Cav's Reviews > History Decoded: The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time

"I WAS IN ELEVENTH GRADE WHEN I SAW IT. In Mrs. Sherman’s history class. She walked to the front of the room, flicked the switch on the rolling TV, and put on a movie for us. The movie? The title is long gone from my memory, but the content will never leave: It was a documentary. About the assassination of JFK..."

History Decoded: The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time was a fun short read. I was looking for something a bit different from the books I typically read, and this one fit that bill nicely.

Author Brad Meltzer is an American novelist, non-fiction writer, TV show creator, and comic book author.

Brad Meltzer :


Meltzer gets the writing here off on a good foot, with a well-written intro. He talks about how the assassination of JFK sparked a life-long curiosity in him. He writes with a lively and engaging style that shouldn't struggle to hold the reader's attention. The narraration of the audio book was also well done.

In this short blurb he outlines the aim of the book:

"Three years ago, the HISTORY network told me that if I gave them a list of my favorite historical mysteries, they’d give me a team to help solve them. From there, Buddy Levy, Christine McKinley, Scott Rolle, and our amazing producers and crew have become true family. Together, we’ve explored some of the greatest conspiracies (and myths) that history has to offer.
To me, history is a giant game of telephone. What’s vital is finding the first whisper. Yet of all the questions people ask us about conspiracies, the number one is simply this: Which is your favorite?
And so, this book. Inside, you’ll see our favorites, counting down from the mysteries surrounding the Lincoln assassination, to the search for Confederate gold, to the existence of UFOs, to . . . well . . . like I said, you’ll see..."

The 10 conspiracies covered in the book are:
#10 John Wilkes Booth: Was Lincoln’s Assassin Apprehended?
#9 Confederate Gold: Stolen Treasure or Hidden Wealth of a New
Confederacy?
#8 The Georgia Guidestones: America’s Stonehenge
#7 DB Cooper: American Outlaw
#6 The White House: Where Is the Cornerstone of Democracy?
#5 The Spear of Destiny: History’s Most Sacred Relic
#4 The Real Da Vinci Code: Did Leonardo Predict an Apocalypse?
#3 Is There Any Gold in Fort Knox?
#2 UFOs: Inside Roswell and Area 51
#1 The Kennedy Assassination: The Truth Is Out There

Fortunately, I found Meltzer's covering of these conspiracies to be very measured and balanced. There is no tin foil batshit crazy nonsense here; thankfully.

If I were to fault the book, I would say that I personally don't really care about a few of the conspiracies covered here - like the Confederate gold and the White House cornerstone. A subjective thing, to be sure.

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I enjoyed this one. It was a well-done presentation, on the whole. I would recommend it to anyone interested.
4.5 stars.