Brad Meltzer - The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time

The 10 Greatest conspiracies of all time

brad meltzer

With
Keith ferrell

For my history teacher Ellen Sherman, who taught me the power of asking the right questions

#10
John Wilkes Booth: Was Lincolns assassin apprehended?

After murdering President Abraham Lincoln, did the most famous assassin in American history live for 40 more years?

#9
Confederate Gold: Stolen Treasure or Hidden Wealth of a New Confederacy?

Almost $20 million in gold and silver simply disappeared at the end of the Civil War. Who took the Confederate gold? Was it stolenor was it hidden? And where is it now?

#8
the Georgia Guidestones: Americas Stonehenge

America has its own Stonehenge. Who built it? And what is it intended to guide us toward?

#7
DB Cooper: American outlaw

Of all of Americas skyjackings, why does only one remain unsolved?

#6
The white house: Where is the cornerstone of democracy?

Is the first piece of the White House actually missing?

#5
the spear of destiny: Historys most sacred relic

Was the Spear of Destiny really used to stab Christ on the crossand why did Adolf Hitler want it?

#4
the real da vinci code: did leonardo predict an apocalypse?

The secrets of our futureour fatemay be found in the works of Leonardo da Vinci.

#3
Is there any gold in Fort Knox?

Is Fort Knox actually empty?

#2
ufos: Inside roswell and area 51

Is our government hiding definitive proof of the existence of alien life? What does the government knowand why would they lie?

#1
The kennedy assassination: the truth is out there

Did JFKs death come from Lee Harvey Oswald acting aloneor was it the result of a massive conspiracy?

I was in eleventh grade when I saw it. In Mrs. Shermans 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.

the kennedy assassination
For many, Walter Cronkites announcement of the death of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, was one of the most unforgettable moments in history.

To this day, I can tell you exactly where I sat in Mrs. Shermans eleventh-grade class. Thats how much the film burned its way into my head. I still remember watching it. It wasnt some crazy conspiracy film. It was sensible and logical. It asked reasonable questions and pointed out the holes in the official government story.

I sat there wide-eyed as the black-and-white images flickered on screen. Today, with the Internet, the movement of such information seems far less impressive. But to me... in eleventh grade... I couldnt believe it. There it was: someone questioning whether our own American government had been lying to us. It was like someone kicking at the foundation of my brain.

Still, I cant say Id never seen anything like it before. One of my fathers favorite movies was All the Presidents Men. He wasnt a political guy. I think he just liked Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman kicking ass and acting tough. So when I was thirteen, we used to watch it togetherover and oversince back then, having cable TV meant that HBO played the same movie fifteen times a day.

So yes, Id seen Redford and Hoffman accuse Nixon and his Plumbers of being liars. But to me, JFK was different.

Watergate was a few crooks and a selfish egomaniac of a president. But JFK? It just seemed... bigger. To break into an office building required only a few guys. But to kill a president? And then to kill Oswald? And to have Jack Ruby know where to be at the exact right moment? The only way to pull that off was if...

My God, how big was this thing? (I was in eleventh grade. Everything back then seemed mind-blowing.)

No question, though, thats the moment that changed my life. Did it make me a conspiracy nut? No. Indeed, to this day, I think if you blame everything on the government, youre not just wrong, youre being reckless. Its as silly as blaming everything on the Freemasons, or the Illuminati, or insert-bad-guy-here. But I do believe that someone must ask the hard questions, especially of our elected officials as well as powerful people who become members of so-called secret societies. Remember: Governments dont lie. People lie. And if you want the real story, you need to find out more about those people.

john wilkes booth
Was Lincolns assassin cornered and killed in a burning Virginia barn 12 days after he killed the presidentor did he live years longer under an alias? Conspiracy buffs and serious investigators have argued and speculated over this for more than a century.

Over the years, Ive been contacted by the family of John Wilkes Booth, by former U.S. presidents, and (of course) by the Freemasons. In my thrillers, Ive taken readers into the secret labyrinth below the U.S. Capitol (its real), the hidden tunnel below the White House (also realits a bomb shelter), and even to the secret entrance below the Lincoln Memorial (did you really think when presidents arrive for a visit, they just run up the front steps?).

Those stories are what led to my TV show, Decoded. At the time, the HISTORY network told me that if I gave them a list of my favorite historical mysteries, theyd 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, weve explored some of the greatest conspiracies (and myths) that history has to offer.

To me, history is a giant game of telephone. Whats 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, youll 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, youll see.

As always, our goal is to show you the facts presented by both sides. Well give you our theoriesplus the sensible and logical questions to askand then you decide who you believe.

As for those who want the full solutions to every one of these mysteries, let me say it now: Dont write me letters asking for those answers. In some of the chapters, youll see an answer. In others, youll get the facts as they exist. Anyone who promises you all the answers is forgetting that theres a reason these are the greatest conspiracies and mysteries of all time.

On the very first day we started filming