{"product_id":"under-the-eye-of-power-how-fear-of-secret-societies-shapes-american-democracy-hardcover","title":"Under the Eye of Power: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eColin Dickey\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom beloved cultural historian and acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eGhostland comes\u003c\/i\u003e a history of America's obsession with secret societies and the conspiracies of hidden power\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe United States was born in paranoia. From the American Revolution (thought by some to be a conspiracy organized by the French) to the Salem witch trials to the Satanic Panic, the Illuminati, and QAnon, one of the most enduring narratives that defines the United States is simply this: secret groups are conspiring to pervert the will of the people and the rule of law. We'd like to assume these panics exist only at the fringes of society, or are unique features of the internet age. But history tells us, in fact, that they are woven into the fabric of American democracy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCultural historian Colin Dickey has built a career studying how our most irrational beliefs reach the mainstream, why, and what they tell us about ourselves. In \u003ci\u003eUnder the Eye of Power\u003c\/i\u003e, Dickey charts the history of America through its paranoias and fears of secret societies, while seeking to explain why so many people--including some of the most powerful people in the country--continue to subscribe to these conspiracy theories. Paradoxically, he finds, belief in the fantastical and conspiratorial can be more soothing than what we fear the most: the chaos and randomness of history, the rising and falling of fortunes in America, and the messiness of democracy. Only in seeing the cycle of this history, Dickey says, can we break it.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eColin Dickey\u003c\/b\u003e is a writer, speaker, and academic, and has made a career out of collecting unusual objects and hidden histories all over the country. He's the author of multiple books, including \u003ci\u003eGhostland: An American History in Haunted Places, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Unidentified: Mythical Monsters, Alien Encounters, and Our Obsession with the Unexplained\u003c\/i\u003e. A regular contributor to the \u003ci\u003eNew Republic \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eLapham's Quarterly\u003c\/i\u003e, he is also the coeditor of \u003ci\u003eThe Morbid Anatomy Anthology. \u003c\/i\u003eWith a PhD in comparative literature from the University of Southern California, he is an associate professor of creative writing at National University.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 368\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.25 x 9.42 x 6.41 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 11, 2023\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42687814434879,"sku":"9780593299456","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0105\/8226\/1823\/files\/c07734b2195f5f8e7625b1e7e62e77ec.webp?v=1764979883","url":"https:\/\/dhl-adrianne.myshopify.com\/products\/under-the-eye-of-power-how-fear-of-secret-societies-shapes-american-democracy-hardcover","provider":"BBB","version":"1.0","type":"link"}