"Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History" (Riverhead, 400 pages, $26.95), by David Aaronovitch: Did you hear the real story? The Sept. 11 attacks were orchestrated by the U.S. government. President Franklin D. Roosevelt knew the Japanese would attack Pearl Harbor. Princess Diana was assassinated. The Catholic Church is covering up evidence of Jesus' family.
Just about everyone has heard at least one of these conspiracy theories. Often, such tales of shadowy dealings bubble up after shocking events, offering a darker explanation to a rattled public. British journalist David Aaronovitch does his best to pop those bubbles in "Voodoo Histories," an entertaining — if sometimes depressing — tour of modern conspiracy theories.
Aaronovitch covers ground trod by many debunkers before him, but he has a larger goal of showing commonalties among conspiracy theories over the decades. One recurring theme is secret knowledge, the idea that the conspiracy believer is clear-eyed enough to see facts elusive to the deluded masses. This might help believers' self-esteem, but Aaronovitch shows it also can lead them to strange places.
Consider people who ridicule the contention that a group of religious zealots flew airplanes into buildings on Sept. 11, 2001. The concept of orchestrated hijackings is shocking, but at least it's plausible.
Compare that with the pretzels that conspiracy buffs tie themselves into when crafting alternative narratives: The doomed airliners were forced to land by the U.S. military so remote-controlled doppelganger planes could crash into the towers; the towers were rigged with explosives; displaced passengers were loaded onto the plane that the military shot down over Pennsylvania; dozens, if not hundreds, of people involved in the government's plot to mass murder its citizens have all maintained silence for nine years, and counting.
Aaronovitch's conspiracy busting is fun to read until it becomes kind of grim. The thought that Marilyn Monroe was assassinated by a poison enema might make a reader snicker. But the story of the anti-Semitic forgery "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" is a painful reminder of how whipped-up conspiracies can cause real harm, or at least feed the poisonous atmosphere that creates harm.
This book, originally published in Great Britain, will probably not change many minds. Conspiracy theorists could easily dismiss Aaronovitch as a dupe or, worse, another cog in the conspiracy.
Others might object to the book's unrelentingly critical tone. But even if you are somewhat open to at least a few of the conspiracies — and most of us are — Aaronovitch at least provides some points to consider.
