History Decoded: The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time

Brad Meltzer

Oct 2013 · Sold by Workman Publishing Company

About this ebook

It's an irresistible combination: Brad Meltzer, a born storyteller, counting down the world's most intriguing unsolved mysteries. And to make this richly illustrated book even richer, each chapter invites the reader along for an interactive experience through the addition of facsimile documents—the evidence! It's a treasure trove for conspiracy buffs, a Griffin and Sabine for history lovers.

Adapted from Decoded, Meltzer’s hit show on the HISTORY network, History Decoded explores fascinating, unexplained questions. Is Fort Knox empty? Why was Hitler so intent on capturing the Roman “Spear of Destiny”? What’s the government hiding in Area 51? Where did the Confederacy’s $19 million in gold and silver go at the end of the Civil War? And did Lee Harvey Oswald really act alone? Meltzer sifts through the evidence; weighs competing theories;  separates what we know to be true with what’s still—and perhaps forever—unproved or unprovable; and in the end, decodes the mystery, arriving at the most likely solution. Along the way we meet Freemasons, Rosicrucians, Nazi propagandists, and the real DB Cooper.

A riveting adventure through the compelling world of mysteries and conspiracies.

Ratings and reviews

I have to say, I expected to give this book a lot more stars. And this book does do a great job of summarizing these puzzling conspiracy theories, including offering plausible solutions to some of them. I think I would've really enjoyed it IF I HAD NOT BEEN A FAN OF BRAD MELTZER'S SHOW. As a fan of his show, I recognize that pretty much every word of his book is the monologues he gives on each subject's episode of the show. I mean verbatim. So it was literally just recapping things I already knew. One of the reasons I bought the book was because I enjoyed the show so much. Maybe that's my bad, and I was stupid not to foresee that the show & book would be seriously linked. It's just that in most such books tied to a show, the book offers new information, includes more photos or interviews that didn't make it onto the show. There is something special about it, on top of what is learned by watching the show. This was LITERALLY just Brad's show monologues. As a result it took me awhile to get through this because it felt so repetitive & I couldn't bring myself to care. If you've never heard of Brad Meltzer & you are interested in conspiracy theories, then I recommend this book to you. It has some great coverage & might be really enjoyable to someone who is just beginning to be interested in the topics. But if you are a conspiracy buff, & a fan of conspiracy theory TV shows including Brad Meltzer's... goahead and skip this one. It won't tell you anything you don't already know.

Major disappointment. Each of the ten chapters is little more than a printout of the voice-overs for the ten corresponding segments of the television series. I've already seen all of them, and I feel ripped off.

Very much enjoyed this book. Doesn't claim to have all the answers, let's you decide for yourself after reading the facts and theories.

About the author

Brad Meltzer is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Inner Circle, The Book of Fate, and seven other bestselling thrillers. In addition to his fiction, Brad is one of the only authors to ever have books on the bestseller list for nonfiction (History Decoded), advice (Heroes for My Son and Heroes for My Daughter), children's books (I Am Amelia Earhart and I Am Abraham Lincoln) and even graphic books (Justice League of America). He is also the host of Brad Meltzer's Decoded on the History Channel, and Brad Meltzer's Lost History on H2. He currently lives in Florida. You can find much more about him at BradMeltzer.com. You can also see what he's doing right now at Facebook.com/BradMeltzer and on Twitter @bradmeltzer.