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jazzy_daveDavid Aaronovitch "Voodoo Histories: How Conspiracy Theory Has Shaped Modern History" (Vintage)
An intelligent, well-researched book about conspiracies, their origins, what they mean, and why they matter. Aaranovich covers both the biggies (JFK, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion) and a few I'd never even heard of (the strange death of Marilyn Monroe, and the murder of Hilda Murrell). He knows his material well, having a firm grasp on the various rhetorical gambits and logical fallacies that seem to reappear in almost every conspiracy theory. Presenting himself as a sincere advocate for rational, independent thought, he manages to keep his head about himself as he patiently reviews the available evidence about him without getting upset at these rather ridiculous theories' very existence. And some of these theories are truly ridiculous; there's plenty here for anyone who's spent an afternoon surfing bizarre conspiracy Web sites just to laugh at them. The author's research also takes him to some genuinely interesting and unexpected places, a shadowy world of ideologically motivated fraudsters and kooks that might as well be respectable history's seedy underbelly.
If I've got a complaint about "Voodoo Histories," it's about its sequencing. While Aaranovich writes elegantly and includes bits of cogent analysis throughout this book, it isn't until its conclusion that he begins to elucidate why so many people find conspiracy theories so attractive. While much of his analysis is spot-on, it probably should have come earlier. Without this context, some readers might mistake "Voodoo Histories" for a useful but insufficiently incisive recounting of and rebuttal to some annoying persistent popular historical myths. It isn't until the final chapter of this book that Aaranovich goes in for the kill: those who treat conspiracies as quirky "counternarratives" to official histories ignore the harm they do. The myths of the Third Reich, to use the most famous example, drew heavily from conspiracy theories and conspiracist logic. Although Aaranovich concedes that it's sometimes difficult to see the world with clear, reasonable eyes, he argues that the price of refusing to do so, of succumbing to sloppy, emotionally reassuring popular narratives, is just too high. I tend to think that after finishing "Voodoo Histories," many of his readers will be inclined to agree with him.
An intelligent, well-researched book about conspiracies, their origins, what they mean, and why they matter. Aaranovich covers both the biggies (JFK, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion) and a few I'd never even heard of (the strange death of Marilyn Monroe, and the murder of Hilda Murrell). He knows his material well, having a firm grasp on the various rhetorical gambits and logical fallacies that seem to reappear in almost every conspiracy theory. Presenting himself as a sincere advocate for rational, independent thought, he manages to keep his head about himself as he patiently reviews the available evidence about him without getting upset at these rather ridiculous theories' very existence. And some of these theories are truly ridiculous; there's plenty here for anyone who's spent an afternoon surfing bizarre conspiracy Web sites just to laugh at them. The author's research also takes him to some genuinely interesting and unexpected places, a shadowy world of ideologically motivated fraudsters and kooks that might as well be respectable history's seedy underbelly.
If I've got a complaint about "Voodoo Histories," it's about its sequencing. While Aaranovich writes elegantly and includes bits of cogent analysis throughout this book, it isn't until its conclusion that he begins to elucidate why so many people find conspiracy theories so attractive. While much of his analysis is spot-on, it probably should have come earlier. Without this context, some readers might mistake "Voodoo Histories" for a useful but insufficiently incisive recounting of and rebuttal to some annoying persistent popular historical myths. It isn't until the final chapter of this book that Aaranovich goes in for the kill: those who treat conspiracies as quirky "counternarratives" to official histories ignore the harm they do. The myths of the Third Reich, to use the most famous example, drew heavily from conspiracy theories and conspiracist logic. Although Aaranovich concedes that it's sometimes difficult to see the world with clear, reasonable eyes, he argues that the price of refusing to do so, of succumbing to sloppy, emotionally reassuring popular narratives, is just too high. I tend to think that after finishing "Voodoo Histories," many of his readers will be inclined to agree with him.
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