This was an extremely interesting and insightful read. Aaronovitch examines a multitude of conspiracy theories, their believers, and the effect these fringe ideas have on politics, history, and the general population. He focuses mostly on US and Britain, with some forays into Western Europe. He examines it all with a skeptical eye, which works for me, because when it comes to conspiracies I am a HUGE skeptic, but for those with a less skeptic mindset, he may be biased, in that he believes that very few conspiracies actually exist. For me, the most intriguing chapters were the ones on modern conspiracy theories, ie. during the Clinton years, the 9/11 Truth movement, and the Birthers. Aaronovitch examines conspiracy theories from both the right and the left; there is no partisan bias. What emerges is a portrait of a mindset where those on the extremes on both sides let their paranoia defeat their common sense, with results that are sometimes harmless, sometimes dangerous, whether to themselves or society as a whole.