Hope and Fear: Modern Myths, Conspiracy Theories and Pseudo-History

(Hardback)

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A myth-busting journey through the twilight world of fringe ideas and alternative facts. Is a secret and corrupt Illuminati conspiring to control world affairs and bring about a New World Order Was Donald Trump a victim of massive voter fraud Is Elizabeth II a shapeshifting reptilian alien Who is doing all this plotting In Hope and Fear, Ronald H. Fritze explores the fringe ideas and conspiracy theories people have turned to in order to make sense of the world around them, from myths about the Knights Templar and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, to Nazis and the occult, the Protocols of Zion and UFOs. As Fritze reveals, when conspiracy theories, myths, and pseudo-history dominate a society's thinking, facts, reality, and truth fall by the wayside.

Reviews

"In Hope and Fear, Fritze takes the reader on an enlightening tour of the sort of minds that latch on to what he calls 'malign forms of junk knowledge.' The book traces a common link among fans of freaky fantasies, one that stretches from the Nazi cult of the supernatural, through alien-abduction conspiracists, and up to the Covid deniers and QAnon embracers of our own mottled age."-- "Independent"
"This fascinating book demystifies pseudohistory, myths, and conspiracy theories with surgical precision. Hope and Fear gives us a complete understanding of these worldwide phenomena and the reasons why they appear. It will be of great interest not only to scholars but to any person of intellectual integrity who questions the reality in which we live, as well as the reversal of fact and fiction to which we are exposed in our everyday life."--Mirela Altic, Institute of Social Sciences, Zagreb, Croatia

Author Bio

Ronald H. Fritze is Professor of History and Religion at Athens State University, Alabama. He is the author or editor of ten books including Invented Knowledge: False History, Fake Science and Pseudo-Religions (Reaktion, 2009), and Egyptomania: A History of Fascination, Fantasy, and Obsession (Reaktion, 2016).