Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This wasnt the irreverant humor that I expected from the cover and cute "no relation" side note. It was quite educational for the actual history of conspiracy theories around the Rothschilds. Note well that it is not a history of the Rothschilds themselves, though there is a bit there. It is the history of the stories told about the Rothschilds. So you'll hear more about the loudmouthed and the gullible, extremists (decidedly not fringe) and those ready to be spoonfed vitriol that blames someone else for things they don't like. The best parts for me were those that traces the early centuries of the family. I also learned about Nazi propaganda in the Middle East that we are still reaping harvest from. Why is that not more front and center?!?!

Overall, there won't be any minds changed here because of the tone and approach. So if you scoff at the crazy conspiracy theories, this is a good place to learn about one specific flavor without having to deal with actual conspiracy theorists.

well-researched and smart, though not presented in my favorite way. still, i think it's required reading for anyone who's curious about the antisemitic conspiracy theories we see so casually today.

This book was bananas.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / 5

I’ve heard vaguely coded antisemitism my whole life, but wow was this a deep dive into how deeply antisemitism has been engrained in our culture such that only the truly egregious gets a call out.

Part history book, part dark comedy, Jewish Space Lasers follows one the longest running conspiracy theories in history: the Rothschilds. Along the way he goes into how and why each culture has clung to this conspiracy theory to explain everything from the outcomes of wars to the gold standard to why someone’s career never took off. The scope of this conspiracy theory is so vast, confusing, and intertwined with other conspiracy theories, that it’s on the one hand hard to comprehend and on the other you can see why it’s so alluring. It’s as if the entirety of western civilization’s ills can be drilled down to a singular family, which is slightly comforting to people with metallic headwear needing a more understandable worldview - no matter how far fetched.

If you’re looking for a conversation starter for your great uncle Jerry that will surely devolve, this is the book for you. If you’re just interested in how deeply seeded antisemitism is in our world and get a glimpse into how people are currently attempting to follow the same path to justify the destruction of the Jewish people, this book is a very educational, though deeply distressing, read.

I liked it a lot. I read a lot about conspiracy theories but mostly more modern ones so I didn't know as much about the older ones about the Rothschilds. I liked the way that it linked conspiracy theories throughout the years to earlier stuff that inspired the new stuff. I especially liked that it covered international conspiracies about the Rothschilds in places where there were not Rothschilds at the time and conspiracy theories about Jewish people in Asian countries without that many Jewish people. There were a couple places where I wish it was more specific, such as a statistic references that only said that a substantial amount of people believed something but didn't tell me what substantial meant in this context. I also felt like it tried to excuse the Rothschilds for things that they were involved in, such as explaining that they funded Rhodes in Africa but somehow weren't in any way responsible for what he did. Also, there were times where conspiracy theories where listed but it wasn't explained why people thought this was a bad thing, like when Nazis said that Mussolini's son in law was connected to the Rothschilds. On a layout note, for some reason in the chapter titles, while they were in all caps, it seemed like all the Vs were lowercase which may have just been the font but was weird and noticeable.

Don't judge a book by its cover. Judging from the main title ”Jewish Space Lasers” and the parenthetical “* no relation” by the author’s name, I expected a biography about the Rothschilds and an irreverent look at conspiracy theories. But antisemitism doesn’t leave room for humor, and the book actually delivers a well-researched treatise on two centuries of conspiracy theories. I am well aware of antisemitic feelings around the world and through the ages. But even so, this book opened my eyes. I recommend it to nonfiction readers who like scholarly works.

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Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories by Mike Rothschild debunks the conspiracy theories surrounding specifically the Rothschild family specifically, and the Jewish people generally. Mr. Rothschild is a season journalist, conspiracy theory expert, and investigative reporter.

As a political junky, and a technologist I got very interested in misinformation and disinformation the last several years. Some of the books were very enlightening, and I’m always happy to learn more.

The book looks at one of the most prominent Jewish families in the world. The word “Rothschild”, to many, is synonymous with the obscenely rich Jews wielding hidden power, instead of a family name. The fact that the Rothschild family itself has a policy not to address these

Over centuries, and probably millenniums, people loved to blame the rich for their own miserable lives, and not much has changed. Add to that rabid antisemitism and you get a fertile ground for conspiracy theories which have festered in our society, and crossed oceans, to this day.

Jewish Space Lasers by Mike Rothschild (no relation) researches and debunks many of these conspiracy theories. The notion that the Rothschilds own the Federal Reserve, made money from both sides of every war, were hidden puppet-masters, and more. The author goes back centuries to find out where these started, and if there is any truth behind them. Unfortunately, many of these falsehoods have been so prominent that they’ve became “fact” by historians including them in their books.

This is why I don’t begrudge many who believe these conspiracy theories. Who has the time to go research things where are “facts” for all intents and purposes. Going back centuries just to figure out that a serious historian included a conspiracy theory without checking. This reminds me of Stacy Schiff’s excellent book about Cleopatra, where she discovered that many other biographers used Shakespeare’s plays about her as a primary source.

The books is very interesting, well-written, and provides useful information for those who wish to counter-argue people who spout these falsehoods.
But beware – you’re not going to make any friends, be appreciated, and most likely not change any minds since believing in such nonsense usually have an underlying resentment to begin with.

This is a very readable and important book that explores the conspiracy theories that are associated with antisemitism. The book’s title is perhaps a form of click bait, given the public attention of the idiotic claims of the American far right in the MAGA era, but the study of the Rothschilds, in terms of the conspiracy theories about this Jewish family and the tropes that about from it, are important,

Antisemitism is so deeply rooted in Christianity and various conspiracy theories about Jews. Many of these are beyond absurd, “The Rothschilds control the weather,” is one well known example, and of course fits with those “Jewish space lasers.” But it is only when we expose these theories that we can hope to get to the underlying roots and maybe someday get beyond them, One would hope we could given the horrors antisemitism brought to the world in the 20th century, For this alone, the author has done us a great service,

I think Mike Rothschild was very lucky that a particular Congresswoman said something about Jewish Space Lasers while he was writing this book, because this title really makes this book seem like it will be an exploration into ridiculous antisemetic conspiracy theories. Instead, this book is very academic and very well researched, making it not an easy read for a casual reader of non-fiction. Despite this statement, I think it was extremely well done and very informative. My eyes glazed over a bit toward the beginning, but once it got to the parts of history I was more familiar with, it was bonkers how antisemetic dog whistles were absolutely everywhere. If you are at all interested (in an academic sense) in the current far-right sphere, this book should be required reading. It even goes into Trump's current connections to (some of) the Rothschilds, and how pro-Trump antisemites don't care. This was not the book I was expecting when I picked it up, but I still very much enjoyed it.

Thank you to Melville House Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

It is hard to understand modern society if you ignore the ubiquitous conspiracy theories - and this book is dedicated to the mother of them all, showing how this twisted way of thinking is deeply rooted in anti-Semitism.

I have to admit that, based on the title and description of this book, I was expecting some kind of gonzo investigation in the vein of Jon Ronson. Instead, I found a very methodical and thorough study of an alternative history of the Rothschild banking family, from Waterloo to the era of Donald Trump. It is very well written and engaging, but I found the last chapters, which focus on the Internet and modern politics, to be the most interesting.

Thanks to the publisher, Melville House Publishing, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

*4.25
Jewish Space Lasers is an interesting look at the history of antisemitic conspiracy theories around the Rothschild family. I found the history about the family very informative as well as the way conspiracy theorists take that history and twist it. This is a bit more of an academic read than the cover lets on, but it's definitely worth picking up!

Well written and researched but isn't going to make me trust rich people any more than I do currently. My distrust comes from no religion or nationality of them. But I'm always interested to see where these things come from and I still highly enjoyed it.

Mike Rothschild's overarching argument is that all conspiracy theories are built on a foundation of antisemitism. Once you read "Jewish Space Lasers," you will find it hard to disagree. When you pull the threads of 5G brainwashing, Bill Gates microchips, poison vaccines, water fluoridation, lizards in human suits, CIA assassinations, death panels, and faked moon landings - it all eventually comes back to the same tired tropes about "the Jews" like the Rothschilds or George Soros. These conspiracy theories all have a shiny veneer, promising to expose THE TRUTH and they are effectively repackaged every few years depending on the zeitgeist. But at their rotten cores, conspiracy theories are more or less the same. In this book, sunshine is truly the best disinfectant.

My only critique is the jarring incongruity between the hilarious, tongue-in-cheek cover and the more academic, rigorous content of the book. I loved the cover and I learned so much from the book, but the two styles really clash. I thought I was in for a more satirical take on conspiracies but this was a heavy journey.

Jewish Space Lasers is a phenomenal and well written look at conspiracy, hate and how one group of people have been scapegoated and ostracized for generations.

Mike Rothschild expertly shows readers the historical and social implications that affect Jewish people and how antisemitism is on the rise and how people can combat it.

Thank you NetGalley and Melville House Publishing for a eARC copy of Jewish Space Lasers by Mike Rothschild.

This was a very well researched and detailed book with the history of conspiracy theories surrounding the Rothschild family. Which, honestly, I have never really heard of until as I was reading a lot of the information sounded familiar.

Highly researched and detailed history of conspiracy theories, root of stereotypes and history surrounding the Rothschild family. Almost all conspiracy theories are rooted in antisemitism, and almost all antisemitism is rooted in conspiracy theories.

Explains why Jew got into banking and “are good with money” and the history around usery laws and court Jews. I loved this section! I learned a lot.

This mostly follows the Rothschild family (of no relation to the author), starting with Mayer Amschel Rothschild in 1744 in the Frankfurt ghetto. He sold textiles, coins, art & rare objects and made money off of those investments. In many ways, the story of Rothschild conspiracy theories is the story of modern antisemitism.

The 5 houses and intermarriage between them keeps the wealth in the family. Diversification, expansion, and use of agents in the United States further strengthened the family’s power and wealth.
The Rothschild’s are visible targets because of their wealth and public role in advocating for Jews.

A fascinating look at the history of Jews in Europe and the US across hundreds of years to present day.