Conspiracy

 Conspiracy: Why the rational Believe the Irrational, by Michael Shermer, 311 pages 

            If you've haven't had a difficult conversation with someone regarding the current political climate or state of affairs, kudos to you and the beautiful island you inhabit. It's hard these days not to think that somebody out there isn't out to get you. After all, there have been conspiracies in the past that have been found to be true--not just made up in someone's imagination. There are lots of non-fiction books that have been coming out as of late regarding the topic of conspiracies and the people who propagate them, but this one should be a textbook for just about anyone interested in the subject at large. Michael Shermer is the founding publisher of Skeptic Magazine and Executive Director of the Skeptics Society, which analyzes pseudoscientific and supernatural claims and breaks them down bit by bit. His previous books tackle similar topics, but this one is laid out very well. It breaks down conspiracy thinking, how people come to believe in false things, and offers some insight into how to break down conversation barriers with people and try to break through. But this is not a political book, believe it or not. Shermer doesn't spend any time talking negatively about conspiracists and what they believe. Instead, he offers genuine reflections and questions about conspiracy thinking as a whole--how it affects different members of our society regardless of class, race, or gender, how the three different types of conspiracies work to influence each other, and he offers conspiracy detection kit to help readers tell if a conspiracy theory is true or false. To illustrate some of his findings about modern conspiracism, Shermer offers informative chapters on some of America's most enduring conspiracy theories that just don't seem to die, such as the JFK assassination, 9/11 Truthers, and any number of conspiracies that involved former president Barack Obama. Especially fascinating is Shermer's chapter on the deadliest conspiracy theory in history: the events that triggered World War I. While the rogue Serbian terrorists were not acting in tandem with the Serbian government, the Austria-Hungary empire joined forces with Germany and claimed that the Serbian government was attacking them. As more and more nations joined the fray, eventually the European world found itself in the Great War, all based on a forced conspiracy theory that was verified false at the time. Shermer asks, pointedly, "Imagine how differently the twentieth century would have unfolded without the Great War, sparing the lives of tens of millions of people. moreover, no WWI would almost certainly mean no Hitler, no Nazis, No WWII, and no Holocaust. Just imagine." This is a great scientific read into a real problem that plagues mankind to no end. Well researched and a balanced, rational take. Highly recommended.