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| This book is really frightening it shows how both Left and Right are more susceptible than ever to idiot conspiracy theories that a five year old should be able to see through. Aaronovitch does not spare his victims, and nor should he. As he shows, the poisoning of our imaginations by paranoia is a twenty-first-century tragedy.
Damian Thompson, author of Counterknowledge
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Our age is obsessed by the idea of conspiracy. We see it everywhere from Pearl Harbour to 9/11, from the assassination of Kennedy to the death of Diana. Bookshop shelves threaten to collapse under the weight of texts devoted to proving myriad conspiracy theories true, while even quality newspapers and serious TV channels are prepared to give them credence.
For David Aaronovitch, there came a time when he started to see a pattern. These theories used similar dodgy methods with which to insinuate their claims: they linked themselves to the supposed conspiracies of the past (it happened then so it can happen now); they carefully manipulated their evidence to hide its holes; they relied on the authority of dubious academic sources. Most importantly, they elevated their believers to membership of an elite a group of people able to see beyond lies to a higher reality. But why believe something that entails stretching the bounds of probability so far? Surely it is more likely that men did actually land on the moon in 1969 than that thousands of people were enlisted to fabricate a deception that they did.
In this entertaining and enlightening book aimed to provide ammunition for those who have found themselves at the wrong end of a conversation about moon landings or twin towers Aaronovitch carefully probes and explodes a dozen of the major conspiracy theories. In doing so, he looks at why people believe them, and makes an argument for a true scepticism: one based on a thorough knowledge of history and a strong dose of common sense.
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'As one of Britain's finest political journalists, David Aaronovitch's great
gift is to think against received opinion. His scintillating 'Voodoo
Histories' bears witness to Aaronovitch's credo that faith is nice but doubt
gets you an education.
Meticulous in its research, forensic in its reasoning, robust in its
argument, and often hilarious in its debunking, 'Voodoo Histories' is a
highly entertaining rumble with the century's major conspiracy theorists and
their theories.'Voodoo Histories' also stands as a bravura psychological case study
of mankind's compulsive need for narrative to alleviate the anxiety of
not-knowing. Fascinating.'
John Lahr
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| Should we laugh or weep at human folly? Both, if we read David Aaronovitch's debunking masterpiece. The nonsense he exposes is profoundly sinister but also comically absurd.
Francis Wheen, author of How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World
More
Information
Jonathan Cape • History • Previous
ISBN: 0224074709
Publication date: 07/05/2009 • 368 pages • Royal Octavo • EAN: 9780224074704 |
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| Buy Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History
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