(Interview: https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101866202/pogrom-revisits-inf...)
The author kept making the point that even though the 1903 pogrom was very well documented contemporaneously such that there really are no unresolved questions among historians about the facts of the events, both the victims and perpetrators (and their descendants) clung to erroneous mythologies, more so than other pogroms that were less well documented.
The author kept making the point that facts are complex and messy, whereas myths provide a simple, consistent narrative. The internal consistency of mythology can actually make them seem more true and even more factual. Bolster that basic quality with some convenient ties to the historical record, against the backdrop of the seeming inconsistency of reality (mixed motives, people contradicting themselves, and even sheer randomness) the truth is often much more difficult to believe. Certainly truth rarely offers answers as satisfying as myth.