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Less than a week after Diana’s death, the conspiracy hounds were on the
trail. Some mysterious “they” had arranged it, the prime suspects being Islam,
the IRA and the SAS. The rise of sinister hints and nods is the subject of
Michael Shermer’s Why People Believe Weird Things. The editor of Skeptic
magazine, Shermer deals pungently with contemporary obsessions such as alien
abduction, satanic ritual abuse and recovered memory claims—he is
particularly scathing on “scientific creationism”. Problem? Yes, those who
should read the book aren’t likely to. Published by W. H. Freeman,
£16.95/$22.95, ISBN 0716730901.