THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE

THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi is a book about a serial killer in Italy (the prototype for Hannibal the Cannibal)--or rather the true story of conspiracy theories about the Monster and how they ruined many lives. Innocent people went to prison. It's a vividly written book, and near the end the two journalists get accused of related crimes and wrapped into the conspiracy theories by certain balmy police and prosecuters. In Italy people get convicted and sentenced to long terms in prison on the bases of conspiracy theories (and no evidence). That is what happened recently to a young American woman, Amanda Knox, and her boyfriend.

Of course that sort of thing can occur in America, too. The McMartin preschool witch hunt, part of the Satanic-ritual/recovered memory hysteria in our own recent past, lasted for six years before the accused were finally exonerated and released. Let's hope that Amanda Knox gets that lucky.

Meanwhile I read on the net that President Obama is responsible for the internal unrest in Iran. I am getting used to nutty conspiracy theories about Obama from the Right, but this one comes from the Left, from people who claim that Obama is "worse than Bush" and call the President a "scumbag." This sort of thing is not harmless. Conspiracy theories--whether about FDR or Bush or Obama--harm everyone, harm their victims and harm the causes of the delusional people who promote them.

Gary Goss