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50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know
Scrittore e giornalista d'inchiesta, Russ Kick riunisce in questo agile volume fatti poco noti, informazioni celate, notizie scomode "che forse non sai". Per esempio: sperimentazioni di farmaci su cavie umane inconsapevoli; radioattività in Iraq: l'equivalente di 250000 bombe nucleari; i farmaci prescritti causano 100000 morti l'anno; due bombe atomiche sono state sganciate sugli Stati Uniti; le coltivazioni di soia stanno distruggendo l'Amazzonia; nel 1995 stava per scoppiare la terza guerra mondiale...
128 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2003
6 people are currently reading
280 people want to read
About the author
Russ Kick
40 books98 followersEditor of the website The Memory Hole which publishes and archives hidden US government documents, including scientific studies and reports, civil rights-related reports, intelligence and covert action reports.
He was also editor-at-large for The Disinformation Company, where he had published several books including The Book of Lists and 50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know.
He was also editor-at-large for The Disinformation Company, where he had published several books including The Book of Lists and 50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
January 27, 2009
For almost every "thing" that I wasn't "supposed to know," I either 1) already knew it 2) found it neither profound nor interesting, or 3) when reading further, found the headline to be disingenuous.
The book sounds damn intriguing, but don't waste your time.
The book sounds damn intriguing, but don't waste your time.
October 21, 2018
I'm sorry, but I knew already almost all of them. The others are not that interesting. It would have been well if the book was better documented and researched.
September 3, 2014
There's a reason we are not supposed to know these facts. No one wants to bore us to death with these utterly inane facts.
Anyone with even half an education would know more than half of these things already. The other half are just so dull and even stupid, that knowing them will actually make you feel you have dropped a few points of IQ.
Apparently Mr. Kick ( I wish I had such a cool name) is well respected in the information spreading circles. I'm sure his other full length books are much better than this. Or maybe not. In this tiny pamphlet of a book, he demonstrates his paranoia and the lack of trust in the medical system. His comments on prescription medicine related deaths borders on fear mongering. While he happily gives us the number of people who died as a direct result of prescription medication, he forgets to tell us the number of lives these same medicines have saved.
And then he talks about how ELISA for AIDS has false positives! Really? A test with false positives? What kind of a test has false positives? Oh wait, all of them! Mr. Kick forgot to tell us that.
Why would we need to know that Carl Sagan was a stoner? Next we would be told Einstein was an avid masturbator! There's only one secret we are not supposed to know: you can write absolutely any crap, and it will sell.
Anyone with even half an education would know more than half of these things already. The other half are just so dull and even stupid, that knowing them will actually make you feel you have dropped a few points of IQ.
Apparently Mr. Kick ( I wish I had such a cool name) is well respected in the information spreading circles. I'm sure his other full length books are much better than this. Or maybe not. In this tiny pamphlet of a book, he demonstrates his paranoia and the lack of trust in the medical system. His comments on prescription medicine related deaths borders on fear mongering. While he happily gives us the number of people who died as a direct result of prescription medication, he forgets to tell us the number of lives these same medicines have saved.
And then he talks about how ELISA for AIDS has false positives! Really? A test with false positives? What kind of a test has false positives? Oh wait, all of them! Mr. Kick forgot to tell us that.
Why would we need to know that Carl Sagan was a stoner? Next we would be told Einstein was an avid masturbator! There's only one secret we are not supposed to know: you can write absolutely any crap, and it will sell.
July 29, 2013
Useless book. I really should stop reading things with a good title. ���50 Things You're Not Supposed To Know��� sounds good. What am I NOT supposed to KNOW? Tell me random book!
Well, Adolph Hitler���s blood relatives are still alive? I didn���t think that Hitler was a mysterious alien life-form. The Auschwitz was originally an IBM code? So? The Korean War never ended? I knew that. And so on. Most of them are related to USA and are simple trivia such as the age of consent is not 18 in all US states (I knew that too). Others are based on things that nearly happened but didn���t, such as two nuclear bombs fell on North Carolina by accident but did not explode.
The book made it sound like secret information that we were not supposed to know, but when one of the 50 things is that smoking is bad for you, you have to feel a bit let down.
Well, Adolph Hitler���s blood relatives are still alive? I didn���t think that Hitler was a mysterious alien life-form. The Auschwitz was originally an IBM code? So? The Korean War never ended? I knew that. And so on. Most of them are related to USA and are simple trivia such as the age of consent is not 18 in all US states (I knew that too). Others are based on things that nearly happened but didn���t, such as two nuclear bombs fell on North Carolina by accident but did not explode.
The book made it sound like secret information that we were not supposed to know, but when one of the 50 things is that smoking is bad for you, you have to feel a bit let down.
June 28, 2019
Well, unfortunately, most of the facts in this book, I already knew. And the ones I didn't, the explanations were so brief that it's almost frustrating.
January 1, 2022
Most of these were not surprising at all. 2003 was a simpler time, lol
April 20, 2022
I may not have been supposed to know them, but surprisingly, I already did. Go figure.
November 11, 2022
The book is below average. Sometimes gets interesting, but in the major part it the list of common facts that almost everyone with the internet access already know.
March 8, 2017
I read it years back. I remember it seeming quite enlightening at the time. Then again, I think I was 17 or 18 back then.
Read
June 20, 2008Don`t let the cute devil cover-image deceive you - this is neither a cookbook nor a book of revelations.
Remembering bygone days of making cellphone dead-spaces in libraries with a stepladder and some tinfoil, I picked up this book figuring that there would be one or two "things" that were entertainingly subversive, or things that would give me ideas of something to do on a rainy Sunday.
But when I finally cracked it open to find out what exactly these things "they" didn`t want me to know are, I found a list of what seemed to be factoids that thoroughly-educated people already knew. Even if you`re like me, and your self-education is patchy at best, if you have a decent bullshit-detector you will probably begin to run your eyes down the table of contents and find yourself wondering if the author is going to tell you something you don`t already know. The book, then, is a "factual" confirmation of things that you kind of already knew - the Church spins its materials, history`s not so squeaky-clean as your 3rd grade teacher would have you believe on Presidents` Day, and laws are bent and broken all the time.
All the same, it`s sitting in my bag and is on my to-read list. Even if the writing is abyssmal, I`ll read one or two articles. But it`s going to have to be some pretty amazing writing or some really quality journalism to get me to read it cover to cover.
Remembering bygone days of making cellphone dead-spaces in libraries with a stepladder and some tinfoil, I picked up this book figuring that there would be one or two "things" that were entertainingly subversive, or things that would give me ideas of something to do on a rainy Sunday.
But when I finally cracked it open to find out what exactly these things "they" didn`t want me to know are, I found a list of what seemed to be factoids that thoroughly-educated people already knew. Even if you`re like me, and your self-education is patchy at best, if you have a decent bullshit-detector you will probably begin to run your eyes down the table of contents and find yourself wondering if the author is going to tell you something you don`t already know. The book, then, is a "factual" confirmation of things that you kind of already knew - the Church spins its materials, history`s not so squeaky-clean as your 3rd grade teacher would have you believe on Presidents` Day, and laws are bent and broken all the time.
All the same, it`s sitting in my bag and is on my to-read list. Even if the writing is abyssmal, I`ll read one or two articles. But it`s going to have to be some pretty amazing writing or some really quality journalism to get me to read it cover to cover.
July 31, 2009
This is my 1600th review. Whoa!
I really enjoy these 50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know books. I think it's great that the goal seems to be enlightening the population and not just pushing either a conservative or liberal aganda. Anything being kept hush-hush is fair game.
In this mini sized installment, the reader learns that men have a clitoris and Condoleeza Rice lied under oath. (I was probably supposed to learn more, but that's all I remember.)
A We Make Zines pen pal sent me this book with a zine trade because she didn't want it anymore. SWEET!
I really enjoy these 50 Things You're Not Supposed to Know books. I think it's great that the goal seems to be enlightening the population and not just pushing either a conservative or liberal aganda. Anything being kept hush-hush is fair game.
In this mini sized installment, the reader learns that men have a clitoris and Condoleeza Rice lied under oath. (I was probably supposed to learn more, but that's all I remember.)
A We Make Zines pen pal sent me this book with a zine trade because she didn't want it anymore. SWEET!
December 17, 2008
This pocket sized book is full of interesting and quick to read information. Astronomer Carl Sagan was a stoner, Susan B. Anthony was pro-life, World War III nearly broke out under the Clinton administration... These are just a few of the many eye opening and and intriguing readings in this book. Each topic is only about 1 to 2 pages long so it never gets boring.
August 29, 2011
I always worry that books like this will contain a bunch of things I already knew, that aren't really secrets at all. A few of these fell into that category as well as the "who cares" category, but for the most part I came away with knew, interesting knowledge - and a few things I'm going to look into further.
October 21, 2012
Liked the idea of the Pope kicking back and authoring porn. Really gives you perspective of who really is shaping our history and we really know nothing. I presume if all 50 topics are true, we should rewrite our history.
February 26, 2017
This book was little more than a compilation of lewd historical trivia and awful stuff the government did (and does). It was a short and entertaining read and even thought-provoking at times, but I prefer more systematic works.
June 18, 2008
I love this book. I love to tuck away all the little random nuggets of information and spew them out at people during parties.
September 9, 2008
Some interseting tidbits like one of the Popes wrote an erotic book in the 1400's, Russia almost nuked us in 1995 over faulty technology, and Carl Sagan was an avid pot smoker.
September 6, 2008
Very interesting. Seemed more like the cliffnotes of everything and just made me question the common knowledge we are encouraged to believe.
January 11, 2009
A great conversation starter.
May 25, 2010
Ignorance is bliss... so, can't I pretend I never read this book? Denial syndromme dot com.
June 7, 2010
Hardly worth my time. I was hoping for something a little controversial, but didn't find much of that sort.
June 10, 2010
A cute coffee-table book full of stuff you probably didn't know about. And, if you hang out with the right people, would make great conversation pieces. "Did you know fetuses masturbate?"
July 6, 2010
Good precis of information on a variety of topics. Especially valuable are the references that point you toward the sources Kick used for his book.
October 21, 2010
I agree 100% with the review below by Ben Harrison.
December 5, 2010
Ended up skimming it, because most of it is boring. Only a few truly interesting things in the book, but not worth skimming through the rest to get to it.
March 14, 2011
Its a small book packed with information about everything, that will blow your mind.
A real page turner. A book for people who dont like books, and bookworms alike!
(which is a rare subset)
A real page turner. A book for people who dont like books, and bookworms alike!
(which is a rare subset)
May 30, 2011
Some things I actually knew, and some were pretty shocking and disturbing to discover. In short, a really informative book, an easy read, and a book I would highly recommend.
July 25, 2011
Rife with spelling and date errors, but the subject matter was enough to keep me reading.
December 1, 2015
nice book of facts!
June 22, 2014
Not bad. Sadly (and as with many books of this type) there wasn't much that I didn't know, and even less that actually surprised me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews