false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg 41231 6 Americans are afraid of many things that shouldn't frighten them, writes Barry Glassner in this book devoted to exploding conventional wisdom. Thanks to opportunistic politicians, single-minded advocacy groups, and unscrupulous TV "newsmagazines," people must unlearn their many misperceptions about the world around them. The youth homicide rate, for instance, has dropped by as much as 30 percent in recent years, says Glassner--and up to three times as many people are struck dead by lightening than die by violence in schools. "False and overdrawn fears only cause hardship," he writes. In fact, one study shows that daughters of women with breast cancer are actually <I>less</I> likely to conduct self-examinations--probably because the campaign to increase awareness of the ailment also inadvertently heightens fears.<br><br>Although some sections are stronger than others, <I>The Culture of Fear</I>'s examination of many nonproblems--such as "road rage," "Internet addiction," and airline safety--is very good. Glassner also has a sharp eye for what causes unnecessary goose bumps: "The use of poignant anecdotes in place of scientific evidence, the christening of isolated incidents as trends, depictions of entire categories of people as innately dangerous," and unknown scholars who masquerade as "experts." Although Glassner rejects the notion that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, he certainly shows we have much less to fear than we think. And isn't that sort of scary? <I>--John J. Miller</I> 304392 1999 The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things total:856|5:160|4:371|3:246|2:67|1:12| 856 3168 1344 136 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 2 3 false Mon Dec 15 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 08:23:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 16 12:09:00 -0800 2008
Consider the source when you get your info. Who funds them? What do they have to gain? Is there another way to read a statis...more...]]> 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 2 1 false Sun Dec 14 20:26:59 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 14 20:43:00 -0800 2008 more...]]> 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 5 1 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Thu Jul 10 11:04:20 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 19 10:11:39 -0700 2008
If you watched "Bowling for Columbine", He sites this books and suggests it, and wh...more...]]> 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 2 1 false Mon May 08 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sun Feb 24 09:22:18 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 24 09:22:32 -0800 2008
People begin to see the things that...more...]]> 4928420 0465014895 9780465014897 1 1 3.70 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4928420.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_Of_The_Wrong_Things 5 0 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Fri Dec 05 10:37:27 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 06 17:08:36 -0800 2008 2 more...]]> 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 4 0 false Mon Mar 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 20:10:56 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 20:17:37 -0700 2009 more...]]> 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 3 0 false Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 16:37:27 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 19 16:58:06 -0700 2009 more...]]> 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 3 0 false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 02:10:28 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 02:14:54 -0700 2009 more...]]> 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 4 0 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri May 22 13:33:37 -0700 2009 Fri May 22 13:42:57 -0700 2009 more...]]> 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 3 0 false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 03 14:21:01 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 03 14:25:08 -0700 2009 more...]]> 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 0 1 false Thu Sep 06 08:37:24 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 17 09:55:04 -0700 2007 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 3 0 false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 22 07:37:10 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 06:58:39 -0800 2008 1 more...]]> 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 5 1 false Sat Jul 14 17:06:11 -0700 2007 Sat Jul 14 17:06:52 -0700 2007 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 5 0 false Mon Dec 01 21:02:41 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 21:10:53 -0800 2008 Fact: Tougher prison sentences and more prisons DO NOT discourage crime.
Fact: Decreasing poverty and incr...more...]]> 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 1 1 false Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Sun Jun 10 01:50:38 -0700 2007 Sun Jun 10 01:50:45 -0700 2007 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 3 0 false Sat Dec 27 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 28 20:59:26 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 28 21:23:24 -0800 2008
He does prove lots of black-and-white topics are surprisingly complicated, and reported unfairly. But after reading how the media distorts statistics to promote their views: why should I trust his counter-st...more...]]> 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 3 0 false Mon Sep 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 28 19:02:14 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 07 19:01:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 4 0 false Wed Jun 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 17 15:03:00 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 14 06:06:25 -0700 2009
...more...]]> 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 5 0 false Thu Jan 04 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Thu Jan 31 06:36:02 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 09 05:48:55 -0800 2008
Will you die in a horrible plane crash that could have been prevented?

Will your child be killed in school?

Will you be killed by a disgruntled co-worker?

Answer: No.

At least, it is very, very, very unli...more...]]> 41231 0465014909 9780465014903 853 135 3.70 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1169585899m/41231.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41231.The_Culture_of_Fear_Why_Americans_Are_Afraid_of_the_Wrong_Things 5 0 false Fri Nov 27 05:08:10 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 27 09:19:06 -0800 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=41231