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The culture of fear : why Americans are afraid of the wrong things
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The culture of fear : why Americans are afraid of the wrong things

Author: Barry Glassner
Publisher: New York, NY : Basic Books, ©1999.
Edition/Format:   Book : English : 1st edView all editions and formats
Summary:
"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  Read more...
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Additional Physical Format: Online version:
Glassner, Barry.
Culture of fear.
New York, NY : Basic Books, c1999
(OCoLC)607305752
Document Type: Book
All Authors / Contributors: Barry Glassner
ISBN: 0465014895 9780465014897 0465014909 9780465014903
OCLC Number: 41385323
Description: xxviii, 276 p. ; 25 cm.
Contents: Dubious dangers on roadways and campuses : how fears are sold --
Crime in the news : tall tales and overstated statistics --
Youth at risk : faulty diagnoses and callous cures --
Monster moms : on the art of misdirection --
Black men : how to perpetuate prejudice without really trying --
"Smack is back" : when presidents and the press collude, the scares never stop --
Metaphoric illnesses : how not to criticize the establishment --
Plane wrecks : small danger, big scare --
Final thoughts : the Martians aren't coming.
Responsibility: Barry Glassner.
More information:

Abstract:

"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."--BOOK JACKET.

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