Culture of Fear: Risk-Taking and the Morality of Low Expectation

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating and provocative sociological study
Review: Now in a revised and updated edition that takes into account recent horrors such as the September 11 attacks, Culture Of Fear by Frank Furedi (Professor of Sociology, University of Kent, Cantebury, England) is a fascinating and provocative sociological study of the contemporary and increasing epidemic of fear in an age when people are statistically safer and live longer than ever before, even a mere century ago. Scare stories that turn people away from discoveries such as genetic research and genetically modified food are particularly worrisome to Professor Furedi, who exhorts a warning that the new media driven fears may well be over-hyped, leading the nation to collectively fear that the sky is falling, when the real danger lies is in the abandonment of scientific and technological advances in industry, medicine, and agricultural. Culture Of Fear is highly recommended reading for the non-specialist general reader, students, political activists, and governmental policy makers, as well as being a welcome addition to academic reading lists and reference collections.