Everything Is Under Control – Conspiracies, Cults and Cover ups

Everything Is Under Control Conspiracies Cults and Cover ups

Before the X-Files, before alt.conspiracy, there was Robert Anton Wilson and his legendary Illuminatus! Trilogy. Now this avatar of conspiriology, renowned for his razor wit and progressive philosophy, takes you on a fascinating, eclectic ride through what Wilson has termed the "Cultic Twilight" where conspiracy theories flourish.

Everything Is Under Control covers the range of Wilson's kaleidoscopic knowledge, from John Adams to the Voronezh (former Soviet Union) UFO sighting, the Campus Crusade for Cthulhu to the Mothman prophecies, and everything in between. What do the Freemasons, the Kennedys, and Princess Diana have in common? All are at the center of gigantic conspiracy theories with incredibly complex and endlessly multiplying twists, turns, highways and byways. Arranged by alphabetical entries which include cross-references to other entries in the book and also provide addresses to related sites on the Web, this book is truly interactive–you can dip in, read through, or follow one of the URLs from an interesting entry onto the internet.

What some famous people say about Robert Anton Wilson:

"A dazzling barker hawking tickets to the most thrilling tilt-a-whirls and daring loop-o-planes on the midway to higher consciousness."
–Tom Robbins

"Wilson managed to reverse every mental polarity in me, as if I had been pulled through infinity."
–Philip K. Dick

"One of the most important scientific philosophers of his century–scholarly, witty, scientific, hip and hopeful."
–Dr. Timothy Leary

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars fact or fiction?
This book is not to be seen as a historical collectiion of incontrovertable facts. it began as a contest that R.A. Wilson heald on his website where people would submit random concpiracy theories to be published in this anthology. some of the theories may be complete invetions and some of them may be actual stories with supporting facts. at the very least it is great fun for casual conspirisists and paranoid maniacs who want more reasons to look over their shoulders.

3 Stars Fun, but needs updating
This book is great for browsing through occasionally – would probably be good bathroom reading – as long as you don't take it too seriously. The "conspiracies" range from satirical to loopy to almost believable. My favorite is the unbelievably convoluted "plot" surrounding the death of Princess Diana. Since I've just finished another book about conspiracy theories, I was disappointed not to find anything on the "reptilian" aliens, which seem to be quite popular on the late-night fringe – or at least they were a few years ago when I worked the third shift across from an Art Bell fan.

I would love to see a new edition – a lot has happened since 1998.

4 Stars Scary and fun
I love flipping through this, although I wish he had updated it before he died. There are so many new theories…As the daughter of a severe paranoid, I grew up in FEAR, constant FEAR of THEM!! ooooooohhhh, Scaarrrry stuff! The thing I love about RAW is his ability to get me to the point where I think, "f*** it, why waste time worrying?"

3 Stars Superficial, uneven, and dated — but still worth a look
Much as I love Robert Anton Wilson, I have to be fairly critical of this offering, especially with 10 years passing since its publication.

"Everything is Under Control" is set up like an encyclopedia, but given the brevity of each entry works better as a bathroom reader. The material included is somewhat uneven: I'm not sure why there are all the references to Discordianism and the Church of Subgenius — neither of which counts as a conspiracy. There is also considerable space devoted to Recovered Memory Sydrome, which again doesn't really count.

Most entries have web sites listed at the end if the reader is interested in more information, but alas many of them are no longer valid. Likewise, several of the conspiracies that have entries have been debunked since the book's publication, notably the Priory of Sion. Admittedly, RAW did give lip service to suggesting that the Priory may be "…nothing but an elaborate hoax by some witty French aristocrats" [p.348] but I got the impression he actually bought into it.

Despite these flaws, the book does offer up some interesting information on various topics, many of which I was not previously aware of. And, as always, Wilson's sardonic wit shines through.

If you're after a "serious" or "academic" compendium of conspiracies, cults, and cover-ups, this book will quite likely frustrate you, but if you're after something more generalized and light-hearted, give it a go.

3 Stars somewhat disapointing
I am a fan of Wilsons writing and just decided on a whim to pick this up. Although there is some interesting information, it is not exactly what i thought it would be. It becomes somewhat tedius to read…

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