Voodoo Histories

Author : David Aaronovitch
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 110118521X
Total Pages : 397 pages
Book Rating : 4.16/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Voodoo Histories written by David Aaronovitch and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2010-02-04 with total page 397 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Meticulous in its research, forensic in its reasoning, robust in its argument, and often hilarious in its debunking... a highly entertaining rumble with the century's major conspiracy theorists and their theories." --John Lahr, National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of Tennessee Williams From an award-winning journalist, a history so funny, so true, so scary, it's bound to be called a conspiracy. Our age is obsessed by the idea of conspiracy. We see it everywhere- from Pearl Harbor to 9/11, from the assassination of Kennedy to the death of Diana. In this age of terrorism we live in, the role of conspiracy is a serious one, one that can fuel radical or fringe elements to violence. For David Aaronovitch, there came a time when he started to see a pattern among these inflammatory theories. these theories used similarly murky methods with which to insinu­ate their claims: they linked themselves to the supposed conspiracies of the past (it happened then so it can happen now); they carefully manipulated their evidence to hide its holes; they relied on the authority of dubious aca­demic sources. Most important, they elevated their believers to membership of an elite- a group of people able to see beyond lies to a higher reality. But why believe something that entails stretching the bounds of probabil­ity so far? In this entertaining and enlightening book, he examines why people believe conspiracy theories, and makes an argument for a true skepticism: one based on a thorough knowledge of history and a strong dose of common sense.

Author : David Aaronovitch
Publisher : Random House
ISBN 13 : 1446424294
Total Pages : 410 pages
Book Rating : 4.92/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Voodoo Histories written by David Aaronovitch and published by Random House. This book was released on 2011-01-25 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: **AS FEATURED ON HOAXED PODCAST** This definitive book delves into why so many people are ready to believe in conspiracy theories, and the damage it can cause. Voodoo Histories entertainingly demolishes the absurd and sinister conspiracy theories of the last 100 years, such as:Did Neil Armstrong really set foot on the moon?Was the United States government responsible for the 11 September attacks?Should we doubt the accidental nature of Princess Diana's death?David Aaronovitch reveals not only why people are so ready to believe in these stories but also the dangers of this credulity. 'This book leaves us in no doubt that arriving at the truth is a vital matter - at times a matter of life and death' Financial Times.

Author : David Aaronovitch
Publisher : Random House
ISBN 13 : 009947896X
Total Pages : 410 pages
Book Rating : 4.66/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Voodoo Histories written by David Aaronovitch and published by Random House. This book was released on 2010 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We see conspiracy everywhere from Pearl Harbor to 9/11, from the assassination of Kennedy to the death of Diana. This book carefully probes and explores 12 major conspiracy theories.

Author : Rod Davis
Publisher : University of North Texas Press
ISBN 13 : 1574410814
Total Pages : 411 pages
Book Rating : 4.15/5 ( download)

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Download or read book American Voudou written by Rod Davis and published by University of North Texas Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Annotation Details the author's personal experiences with the least understood & often misunderstood aspect of African-American culture, voodoo.

Author : Canisia Lubrin
Publisher : Wolsak and Wynn
ISBN 13 : 9781928088424
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.22/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Voodoo Hypothesis written by Canisia Lubrin and published by Wolsak and Wynn. This book was released on 2017 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Voodoo Hypothesis is a subversion of the imperial construct of "blackness" and a rejection of the contemporary and historical systems that paint black people as inferior, through constant parallel representations of "evil" and "savagery." Pulling from pop culture, science, pseudo-science and contemporary news stories about race, Lubrin asks: What happens if the systems of belief that give science, religion and culture their importance were actually applied to the contemporary "black experience"? With its irreverence toward colonialism, and the related obsession with post-colonialism and anti-colonialism, and her wide-ranging lines, deftly touched with an intermingling of Caribbean Creole, English patois and baroque language, Lubrin has created a book that holds up a torch to the narratives of the ruling class, and shows us the restorative possibilities that exist in language itself.

Author : Patricia Fanthorpe
Publisher : Dundurn
ISBN 13 : 1770703101
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.00/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Mysteries and Secrets of Voodoo, Santeria, and Obeah written by Patricia Fanthorpe and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2008-07-28 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The secrets of Santeria, Voodoo and Obeah are among the oldest enigmas in the world. Their roots go back to pre-historic Africa - perhaps even beyond that. From the 16th century onwards, the slave trade brought these ancient mysteries to the West, where they blended strangely with traditional Christianity: the ancient African gods became identified with legendary saints. This integration of the two faiths slowly evolved to form the many varieties of Santeria, Obeah and Voudoun that are widely practiced throughout the world today. Their characteristic dancing and drumming seem able to invoke strange states of mind in which almost anything is possible. Even stories of zombies - the walking dead - still persist. Is there a rational explanation for them? Contemporary Voudoun priests, priestesses, magicians and enchanters use rare herbs and spices as well as charms, dolls and talismans to control the natural world in ways that science cannot always explain. Accounts of their inexplicable successes are examined in depth. Most intriguing of all are the claims that are made for their love philtres and aphrodisiacs. What powers do these old religions still possess?

Author : Frank Bures
Publisher : Melville House
ISBN 13 : 1612193730
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.31/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Geography of Madness written by Frank Bures and published by Melville House. This book was released on 2016-04-26 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do some men become convinced—despite what doctors tell them—that their penises have, simply, disappeared. Why do people across the world become convinced that they are cursed to die on a particular date—and then do? Why do people in Malaysia suddenly “run amok”? In The Geography of Madness, acclaimed magazine writer Frank Bures investigates these and other “culture-bound” syndromes, tracing each seemingly baffling phenomenon to its source. It’s a fascinating, and at times rollicking, adventure that takes the reader around the world and deep into the oddities of the human psyche. What Bures uncovers along the way is a poignant and stirring story of the persistence of belief, fear, and hope.

Author : Kathryn S. Olmsted
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199753954
Total Pages : 335 pages
Book Rating : 4.56/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Real Enemies written by Kathryn S. Olmsted and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-03-11 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This timely book links the explosion of conspiracy theories about the U.S. government in recent years to the revelations of real government conspiracies. It traces anti-government theories from the birth of the modern state in World War I to the current war on terror.

Author : Melissa L. Cooper
Publisher : UNC Press Books
ISBN 13 : 1469632691
Total Pages : 305 pages
Book Rating : 4.98/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Making Gullah written by Melissa L. Cooper and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2017-03-16 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the 1920s and 1930s, anthropologists and folklorists became obsessed with uncovering connections between African Americans and their African roots. At the same time, popular print media and artistic productions tapped the new appeal of black folk life, highlighting African-styled voodoo as an essential element of black folk culture. A number of researchers converged on one site in particular, Sapelo Island, Georgia, to seek support for their theories about "African survivals," bringing with them a curious mix of both influences. The legacy of that body of research is the area's contemporary identification as a Gullah community. This wide-ranging history upends a long tradition of scrutinizing the Low Country blacks of Sapelo Island by refocusing the observational lens on those who studied them. Cooper uses a wide variety of sources to unmask the connections between the rise of the social sciences, the voodoo craze during the interwar years, the black studies movement, and black land loss and land struggles in coastal black communities in the Low Country. What emerges is a fascinating examination of Gullah people's heritage, and how it was reimagined and transformed to serve vastly divergent ends over the decades.

Author : Rob Brotherton
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 147291564X
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.41/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Suspicious Minds written by Rob Brotherton and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-19 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'A first class book' Sunday Times We're all conspiracy theorists. Some of us just hide it better than others. Conspiracy theorists do not wear tin-foil hats (for the most part). They are not just a few kooks lurking on the paranoid fringes of society with bizarre ideas about shape-shifting reptilian aliens running society in secret. They walk among us. They are us. Everyone loves a good conspiracy. Yet conspiracy theories are not a recent invention. And they are not always a harmless curiosity. In Suspicious Minds, Rob Brotherton explores the history and consequences of conspiracism, and delves into the research that offers insights into why so many of us are drawn to implausible, unproven and unproveable conspiracy theories. They resonate with some of our brain's built-in quirks and foibles, and tap into some of our deepest desires, fears, and assumptions about the world. The fascinating and often surprising psychology of conspiracy theories tells us a lot – not just why we are drawn to theories about sinister schemes, but about how our minds are wired and, indeed, why we believe anything at all. Conspiracy theories are not some psychological aberration – they're a predictable product of how brains work. This book will tell you why, and what it means. Of course, just because your brain's biased doesn't always mean you're wrong. Sometimes conspiracies are real. Sometimes, paranoia is prudent.