Publishers Weekly
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DiFonzo, a professor of psychology at the Rochester Institute of Technology whose work on rumors was featured in the New York Times Magazine's 2006 Year in Ideas issue, uncovers some surprising facts about rumors: what they are and why we spread them, listen to them and believe them. Drawing on a host of studies, DiFonzo illustrates how rumors are a fundamental phenomenon of social beings. Rumors are created by people who are in unclear or confusing situations and want desperately to find an explanation. There are different varieties of rumors: they can express something much wished for (year-end bonuses), while others are a form of propaganda. Rumors can be a remarkably efficient way of spreading information: a study of military gossip during WWII found that the grapevine passed information just as accurately as—and more quickly than—official channels. But gossip drives wedges between people as often as it binds them. Viral rumors, spread repeatedly by e-mail, can gain credibility from repetition, and such repetition can turn a rumor into a self-fulfilling prophecy: banks fail, stocks tank. DiFonzo's clear explanations and entertaining examples make for thoughtful reading. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.

Choice
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

Rumors are a familiar part of everyday life. DiFonzo (Rochester Institute of Technology) explores the importance and nature of rumors, their role and function for those who spread rumors as well as those who hear them, and the factors that determine the believability of rumors. He discusses how to determine the truth of rumors, why people often fail to take such steps, and how to deal with a rumor when one is the subject of it. DiFonzo has published many academic studies of rumors, and this readable title summarizes the research that he and others have done on the subject. He explains the results of research in a clear manner and presents as examples rumors that are current and familiar to readers. This makes the book accessible to less experienced readers. At the same time, the extensive endnotes provide the sources and underpinnings of this work, and this material extends the book's usefulness to specialists. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. H. Karp University of Houston--Clear Lake