Gary Alan Fine is John Evans Professor of Sociology at Northwestern University. His book, Whispers on the Color Line: Rumor and Race in America was a finalist for the C. Wright Mills Award.

Bill Ellis is Professor Emeritus of English and American Studies at Pennsylvania State University. He is a Fellow of the American Folklore Society and has served as President of the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research.

"There is much that adds to our understanding of rumor in an era when access to information (and misinformation) has never been faster or more constant."-Publishers Weekly

"A flat world allows bad ideas to travel faster. Using illustrations ranging from the history of the vampire to modern rumors about terrorism, Gary Alan Fine and Bill Ellis explain what happens when cultures collide and they make you a smarter citizen of an increasingly connected world. If you want to spot the next whopper that appears in your in-box (or springs from the mouth of a television commentator) this book is essential."--Chip Heath, author Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

"In this readable, insightful book, Fine and Ellis offer a tight analysis of loose talk. They show how seemingly unrelated rumors--9-11 conspiracy theories, warnings about dangerous imported goods, and stories about stolen body parts--reveal a common theme: many people's discomfort regarding their growing experience with and exposure to what strikes them as foreign. Other analysts may cheer that the world is shrinking and getting flatter, but the stories we tell one another suggest that globalization remains pretty scary for lots of folks."--Joel Best, author of Stat-Spotting: A Field Guide to Identifying Dubious Data

"This is a brilliant piece of cultural criticism. Fine and Ellis rigorously scrutinize the rampant paranoid rumors of our time, explaining how and why these fantasies form, what they mean, and how we should deal with them. Everyone who listens to talk radio or uses the Internet should read this book."--Jan Harold Brunvand, author of Encyclopedia of Urban Legends