When you write about conspiracy theorists, it helps to avoid the temptation to only “correct, instruct and condemn” them for their beliefs, as academics Peter Knight and Alasdair Spark noted nearly 15 years ago. Otherwise, Knight and Spark warned, however interesting your research and arguments, your book can become a tedious exercise in debunking claims that your audience of general readers likely already views with skepticism.

A new book on the growth and popularity of conspiracy theories, Among the Truthers, manages to avoid this pitfall. The author of the book, Jonathan Kay of Canada’s National Post newspaper, states upfront that the goal of the book “is not intended as a rebuttal to conspiracists.” (I should share that I once worked with Jonathan at the National Post.)