“As Fritze reveals in his gripping account of conspiracies, conspiracy theories, and conspiracists, the belief that someone or some group somewhere out there is planning to gain an illegal or immoral advantage over others is remarkably common, highly influential, and often history making. Rejecting Reality belongs on the bookshelf of all thinking people.”

Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine and author of "Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational"

"Fritze does something more useful than simply dismiss conspiracy theories: he puts them in historical context. Rejecting Reality shows how suspicion can harden into belief, how belief can become resistant to evidence, and how distrust can spread through a society. Clear, engaging, and deeply researched, this is a timely argument for skepticism without cynicism—and for the critical thinking and intellectual honesty a healthy public life requires."

Prentice T. Chandler, University of Tennessee Southern

“At a time when the boundary between evidence and fantasy often seems perilously thin, Fritze offers a masterful history of both real conspiracies and conspiracy thinking, rich in historical detail and attuned to contemporary concerns. Essential reading before your next trip down the rabbit hole.”

David Cernín, University of Ostrava, Czechia, coeditor of "The Bloomsbury Handbook of the Philosophy of the Historical Sciences and Big History"