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Book review: Voodoo Histories
Fiction: David Aaronovitch’s study of conspiracy theories ranges from crackpot ideas to more sinister beliefs
JFK was killed by the CIA and the mafia. The moon landings were faked on a film set. Roosevelt knew all about the attack on Pearl Harbor before it happened. Princess Diana was murdered. Mossad was behind the 9/11 attacks. If you've ever marvelled that otherwise normal people are attracted to crackpot ideas like these, then David Aaronovitch's study of the conspiracy theory is "the book for you", said Andrew Roberts in the Literary Review.
"Superbly researched, wittily written and eminently sane", Voodoo Histories explodes imaginary plots "by the dozen". As the author points out, real conspiracies do exist, but they are usually "dogged by failure and discovery": President Nixon couldn't even order a break-in without being caught out, despite being the most powerful man in the world at the time.
Aaronovitch's survey begins with the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, said Christopher Hart in the Sunday Times – "a wildly anti-Semitic forgery of 1903", which claimed that a group of powerful Jews had met in Switzerland to plot world domination.
As this case proves, conspiracy theories are not always harmless: the protocols provided the Nazis with a warrant for genocide, and are still taken as gospel in much of the Middle East today.
The other examples of conspiracy theories are often more light-hearted. His chapter on the theories that inspired The Da Vinci Code, entitled "Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Holy Shit", is "particularly enjoyable". The book often "leaves you speechless with laughter": the crazy ex-MI5 man David Shayler believes that the Twin Towers were hit by "missiles surrounded by holograms made to look like planes"; some people really do think that "Robert Kennedy had a poisoned suppository inserted into Marilyn Monroe before being assassinated by a Manchurian Candidate". But Voodoo Histories is "much more than a prolonged sneer at human folly, fun though that always is. It is also a serious inquiry into why such theories appeal".
Conspiracy theories are "theology disguised as investigation", said Johann Hari in the Independent. It's painful to accept "that life is chaotic and random and nobody is in charge. Drive into a wall, and you will die, even if you are a princess". Some seem to find it "more soothing to fantasise that there is a force controling the universe, even if that force is demonic".
It's hard to fault Aaronovitch's analysis, said Rafael Behr in the Observer. But as he mercilessly exposes all these absurd theories, "it doesn't always make for a compelling book". Sometimes you even feel sorry for the deluded people who passionately believe in them.
Voodoo Histories, by David Aaronovitch, 368pp (Jonathan Cape, £17.99) The Week Bookshop £16.19 (incl p&p) ·
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I watched "Loose Change", and the evidence presented was anything but "absurd". Of course, you didn't list "Loose Change", so I'm assuming you at least gave it some merit to its truthfulness; not even the government's attempt to discredit the film was worth the effort.
Written by the man who claims there were WMD in Iraq - and who sticks to that claim - this book's credibility is near to zero before you even start.