The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time: Decoding History's Unsolved Mysteries by Brad Meltzer

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Title: The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time: Decoding History's Unsolved Mysteries
Author: Brad Meltzer 
Release Date: 11.10.20
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company



Publisher's Summary:
Master storyteller Brad Meltzer counts down and decodes the world’s top 10 most intriguing conspiracies stories.

Wanted: the truth. In a riveting collection, Brad Meltzer guides us through the 10 greatest conspiracies of all time, from Leonardo da Vinci’s stolen prophecy to the Kennedy assassination. This richly illustrated book serves up those fascinating, unexplained questions that nag at history buffs and conspiracy lovers: Why was Hitler so intent on capturing the Roman “Spear of Destiny?” Where did all the Confederacy’s gold go? What is the government hiding in Area 51? And did Lee Harvey Oswald really act alone?

Meltzer sifts through the evidence, weighs competing theories, separates what we know to be true and what’s still––and perhaps forever––unproved or unprovable, and in the end, decodes the mystery and arrives at the most likely explanation.


My Review:
I've not seen "Decoded" nor read any of Meltzer's previous works and while I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I used to love hearing a good conspiracy theory. Now in the age of COVID-19 and the 2020 US Presidential Election, I worry that people simply don't want to accept facts that aren't convenient to their way of thinking and thus create conspiracy theories to align with their beliefs. The conspiracies included in this book have been around for a while and have taken on a legendary, pop culture quality that makes them "fun" rather than wacky. Here's my 2 cents on the 10:

1. John Wilkes Booth escaping capture for 40 years after Lincoln’s assassination-- Talk about a crazy tornado of a dozen conspiracy theories in one.
2. The Missing Confederate Treasury--The Forrest Finn treasure was just found so I guess this is possible. 
3. The Georgia Guide stones--these are only 2 hours from where I live and I had never heard of them before!
4. D.B. Cooper-- This was a fun one to think about.  
5. The White House cornerstone--this didn't seem very exciting or noteworthy 
6. Hitler’s pursuit of the Spear of Destiny--this was interesting since I had never even heard of the Spear of Destiny before.  
7. Da Vinci’s apocalypse prediction--Da Vinci was a very talented and intelligent man but this is silly.  
8. Fort Knox's gold-- this one was worth some contemplation. 
9. UFOs/Roswell/Area 51-- Nothing new from what most people already know. Super fun theories on this one!
10. JFK Assassination: I have not seen Oliver Stone’s JFK but after the last few years I can totally understand how people are unable to separate fact from fiction. 

Overall, this was an entertaining and fun book that covered the basics and will appeal to a wide audience.  It would be a perfect gift for that person on your holiday shopping list who thinks everything in our current world is a conspiracy or for someone who might just enjoy learning a bit about popular conspiracy theories. At just over 200 pages with lots of pictures, pulled quotes and multi-media layouts, I would suggest you read or gift this in a physical format rather than as an e-book.