Real Enemies

[E]xquisitely researched and annotated new book...[H]er compilation presents a startling read of public history. --Chicago Tribune [An] energetic narrative shows an increasingly complex national security apparatus both prompting conspiracy theories and promulgating its own. Convincing study of how alternative histories develop. --Kirkus Reviews Though most conspiracy theories are nonsense, Real Enemies demonstrates that actors in and around American government have been engaged in conspiracies against the public interest for decades. --Chronicles Real Enemies is a study of paranoia in American politics, and of course, as Kathryn Olmsted shows, the paranoia begins far too often in the Oval Office. Olmsted makes it clear, however, that it didn't start with Richard Nixon or George W. Bush. Political paranoia, it turns out, is as American as political demagoguery. --Seymour M. Hersh, author of Chain of Command Kathryn Olmsted has written a brave, provocative, and audacious book. Her willingness to subject the systemic effects of consistent patterns of official government deception--together with the popular conspiracist 'blowback' this deception inspires and empowers--to scholarly scrutiny invites us to ask troubling but necessary questions about the nature of our political leadership. --Eric Alterman, author of When Presidents Lie: A History of Official Deception and Its Consequences Once in a while, a talented historian writes a book about a neglected topic that millions of Americans think about all the time. Real Enemies is one of those rare and indispensable studies. With grace and impeccable judgment, Kathryn Olmsted illuminates one of the darker regions of the nation's political history. Richard Hofstadter would be pleased. --Michael Kazin, author of A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan A revealing study of the impact of conspiracy theories on American society and politics...[With] careful, mature analysis, Kathryn Olmsted investigates every major conspiracy theory and monger in U.S. history. --Book of the Month Club 2