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Jonathan Kay: Among the Truthers (Hardcover, 2011, HarperCollins Publishers)

From 9/11 conspiracy theorists and UFO obsessives tothe cult of Ayn Rand and Birthercrusaders, America …

Jonthan Kay's among the truther was much more interesting that "VoodHoo Historeis" I read earlier. Kay certainly is biased and I almost stopped reading at the beginning when it became clear that his status as a Secular Jew (maybe even an atheist of Jewish heritage) was influencing everything. Automatically throwing out conspiracies because they were "anti-semetic" and basically claiming that you can't believe anything people say who also believe in talking snakes and men born of virgins raising from the dead. returnreturnHowever chapter 7 really saved the book as he went on to talk about the problems of the conspiracy that poor blacks are disadvantageous and that admissions policies are unfair and the bullshit on the the conspiracy that women are paid less than men. returnreturnHe is really stuck on firm belief that that which is most likely is probably true. returnreturnFrom an academic standpoint it was informative, looking at the psychology of conspiracy theorists, what makes them tick. He was surprised to learn most are not Kooks, and had interesting perspectives on how religion and conspiracies have worked together, and more recently how conspiracy theories have replaced religion for secular humanists.