The Protocols of the (Learned) Elders of Zion is one of the most controversial books ever written. Since its publication this small book has aroused great controversy and bitter debate. It is a source of acrimony and vituperation because of its contents and its supposed authors and because it purports to describe an ancient and enduring agenda for World Empire. Moreover, the "unknown authors" of the Protocols leave no doubt in mind of the reader of their great misanthropy and hatred for the ordinary man and a rancorous enmity for God and Christ. Furthermore, that the supposed authors affect to be Jews leads the unwary reader to conclude that the Protocols are indeed a Jewish design for World Empire and so illustrates superbly the secret rancour of the Jew for the Gentile and his nations. But gentle reader, those who understand such things conclude otherwise. That there is an ancient and enduring rancour for the Gentile by certain Jews there is no doubt. Similarly, that certain Jews have always and still do work to establish Jewish hegemony over the world is not doubted by informed researchers. But what is usually not understood is that Organised Jewry -the leadership of this Jewish ambition- has been in the thrall of a small cabal of men who have for many generations used the race of Jews for a far more sinister aim than merely the establishment of a One World Government under Jewry.

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion or The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion is a Jewish plan for global domination. It was first published in Russia in 1903, translated into multiple languages in the early part of the 20th century. Henry Ford funded printing of 500,000 copies that were distributed throughout the US in the 1920s. The Protocols document the minutes of a late 19th-century meeting of Jewish leaders discussing their goal of global Jewish hegemony by subverting the morals of Gentiles, and by controlling the press and the world's economies.

"The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" is almost certainly fiction, but its impact was not. Originating in Russia, it landed in the English-speaking world where it caused great consternation. Much is made of German anti-semitism, but there was fertile soil for "The Protocols" across Europe and even in America, thanks to Henry Ford and others.

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion or The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion is a Jewish plan for global domination. It was first published in Russia in 1903, translated into multiple languages in the early part of the 20th century. Henry Ford funded printing of 500,000 copies that were distributed throughout the US in the 1920s. The Protocols document the minutes of a late 19th-century meeting of Jewish leaders discussing their goal of global Jewish hegemony by subverting the morals of Gentiles, and by controlling the press and the world's economies.

This text re-examines 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion's' popularity, investigating why it has persisted, as well as larger questions about the success of conspiracy theories even in the face of claims that they are blatantly counterfactual and irrational.

Joly's (1831-78) Dialogue aux enfers entre Machiavel et Montesquieu is the major source of one of the world's most infamous and damaging forgeries, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. That, however, was concocted some two decades after he died, and American political scientist Waggoner points to Joly's own text for evidence that he was not anti-semitic and was an intransigent enemy of the kind of tyranny the forgery served during the 1930s. He translates the text and discusses Joly's intentions in writing it and his contribution to the understanding of modern politics. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.