Tarbell on Otto Eisenschiml

[Rob Wick]

I think it's important to remember that had Balsiger and Sellier not come out with the movie and book of The Lincoln Conspiracies during the Watergate era, it's likely that Eisenschiml's theory was well on its way to a quiet death. Most people at the time were willing to believe just about anything of the government, and so it became possible to accept that high government officials could be capable of such actions.

There's an interesting book written by Michael Shermer called Why People Believe Weird Things which attempts to uncover why silly things seem to gain traction while more reasonable explanations don't. It's the old saying "If you see hoof prints, don't think zebras."

Best
Rob