On The Bookshelf

Conspiracy
Theory

In his new book,
"UFOs, JFK, and Elvis,"
actor-comedian
Richard Belzer confirms
that "paranoia is the
highest form of
intelligence."

An Excerpt man
Adolf, Hermann,
And Me

ome years ago I found out that the day
I was born, August 4, 1944, was the
day Anne Frank was arrested. I know I
cannot logically take responsibility for
what happened to either of us ... my arrival, her
arrest ... my birth, her death ... but discovering
this common thread between Anne Frank and
me has set me off on a journey of personal and
historical epiphany. In fact, our lives seem so
deeply and inextricably connected that I can't
help but feel that Anne Frank's capture and my
intellectual freedom
are somehow karmi-
cally related.
Shortly after dis-
covering the coinci-
dence surrounding
my birthdate (are
there any coinci-
dences, really?), 1
began examining the
whole Nazi thing —
both as a Jew and as a
UFOs, JFK, ancl Elvis
troht -r
person who came of
"O.
age during a time
"Exposing the
marked by a mysteri-
conspiracy to keep
ous presidential assasL
conspiracies in
sination. With more
America a dirty
than six hundred
little secret.''
titles available on the
events in Dealey Plaza
and potentially thousands on German history, I
knew it would take me years to uncover every-
thing that had been hidden from me. Then it
happened! I discovered with perverse awe that
there was a connection between my two obses
sions. There are researchers who believe that
former Nazis, who by the 1960s had become
part of the booming military-industrial com-
plex, were among the billionaires who were
opposed to ending the Cold War and therefore
conspired to have Kennedy killed.
Can you imagine? Probably not You seem
sane enough. Anyway, just having this infor-
mation made me angry and delirious at the
same time OK, I admit it There is some-
thing incredibly seductive about knowing
something that is not known to the general
public. But even that sublime feeling is noth-
ing compared to the satisfaction that comes
with knowing you have asked the questions
that matter to you most — and have come up
with an answer that addresses the historical
significance as well as the deepest personal
aspects of your lifelong driving obsession.

.
HA VE
O*ISP2RACIES VOL(
TO BE CRAZY TO BELIEVE

Richard Belzer:
The truth
is in here."

ROBERT DEL VALLE
Special to the Jewish News

I

n classical economics there is an
intriguing and ambiguous
maxim called Gresham's Law,
which states that "bad money
drives out good." I've never been able
to figure out exactly what "bad
money" is supposed to be, but I've
noticed over the years that there are
corollaries to Mr. Gresham's law wher-
ever you look.
I mean, check it out. Music:
Goodbye, WQRS; hello, Marilyn
Manson. Literature: Sorry, Mr.
Tolstoy, but Oprah has decided to pass
on Anna Karenina. Fashion: The '70s
are back, and the bellbottoms are even
wider. Politics: Please, don't get me
started. Television: Well, the tube has

Robert del Valle is the moderator of the
Jewish Authors Book Group at Borders in
Farmington Hills.

6/18
1999

86 Detroit Jewish News

always been a
wasteland, but
occasionally it
manages to shock
even my cynical
soul with an inex-
cusable act of cultural
decadence. _
The most recent example? After
several stay-of-execution seasons, NBC
finally pulled the plug on Homicide —
Life on the Street. That is to say, they
canceled the most intelligent and dra-
matically honest police drama in the
medium's history.
There is, however, one silver lin-
ing to be discerned in this dark
cloud of disappointment. Richard
Belzer, the acerbic comedian who
played acerbic Detective Munch on
the show, will presumably have plen-
ty of time to write books like UFOs,
JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You
Don't Have To Be Crazy To Believe
(Ballantine Books; $24).
Now before we go any further, let's

get two things straight.
Yes, the book has a title
that's practically an open
invitation for a spasm of eye
rollin ba . Yes
Yes, being a comic,
Belzer can't resist peppering
his points with a sarcasm
that occasionally gets tire-
some. But this book is more
than just another rehash or
compilation of conspiracy
theories from the hidden
hand school of history.
Belzer has written a
provocative examination of
the way we've become com-
placent in the face of trou-
bling and unanswered ques-
tions. His trajectory goes a
little wild at times, but there
is a disciplined mind at
work here, marshaling facts
and speculation with
admirable balance.
This is a mondo JAccuse
for the close of the century.
And yes, it's funny as all
get out.
Starting with his boyhood
memories of John F.
Kennedy's assassination,
Belzer proceeds to savage the
Warren Commission, cast