Jewish Space Lasers

The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories

By: Mike Rothschild

Narrated by: Jon Vertullo

Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

The strange tale of how one Jewish family—the Rothschilds—became a lightning rod for conspiracy theories over the course of the last two centuries . . .

In 2018 Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene took to social media to share her suspicions that the California wildfires were started by 'space solar generators' which were funded by powerful, mysterious backers. Instantly, thousands of people rallied around her, blaming the fires on "Jewish space lasers" and, ultimately, the Rothschild family.

For more than 200 years, the name "Rothschild" has been synonymous with two things: great wealth, and conspiracy theories about what they're "really doing" with it. Almost from the moment Mayer Amschel Rothschild and his sons emerged from the Jewish ghetto of Frankfurt to revolutionize the banking world, the Rothschild family has been the target of myths, hoaxes, bizarre accusations, and constant, virulent antisemitism. Over the years, they have been blamed for everything from the sinking of the Titanic, to causing the Great Depression, and even creating the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jewish Space Lasers is a deeply researched dive into the history of the conspiracy industry around the Rothschild family.

©2023 Mike Rothschild (P)2023 Tantor

Critic reviews

"With solid research and engaging humor, this book takes apart the conspiracy theories surrounding the Rothschild family."—Kirkus Reviews

Overall well done, but strays off course

Personally, I think the book would’ve been better if it focused on antisemitic stereotypes , tropes, and conspiracy theories in general. It would have been more powerful and pertinent.

Instead, it was an anthology of conspiracy theories about one rich Jewish family in particular, the Rothschilds. Technically this was noted in the subtitle, but I missed it when purchasing the audiobook.

I liked the story overall, however my 3-Star overall rating is because the author goes off the tracks at the end. He generally uses the final chapters of the book to attack Presidents Bush, Trump, the Tea Party, the Republican Party, and Conservatives in general. He failed to establish a convincing link between these groups and the Rothschilds, the supposed topic of the book, and instead engaged in one-sided political grandstanding. Of course, there are fringe minorities amongst political conservatives who harbor antisemitic views and conspiracy theories, but these are far from mainstream.

Interestingly, since the Hamas attack against Israel during Simchat Torah on 10/7/2023, most worldwide antisemitism has been concentrated of the LEFT side of the political aisle, with Conservatives generally the most supportive of Israel and Jews worldwide. Although this had not happened at the time of the book’s writing, it was a surprise to very few who follow the trajectory of politics.

Finally, he devotes an inordinate amount of time to telling the story of George Soros, and conspiracy theories about him. Last I checked, he is not a Rothschild, so why include this? Of course, again, liberal politics. If he was going that route, again the book should have been about antisemitism in general.

Besides these problems, the book’s beginning was sound, informative, and entertaining.

A delightful read that gives critical insight

Listening to this book's excellent analysis of how washed out political conspiracy performers like Alex Jones behaves in their assignment of blatant anti-semitism, and then immediately hearing the pundit himself trying to disparage this book by relying on the same misinformation the author describes is a treat. it is as if the author revealed a 200-year-old coloring book for generations of grifters, who then tried to poorly stay in the lines and declare themselves a visionary while blaming the quality of the crayons on their Jewish neighbors.

Any right wing policy wonk worth their salt would do well to stay clear of even recognizing this book's existence, for even a gullible follower that can read would fall prey to disillusionment. Such is the sheer weight of facts and logic presented in this book

Fantastic!

Extremely well researched and thoughtfully packaged. The craft of pulling different narrative threads through history in multiple veins really weaves a picture together that is an even greater sum than its parts.

Unfortunately relevant

An amazing book that does a rather thorough examination of a family as well as the impossible web of conspiracy that has grown up around them. I do agree with the thesis of the book more than I would like to admit: facts do not matter to the people who believe the outlandish because they want the outlandish to be true

ties all those conspiracy threads together. I highly recommend this

great narration. interesting topic. very informative. I cannot recommend this enough, especially given the current climate of antisemitism

Required Reading

I highly recommend this book. It’s a fascinating walk through history, to the current day. The world of conspiracy theories and antisemitism, is of course not new, but the speed by which it all now travels, is alarming. I listened to it in 2 days and found myself riveted by it. I learned so many things and will wait a week or two and listen to it again. There is still so much to learn. Jon Vertullo’s narration was powerful. Thank you.