The truth is in here

by Michael Joseph, That Other Paper, June 8, 2007

In August 2006, a new kind of bookstore opened for business on Guadalupe. Literally and figuratively underground, the space that is now Brave New Books used to serve as Kinky Friedman’s campaign headquarters. To enter, you walk down a flight of stairs from the street. It’s a fitting location for the brainchild of Harlan Dietrich.

Inside the bookstore, you notice first the sheer volume of material crammed inside the small space. Bookshelves circle the entire room from floor to ceiling. The books cover a wide array of subjects: The 9/11 attacks are featured perhaps most prominently, but other conspiracy theories involving secret societies, the medical industry, and even JFK can be found.

Several flat screen monitors throughout the store continuously play documentaries — customers are encouraged to watch as long as they want. To Dietrich, Brave New Books isn’t a business venture designed to make money. He considers it a mission to spread suppressed information and expose people to what he believes are government lies.

When most people hear the name Osama bin Laden, they think of the world’s most infamous terrorist, Al Qaeda, and 9/11. But Dietrich is on a mission to change that. He’s trying to convince people that 9/11 was actually part of an intricate and sinister plan orchestrated by our own government, conceived to scare the American public in order to help create a police state that engages in perpetual and unnecessary war.

Continued...