioni

Fun romp through a load of ideas. Has the problem that it covers so much that the information given is often not enough for your interest, although he does a decent job with the space he has. Also doesn't really bring much or any personality to it, leaving the question "why not just use Wikipedia?"

This book is potentially helpful and fun to browse, but religion section errors grossly misrepresent (at best) Bible believers and the Bible. Where were the fact checkers? Discernment required to avoid deception, libel, etc.½

I haven't read all of it really, since it's a reference book. But I've read most of it, and I learned a LOT. I'd recommend it to anyone who stays up past midnight just reading random wikipedia articles. There are some things you could be not interested in, however, it's definitely useful knowing about them.

Excellent if you like reading a book that sounds more list-like than cohesive story. It wasn't satisfying. But it's more of an overview anyway, something to pique your curiosities and nudge you to go do more research on your own.

Its a reference text. So how much you like is dependent upon how much you know and ur interests however Arthur Goldwag's wit and writing style will have you chuckling here and there as well as reading things you would have normally skipped. My favorite section was the religion section. Its not often i see balanced nuanced discussion of the diversity that occurs within a faith. Quite enjoyable.

A very good introduction to the Kabbalah for the novice and the dabbler. If you're an "expert" then a bunch of this will sound familiar. It covers the history, the basic tenets, various schools of Kabbalah, thumbnail biographies of kabbalists, etc. I have several books on the Kabbalah, and even found useful stuff here.

Goldwag only goes off the tracks in his "conclusion," where he interviewed a candidate for rabbi in the Jewish Renewal, which is a sort of New Age, egalitarian reform movement in Judaism. The interviewee, and interviewer, push Kabbalah towards a "one source, many wells" philosophy of religion that standard Kabbalah would not brook. They mock the ideas of an aged, old-school kabbalist in Israel. The interviewee disregards biblical laws. It's funny that they can make fun of the unorthodoxy of Kabbalah Centre, yet revel in their own unorthodoxy. It gave a bad aftertaste to an otherwise good book.

Get it for cheap if you can. A useful glossary, endnotes, a serviceable bibliography, a few explanatory illustrations.

This little volume was a fascinating read for me because I have a thing for quirky aspects of American history, such as conspiracy theorists and all the strange fascinating stories Americans love to get worked up about. Goldwag basically takes the reader through a quick historical tour of the bizarre relationship between American populist right politics and hate-centered conspiracy theories. The "New Hate" is just a sarcastic title that the reader begins to understand as commonalities between each wave of populist phobias manifest themselves in new fear-fests. Goldwag goes over all the hysterics including the Illuminati, the Freemasons, the KKK, the anti-Catholicism movement, McCarthyism, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the gold standard movement, John Birch Society, Holocaust Deniers, Black Nationalism, White Power Movement, Birthers, 9-11 Truthers, as well as the Tea Party Movement. It is quite compelling to see how the specific language, conspiracy elements, and logical fallacies used by each wave of populism gets passed on to the new generation. It reminds me of meme theory. There is always a new "other" to focus the hate and blame on. It's almost sadly and morbidly humorous how often Jews are the "other" and have been blamed so repeatedly over and over again for everything.
My only criticism is how Goldwag's writing style is a bit digressive. Plus his sense of sarcasm is not unlike early 90's Noam Chomsky, just not so polemical. I thought it was hilarious, but I could see how some might not get the jokes. Regardless, if you enjoy reading well documented and researched American history texts like me, this book is unique, a bit scary, and at times quite funny.

Just started reading it. It may explaiin why people vote against their own self-interest.

The lengthy title and subtitle of Arthur Goldwag's book, "Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies: The Straight Scoop on Freemasons, The Illuminati, Skull and Bones, Black Helicopters, The New World Order, and many, many more," belies the brevity with which he addresses most of the myriad subjects between the book's covers. It's true even a mildly avid researcher can find on the Internet or in a public library or well-stocked bookstore vast amounts of exhaustively detailed material devoted to each of the subjects Goldwag surveys in his book. This is the advantage, rather than disadvantage, of Goldwag's approach. Goldwag's book supplies only the tantalizing breadcrumbs. He leaves it for the reader to follow the trail if she's hungry to find more information on the matters that interest her, many of which she may never had known of before exploring Goldwag's work. Goldwag's writing is savvy, crisp and clean, often tongue-in-cheek, and he's not afraid to voice his personal opinion on some of the wackier Cults, Conspiracies, and Secret Societies featured in his book. It's a quick, informative and entertaining read, which I believe is exactly what the author intended.

If you find this kind of madness to be fun and interesting then you should get this book. If you don't then this won't change your mind.

This is effectively an encyclopaedia of madness with so many repeating themes that you might think no ever learns anything in this world.

Great fun apart from the bits were there are mass suicides, murders, prejudice and horror.

A great buy for any gullible relatives.½

An excellent look at the many quirky, loony, and outright crazy theories espoused by people on all sides of the political spectrum. A great read if you're, like me, interested in the lunatic fringe of the world simply for the laughs their theories bring. Comes with a free aluminum foil deflector beanie!

An exploration of cults, conspiracies & secret societies. While not covering all of the subject material, as that would require multi-volume encyclopedias, the author provides enough to see the mindset of those people.

This was an interesting, if flawed book. It consists of articles covering many "cults," conspiracies, and secret societies. I had two major problems with the book: One, Goldwag doesn't always reference his sources, and when he does, he does so inconsistently. There are no footnotes, or even endnotes. Sometimes he references his sources directly in the text, but there are many articles where he doesn't cite sources at all. I understand that a lot of what he cited was from unconventional sources, due to the nature of his subjects, but I still wanted to know where the info was coming from. My second problem was that there was so much information presented, but the articles were so short on each group/theory, etc. The addition of cults seemed odd, in particular; while I could somewhat see grouping conspiracies and secret societies together, since a lot of conspiracies are about secret societies, the cults didn't seem that related. It could easily have been two, if not three, more comprehensive, informative books. Still an interesting read, especially the part about the conspiratorial mindset. I, for one, started to understand a lot of current conspiracy theory, ie. some of the more fringe beliefs about President Obama, in context with ideas that have been around longer. Worth a read if you're interested in the subject, but not a comprehensive look by any means. Three stars.

Goldwag Exposes Craziness Behind Cults

Arthur Goldwag lists an exhaustive range of weird cults and strange societies each with their own perverted twist, sometimes simply involving sex and drugs, sometimes hate and genocide, in his newest book: Cults, Conspiracies and Secret Societies: the Straight Scoop on the Freemasons, the Illuminati, Skull & Bones, Black Helicopters, the New World Order, etc.

See Article at Orato Below
http://www.orato.com/entertainment/arthur-goldwags-cults-conspiracies

From Booklist:
"This comes under the everything-you-wanted-to-know umbrella. Goldwag does an excellent job of introducing a complicated subject, neatly balancing the history of the topic with more practical application. The text begins with an informative overview and then backtracks into the origins of kabbalah and a discussion of its later adherents. It also includes a description of kabbalistic practices (no easy task since many of the writings are almost impenetrable) and some nicely chosen short meditations, inspired by kabbalah, "some dating back to the Zohar, some as contemporary as the Internet." The personal conclusion takes readers to the heart of Jewish mysticism and what it means to individual lives. A well-rounded and eminently readable account; an extensive bibliography leads readers further." Ilene Cooper
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from the cover: "As wildly entertaining as it is learned, this engaging book should prove compulsive for browsers who don't know enough and have been bluffing for years (in short, everyone). Arthur Goldwag's style is balanced overall, yet opinionated and edgy enough to keep you on your toes. A delightful book to read and keep around." - Phillip Lopate

"Read this book and you will expunge your brain of so many errors and so much ignorance that you will be in the intellectual top five percent of the American public. "--Orson Scott Card