Illuminati: The History of a Conspiracy Theory

The Illuminati: a shadowy cabal accused of everything from controlling interest rates to rigging elections. This perennial pop culture symbol has maintained an ironclad grip on the public imagination for centuries—they’re even rumored to be headquartered in the tunnels under the Denver International Airport. But where did such an outlandish conspiracy come from?

In this vivid and richly peopled narrative history, celebrated historian Michael Taylor introduces readers to the real Order of the Illuminati. On May 1, 1776, a young professor named Adam Weishaupt founded a secret society dedicated to the radical principles of free thought and religious tolerance. Composed of intellectuals, politicians, and military officers, the Illuminati really did seek to infiltrate and overthrow the existing world order. But within a decade the Order, with its bizarre ciphers and dramatic rituals, was gone. Outed and banned by the authorities, its leaders were prosecuted and exiled; its effects had been minimal. Taylor shows how, despite its early demise, the Illuminati lived on in the public imagination: remerging as a scapegoat for the French Revolution, the fall of the Russian Empire, and then the rise of the New World Order. Today, conspiratorial thinking is stronger than ever, incubating in fringe internet communities and wielded by politicians and pundits through disinformation campaigns—in no small part because of this legacy.

The first book of its kind, Illuminati reveals the untold history of this legendary secret society and the conspiracy theory that has shaped Western political paranoia for the past two hundred and fifty years.