, etc.
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### Author:  [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-books-on-the-phenomenon-of-conspiracy-theories-why-people-are-drawn-to-them/648948/6 "2013-01-31T21:23:33Z")
Oh, another fictional example by Eco: The Prague Cemetery. It covers late 19th century conspiracies. Most of the story and characters are real (though the central character and narrative is not).
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### Author:  [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-books-on-the-phenomenon-of-conspiracy-theories-why-people-are-drawn-to-them/648948/7 "2013-01-31T21:24:53Z")
Michael Shermer is a great recommendation. Also look at the magazine Skeptical Inquirer or other skeptic publications. Martin Gardner tried to expose a lot of cult stuff and so has James Randi.
another important book in this general arena is “The demon-haunted world : science as a candle in the dark” by Carl Sagan. Sagan understood that fear drove people to irrational beliefs & wanted them to understand that science was the way out of that darkness.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-books-on-the-phenomenon-of-conspiracy-theories-why-people-are-drawn-to-them/648948/8 "2013-01-31T21:34:17Z")
I haven’t read it, but [Among the Truthers: A Journey Through America’s Growing Conspiracist Underground by Jonathan Kay](http://www.amazon.com/Among-Truthers-Americas-Conspiracist-Underground/dp/0062004816/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359667470&sr=8-1&keywords=truthers). It gets lots of one-star reviews on Amazon, but it’s impossible to tell how many of those are from conspiracists angry at him.
If you go through similar books that page brings up, you’ll also find
[Conspiracy: How the Paranoid Style Flourishes and Where It Comes From by Daniel Pipes](http://www.amazon.com/Conspiracy-Paranoid-Style-Flourishes-Where/dp/0684871114/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1)
[Political Conspiracies in America: A Reader](http://www.amazon.com/Political-Conspiracies-America-A-Reader/dp/0253219647/ref=pd_sim_b_1)
[Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can’t Stand Up to the Facts by The Editors of Popular Mechanics](http://www.amazon.com/Debunking-11-Myths-Conspiracy-Theories/dp/158816635X/ref=pd_sim_b_7)
[Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History by David Aaronovitch](http://www.amazon.com/Voodoo-Histories-Conspiracy-Shaping-History/dp/1594484988/ref=pd_sim_b_10)
[Conspiracy Theories: Secrecy and Power in American Culture by Mark Fenster](http://www.amazon.com/Conspiracy-Theories-Secrecy-American-Culture/dp/0816654948/ref=pd_sim_b_12)
There is a small industry on them. Not nearly as many as conspiracy books themselves, but if you dig you’ll find plenty to choose from.
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### Author:  [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-books-on-the-phenomenon-of-conspiracy-theories-why-people-are-drawn-to-them/648948/9 "2013-01-31T22:52:17Z")
Thanks for the replies. Some good suggestions here.
> [@Great\_Antibob](#):
>
> I don’t know of any books, but it’s hardly a problem among “young” people.
Certainly not _only_ among young people, but the young do seem especially prone to accepting uncritically the “news” they scrounge up on YouTube. Perhaps this is because they simply haven’t yet had enough life experience to develop all the critical thinking skills they need.
And while we have a long history of conspiracy theories (as I acknowledged in the OP), the internet does seem to have ushered in a sort of golden age for conspiracy theorists, making it much easier to share theories, easier to find like-minded people, and easier to refine conspiracy theories through the sort of “crowd sourcing” the internet provides.
But yes, there have always been credulous people (old and young) buying into conspiracy theories.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [January 31, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-books-on-the-phenomenon-of-conspiracy-theories-why-people-are-drawn-to-them/648948/10 "2013-01-31T23:50:29Z")
I recommend [_Everything Is Under Control: Conspiracies, Cults, and Cover-Ups,_](http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Under-Control-Conspiracies-Cover-ups/dp/0062734172/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359676173&sr=1-9&keywords=robert+anton+wilson) by Robert Anton Wilson.
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### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-books-on-the-phenomenon-of-conspiracy-theories-why-people-are-drawn-to-them/648948/11 "2013-02-01T00:00:05Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#):
>
> [Conspiracy: How the Paranoid Style Flourishes and Where It Comes From by Daniel Pipes](http://www.amazon.com/Conspiracy-Paranoid-Style-Flourishes-Where/dp/0684871114/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1)
That’s a good one, too, lots of historical detail and insight.
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### Author:  [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-books-on-the-phenomenon-of-conspiracy-theories-why-people-are-drawn-to-them/648948/12 "2013-02-01T00:25:28Z")
There’s " Real Enemies" by Kathryn Olmstead. It traces the shift of how conspiracy theories shift in the 20th century and the government’s role. It is an academic book by a university professor (I’m in her class right now, actually).
There’s also the “Paranoid Style in American Politics” by Richard Hofstadter.
I recommend both.
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### Author:  [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2013, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-books-on-the-phenomenon-of-conspiracy-theories-why-people-are-drawn-to-them/648948/13 "2013-02-01T00:32:34Z")
Well stop posting on the dope and listen to what Professor Olmstead is telling you then!
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### Author:  [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)
#### Post date: [February 1, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-good-books-on-the-phenomenon-of-conspiracy-theories-why-people-are-drawn-to-them/648948/14 "2013-02-01T00:56:53Z")
> [@lisiate](#):
>
> Well stop posting on the dope and listen to what Professor Olmstead is telling you then!
In her class this year, not like, at this exact moment.