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| Debunked!: Conspiracy Theories, Urban Legends, and Evil Plots of the 21st Century | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Roeper
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $9.60
You Save: $10.35 (52%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 74386
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.6 x 5.6 x 1
ISBN: 1556527071
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.10973
EAN: 9781556527074
ASIN: 1556527071
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Ships from CA Exp. Shipping aval. I never read this or opened it however a tiny bit of water spilled on it. Fantastic binding.
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Product Description
As he did in Urban Legends and Hollywood Urban Legends, and as he has done in dozens of columns for the Chicago Sun-Times over the last decade and a half, Richard Roeper lays out the basics of the conspiracy theory, quotes some of the true believers—and then tears the theory apart with his bare hands. 9/11 was an inside job. Lady Di and JFK Jr. were murdered. Heathens are winning the war on Christmas. American Idol is rigged. Barack Obama is a radical Muslim. The Secret will make you thin. The Virgin Mary is in the grilled cheese. That’s what it’s like to live inside the mind of the 21st-century conspiracy theorist, who believes that all you have to do is look at the signs and you’ll see what’s really going on. This book will appeal to the vast majority of readers who possess the common sense gene, as well as the vocal minority who believe they’re living in a world in which secret tribunals pull the strings and influence the outcome of everything from terrorist attacks to professional sporting events.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 A Refreshing Island in an Ocean of Drivel May 24, 2008
18 out of 25 found this review helpful
Roeper's "Debunked" is a witty, no-holds barred look at a few of the sacred cows of conspiracy theorists and believers in urban legends. Happily, he's an equal opportunity critic, skewering the icons of the left (Rosie O'Donnell and Oprah Winfrey) with as much verve as the idols of the right (Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter). I'm delighted by his "fair and balanced treatment" of assorted conspiracy theories, urban legends and evil plots (just like on Fox "News"!). All in all, it's a pretty brave book: Roeper could have just as easily called it "Please Send Me Sackloads of Vitriolic Hate Mail," because that's what he's probably going to get.
Too bad, because "Debunked" does a nice job of explaining why 9-11 was caused by terrorists and not our government, why casinos don't cheat (your odds of winning are so low that they don't need to), why there's no good reason to think that Princess Di or JFK, Jr were murdered, why "The Secret" is hokum, and why there is no vast left-wing conspiracy. (On the last point, my own guess is that the left wing conspirators were murdered in a vast right-wing conspirancy organized by Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, and Elvis, but Roeper doesn't really mention that theory, probably because he's part of the conspiracy).
Speaking of extreme right wingers like O'Reilly and Coulter, I've always wondered why their evident love for conspiracy theories doesn't extend to traditional conservative institutions. I mean, who's to say, for instance, that the National Rifle Association isn't a front organization for the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, or that the BATF hasn't by nefarious means secured access to the NRA's computerized mailing lists? You send the NRA your address when you become a member or subscribe to the National Rifleman, right? So they know where you live, that you probably own guns, and that you support the Second Amendment. Won't that put you in an awkward spot when the Shadow Government implements its evil plans? Since the NRA membership or subscription wouldn't tell the Bad Guys how many guns you own or where they are located, the Shadow Government would just have to kill or imprison everyone at that address. And if you think you are safe because you use a PO box--the US Postal Service is a government agency, right? Why don't O'Reilly and Coulter ever fret about that possibility unless---gasp!--they're part of the conspiracy!!! All of this is very silly, but no sillier than some of the other urban legends and conspiracy theories that Roeper debunks with great flair.
The bottom line is that Roeper's latest installment in a series that began with "Urban Legends" and "Hollywood Urban Legends," will upset people who hear the words "coming soon to a theater near you!" and scream "oh, my God, how did THEY know?!"
 Nothing to see here, folks. Move along, please. May 10, 2008
12 out of 29 found this review helpful
Richard Roeper tries to walk in the footsteps of sharp tongued, humorous writers like Ann Coulter and Mark Steyn - and fails. He doesn't like either one of them, but he tries to be just like them, with a left-wing instead of a right-wing slant. It doesn't work.
For one thing, his subject matter has been plowed over many, many times before. Princess Di's death as a conspiracy. 9/11 as an inside job. Done, done and done again and Roeper brings nothing new to the table.
Like Coulter and Steyn, Roeper heaps ad hominem on his targets. But unlike Coulter and Steyn, Roeper simply sounds mean, petty and peevish, not witty.
In a section on the much overhyped "war on Christmas", Roeper describes someone as a blustery, camera-loving blowhard who can always be counted on to deliver sound bites of outrage whenever there is a religion-related news issue". Well, the description frankly seems to fit Roeper as well.
Roeper ends the book "Debunked!" with a lengthy section on the best and worst conspiracy movies ever made. That section isn't all that bad, but even here Roeper seems to be trying to emulate someone who does the same thing much better, in this case his television co-host Roger Ebert.
Overall, there are websites like Snopes and Urban Legends that do a much better and much broader job of debunking things than Roeper does - and they don't have as bad an attitude. Stick with them instead of this book. Interestingly, there are no blurbs of praise on the dustjacket of this book, no one hailing as great and wonderful. Having read the book, I am not surprised.
Jerry
 WHAT A HOOT! WHAT A HOLLER! DEBUNKING THE BUNK May 7, 2008
9 out of 13 found this review helpful
The NFL is completely rigged. Princess Di was murdered, 9/11 was an inside job, Barack Obama is a radical Muslim, the Virgin Mary's face can be seen in certain frying pans and grilled cheese sandwiches, Flight 93 secretly landed in Cleveland, where the passengers were whisked off to a NASA facility. Yeah, we laughed too. Popular film critic Richard Roeper tackles some of the most outlandish conspiracy theories, urban legends and evil plots of the 21st century in a thin tome that's a hoot . . . when it's not a holler. Pithy prose may put to sleep (or at least in a deep dormant state) all these notorious scandals and notorious scams, but you will read stay awake, giggling and guffawing, at just how gullible people can be. Now about Donald Rumsfeld being the mastermind behind the bird flu . . .
 Assumptive Opinions Don't Hold up to Documented Facts June 3, 2008
9 out of 23 found this review helpful
Richard Roeper of Ebert & Roeper attempts to avoid the facts with his personal opinions & assumptions as if real life were just another movie for him to rate on a thumb scale. The first 6 chapters (which is as far as most people will read) is a total whitewash of the facts. The rest of the book attempts to blend this whitewash with tabloid trash. Two thumbs way down, Mr. Roeper. Any educated person can find immediate problems in the first few paragraphs of the book with his casual unsourcable rant about the "Debunked" physics of the WTC collapse on 9/11 in the 1st chapter entitled 'The Steel Didn't Have to Melt'. True Mr. Roeper, the steel wouldn't have to melt for parts of the building to collapse; but ALL THREE of them symmetrically into their own footprints at the speed of gravity? Impossible! And, yes the steel did have to melt, since molten metal was found in the ruins of ALL 3 BUILDINGS for more than 7 weeks after the collapse. One would only need to watch a speech by Architect Richard Gage or Professor Steven Jones on Google Video for a true professional analysis of the WTC collapses.
I could spend all day rebuting the first 6 chapters of this disorganized regergitation, but his unsourced opinions aren't worth much time. If you would like to know about the Clinton's criminal background watch 'The Clinton Chronicles' or 'The Mena Connection' for free on Google Video. If you would like to know more about the JFK Jr. assassination watch 'The Assassination of JFK Jr.' for free on Google Video. For more on the media blackout watch 'Spin' by Brian Springer for free on Google Video. For more on the levees being purposely blown during Hurricane Katrina watch 'Katrina Levee Blown Up' on YouTube.
His blending of the facts with the other tabloid trash stories in this book is a poor attempt at discrediting & dismissing expert investigators & field professionals as tinfoil wearing kooks. Now that's what I call black propaganda & it's not going to work on anyone who's already been exposed to the dreadful truth. Mr. Roeper needs to stick with his movie critiques & leave the physics & criminal investigations to those with an appropriate job title.
Who's looking out for you! It's Roeper's turn to.... July 12, 2008
9 out of 17 found this review helpful
I completely agree with Demon Ted's review, especially regarding the 9/11 issue. Roeper's book adds no weight to the subjects he talks about. If he were a full-time lawyer, academic or a serious journalist and scoured more facts, I would've have given a better review. Of course the book would have been too technical, academic, and dense, but serious subjects like 9/11, JFK, Lady Di's death, deserve that level of scrutiny. The fact that Roeper dabbles on these matters and then tackles the subject of the Virgin Mary image on the cheese sandwich is....comical. 9/11 alone deserves volumes of research, what was Roeper thinking? The book in my opinion would have been better if he decided to stick to either the lighter or heavier issues, not mixing up the big-scale national events with the trivial ones like... miracle cheese sandwiches. Let the 20/20 professional John Stossel walk that "thin" line.
To be fair, Roeper has always been a commentator on various news feeds so this is book form of that, so I suppose He needs to be givven some slack for now writing more "deeply".
All Americans, especially journalists, should see the various 9/11 videos on YourTube that DT describes. Many of the videos are from professors and engineers from top universities. I am a firm believer now that all three modern all-steel buildings could not have fallen the way they did. They WERE "taken down", using professional demolition terminology. There is even footage from the owner of "Building #7", the third buiilding that "collapsed" where he states that he agreed that the building be taken down, even before 9/11 happened. There is more to the 9/11 story than what we were so conveniently "told".
Mr. Roeper should stick to movie reviews but even then, I will no longer read them nor rely on them. Anyone remember Michael Medved, who was also once a well-known movie critic? He's now a right-wing nutcase weirdo my- morals-are-better-than-your-morals know-it-all, with his own web and radio show. Is there something about being a movie critic that makes one all of a sudden think they're an expert on just about everything in REAL life? At least Roeper has not yet become a full-blown right-wing-neocon whore like the Medved-O'Reilly-Rush-Hannity-Coulter crew.
Ultimately though, I'm very glad though that Medved and Roeper have both come out with their own polical or social views. We see their true colors, so to speak, and that's good! They're entitled to them, like all individuals, public or private. But their particular slant or judgement on matters OTHER THAN MOVIES makes one question the viability, quality or reliability of their other judgements, INCLUDING movies. It's kinda like a friend, neighbor, co-worker, or gulp, a family member you thought you knew. You think they're a nice, fair, honest, compassionate person. And they are on the outset on most things. They have and feed their kids, pets, mow their lawn every week, volunteer at their church, etc., but then one day they talk about how they don't like the blacks they see now in the mall, or on another day they confide on how gays are "ruining marriage", or they believe that evolution is just a theory unlike intelligent design. Or that a woman or a black person would not be a good president at this time. You think twice about that person now, how his/her outlook on life is skewed a certain (scary?) way. That's kinda how I now view Mr. Roeper, though not as nearly as bad as the fictional examples above (in my real life though these people exist, sadly).
I've never really liked Medved's movie reviews and was lukewarm toward's Roepers. Now I won't even bother. And I'm not always in-line with Roger Eberts reviews either. Geez, looks like I'm on my own regarding movie reviews. But wait, there is always a chance the O'Reilly-Rush-Hannity-Coulter camp will start doing movie reviews. Yay! I hope so cause I need a good laugh, because Roeper's book made me cry now that I have one less movie reviewer I can somewhat trust. Thumbs down on the book.
To be honest though, I'd rather have a 100 Richard Roepers doing a gazillion movie reviews than a single Michael Medved doing one movie review. Unfair and unbalanced I know, but you need that to counter the fair and balanced news reporting so prevalent and reliable out there these days ;-)
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