“Is Cheit’s revisionism convincing? Much of his analysis, especially of the McMartin and Michaels cases—which take up more than a third of the book—relies on materials to which the reader does not have ready access, such as trial transcripts, investigation records, and author interviews. Thus, whether the book succeeds in making a dent in the witch-hunt narrative depends, to put it bluntly, on whether we can trust Cheit to give a fair and accurate account of this material. A close look reveals enough evasions, highly tendentious interpretations, and verifiable inaccuracies to conclude that we cannot.”

Cathy Young in Reason magazine.

http://reason.com/archives/2014/10/25/the-return-of-moral-panic

Posted by rbchatelle on Saturday, October 25th, 2014 @ 5:01PM
Categories: Uncategorized

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