Books › The Culture of Fear
The Culture of Fear
384 pages
A sharp, sociological diagnosis of how our anxieties are manufactured and a rallying cry to reclaim our rationality.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping back from a blaring television screen and finally seeing the wires that control the broadcast. It offers a steady, analytical journey through the landscape of modern anxiety, peeling back the layers of societal panic to reveal the mechanics of manipulation underneath. The mood is sobering yet intellectually stimulating, replacing a sense of ambient dread with sharp, rational clarity. The prose is clear and persuasive, guiding the reader through sociological concepts to expose how politicians, advocacy groups, and media profit from our fears. It is a deeply critical but ultimately empowering read, perfect for those who want to understand the psychological underpinnings of social problems and are eager for a rallying cry to return to reason.
- Mood
- sobering
- thought-provoking
- intellectually stimulating
- Tone
- analytical
- urgent
- critical
- rational
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- societal anxiety · media manipulation · the business of fear · social perception · pursuit of rationality
- The writing
- Clear, sociological, and persuasive, designed to dismantle complex social phenomena into accessible arguments.
- The arc
- Moves from a sobering realization of widespread manipulation to an empowering call for rationality and clarity.
- Who it's for
- Readers who enjoy critical sociology, media analysis, and unpacking the psychological underpinnings of modern society.
Content notes
- discussion of anxiety
- media manipulation
- political fearmongering
About the book
In this eye-opening examination of a pathology that has swept the country, sociologist Barry Glassner reveals why Americans are burdened with overblown fears.
He exposes the people and organizations that manipulate our perceptions and profit from our anxieties: politicians who win elections by heightening concerns about crime and drug use even as both are declining; advocacy groups that raise money by exaggerating the prevalence of particular diseases; TV newsmagazines that monger a new scare every week to garner ratings.
Barry Glassner's book diagnoses a predominant pathology of our age and provides a rallying cry for a return to rationality in our personal lives and in our national sense of purpose.
Description from Open Library.
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