Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History [Hardcover]

The author deals with a number of well-known conspiracy theories, from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion to the death of Dr David Kelly, by way of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the death of Marilyn Monroe, the assassinations of JFK and RFK, the moon landings, the Da Vinci code/bloodline of Jesus stuff, and 9/11 (among others) and to my mind demolishes them pretty thoroughly.
But he isn't just interested in debunking. He also examines why people believe in conspiracy theories and why they can exert such a strong grip on them. He points out that conspiracists tend to be on the "losing side" (politically, socially, or economically) of society, and that believing in conspiracies is therapeutic for them. They can explain why they are on the losing side ("we were robbed, deceived") salve their hurt ("the people who deceived us are so powerful, so evil, it's understandable that they appear to be the winners") and then restore their egos ("we have seen the truth, we are so much cleverer than ordinary people who are happy to be sheep-like in their acceptance of things; we are illuminated, in the know, we are special").
Interestingly he is able to develop this line in the light of some recent psychological and biological research which indicates we are genetically hard wired to look for causes and effects. This seems to be related to our developing tool-using capabilities; in order to develop and employ tools we need to think in cause and effect terms. (And of course while some animals to make occasional and specific use of natural objects as tools, humans are the only ones to do so extensively and develop the range of tools to use.) So we are uncomfortable with randomness - if something happens it must because someone caused it to, there's no such thing as an accident, someone must be to blame.
And the more prominent a person is, the more in the public eye, the greater the forces we feel must be needed to pull them down or kill them. Accidents and lone gunmen are for ordinary people, not special ones, and they certainly don't commit suicide.
Not only that but we have a fear of insignificance, of being ignored. If we feel we are being reduced to mere ciphers in a complex society believe in conspiracies is an effective therapy for us.
The author also takes a firm swing at the sort of relativism that exists in some circles and seems fashionable in certain academic circles, that says that one person's perception of what happened is as valid as another's, and that to insist on examining facts and evidence is not helpful.
An engrossing and informative read.

Well clearly Aaronovitch's book already has a number of conspiracy theorists slathering at the mouth at the debunking of a number of their sacred cows. I guess it's just further evidence to them that the world's media is run by giant lizards from Zarg bent on galactic domination via the printed word. Anyways, let's be grateful for a well researched and readable work which carefully dismantles a number of well know conspiracy theories (Diana, 9/11, JFK) and lesser known ones (e.g. Hilda Murrell). It also usefully provides thoughts on how these theories come about, both in general and in their specific context and what drives people to believe in them despite all the evidence and even post revelation (e.g. Priory of Sion).

So why only three stars?

Well mainly because he carefully selects targets that whilst well known, can also be easily dismantled - a quick check on Wikipedia would probably do enough for the average individual to throw these theories in the bin. So a book on these alone just isn't enough to my mind. A key thing here should be, to my mind, the extent to which governments and companies conspire in far less serious ways and therefore give credence to the possibility of these theories. As such, he doesn't touch on the many day to day collusions, frauds and deceits that governments and companies carry out all the time. These clearly range from the very minor (e. recent Parliamentary expenses), through the domestic (e.g. wire-tapping of political opponents like Scargill), to the international (e.g. French bombing of the Rainbow Warrior) and to the global (e.g. US support for Suharto in the 1960s). Whilst these are very different to traditional conspiracy theories, surely they form part of the broader spectrum, especially in terms of giving a reason to believe - "Well if they can blow up peace protestors' boats then surely they might bump off a peace activist". What makes a conspiracy theory a conspiracy theory? When do little collusions become big ones? How far would a government go to protect its interests?

Dismantling the big theories is easy. Understanding the detail is harder.

Aaronovitch has written a useful summary of a number of conspiracy theories which are well known to the general public; Diana, JFK, 9/11 etc. he's also laid out some, though by no means all, of the debunking evidence. But really that's as far as he's gone. The subtitle of the book is 'The Role of the Conspiricy Theory in Shaping Modern History'. So, readers would expect an analysis of how history has been shaped and what effects this has had on government policy, public opinion and the discussion of history itself. Instead all we get is a few vague statistics on how many people believed a particular theory a few years after the event. Honestly, if you have access to any internet encyclopaedia you're probably wasting your money.

I was also disappointed that he dismissed (rightly) the Holy Blood and Holy Grail ideas but didn't use the same analysis on Christianity as a whole. There is as little evidence for the existance of Jesus as there is for a survival of this particular bloodline.