Rating: 
Summary: Excellent, highly educational and enjoyable.
Review: What I liked best about this book is Glassner's balance on "hot button" issues. You'll be reading one chapter and think that he is taking a liberal perspective, then the next chapter he challenges the liberal view of something, and you begin to wonder. In the end, what counts for him is the scientific evidence on whatever he is discussing.His main point is that Americans are afraid of many things that should not bother us so much, most particularly, with regard to our children and women (e.g., teenage mothers, breast implants). I have recommended The Culture of Fear to several of my office mates. It creates a great deal of lunchtime discussion as people take different sides about the many issues that Glassner writes so well and entertainingly about!
Rating: 
Summary: Road Rage and Political Rants
Review: This book is a very thinly veiled political agenda in which Glassner practices what he preaches against. His thesis is mainly that the media use sensationalism and poor reporting to create fear, but he is inconsistent is supporting the thesis and spends a vast amount of space to presenting his personal opinions against select issues. The book, for the most part, seems to be a tirade against guns, anti-abortionists, PC cops, and road rage. Take the gun issue. His objection is not that the media uses gun related events to create fear, but rather the opposite, that the media panders to gun proponents who try to dispel the fear of gun use and to emphasis the positive uses of guns. In another of his despised issues, political correctness, he is not true to his thesis, the culture of fear. Glassner neither seems to believe in political correctness nor does he make the case that the media are creating fear over it. In fact, he implies that PC's success was caused by a few conservative think tanks, foundations, and newspapers. But, he notes that there were tens of thousands of media references to it, bashes the media for fear mongering, and then uses a select handful of the same media anecdotes to "disprove" PC's validity. Glassner references Malcolm Gladwell, who wrote The Tipping Point, a book that maybe he should have read first. In his attempt to demonize certain issues, he confuses cause with execution, for example, he concludes a section on television programming, "TV shows do not kill or maim people. Guns do." Researchers are looking for why people kill, not how they do it! One can argue about his defense of TV and demonizing of guns, but his personal opinions still don't support the thesis of the book. They are just his opinions, and he continually mixes the use of statistics with the use of anecdotes and opinions, and seldom does one support the other. Glassner calls the Wall Street Journal "a retailer of fears," although he credits it for some positive articles when they support his agenda. Then he characterizes our nation as being "gun crazed." Isn't he doing what he's accusing the media of? I suggest that Glassner has used fear in the title of his book for sensationalism to promote its sale, and it worked! It's too bad Glassner couldn't have saved his political rants for a later book. He could entitle it "Why you should fear everything I don't like."
Rating: 
Summary: Viewing the House of Mirrors
Review: Although at times I questioned the Chomskyian overtones of Glassner's implications about the ability of corporations and big money to determine the positions of such special lobbying groups as the NAMI, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, he did come out evenhanded. When it came to Dow Corning and the frivolous lawsuits over silicone breast implants, he did expound upon the scientific reasons to doubt the anecdotal complaints of "metaphorical illnesses." He also vindicates other industries subject to unfounded criticism in his expose of the coverage of airline safety. So, while he does not stay away from expressing his left of center views, and particularly his opinions on gun control, I was impressed by his ability to avoid the tendency of some leftists to demonize industry. Though my gut reaction is to groan at his social science perspective towards human behavior, I realized that the biological explanations are not necessarily to the exclusion of social science abstractions. {A fun book to read, which comes from the perspective of memes (rhymes with beams), is The Virus of the Mind by Richard Brodie, as it gives a Darwinian metaphor for how ideas spread, fear being primary amongst the spreaders.} Rather than being an attempt to theorize in any depth the psychological reasons why Americans come to have unfounded fears, however, much of Glassner's work details the misinformation and misapplication of statistics (as well as downright fallacious stats) and "expert" sources for news stories. At the same time, he does not use the media as a scapegoat, noting that the media can be skeptical at times as well (though the dictum of "man biting a dog is news" causes the headlines to be a house of mirrors- entertainment and shock value taking priority over relevance and resemblance to larger reality). Lobbying groups and "expert" kooks, even if their cause is worthy, can help obscure the larger issues at play, as well. He fittingly ends with the salient example of the Martian invasion panic that took place in 1938, after Orson Well's radio program "War of the Worlds." Fitting, because I wonder at times if the media's function is to make us believe we are on another planet. I can only see Glassner's book as invaluable for those such as myself who like to debate matters of public policy to take upon themselves a new level of enlightened skepticism towards the latest "crisis" that isn't a crisis, and the latest "trend" that isn't a trend (Though Columbine didn't occur until after the book was in print, he does cover the previous spate of school shootings, and note the anomalous nature of such occurrences, and the decreasing statistical frequency lost in the emotive hype).
Rating: 
Summary: Loads of Potential
Review: Even I have to admit that Glassner's agenda gets in the way of what could have been a classic. He does a really sharp job of higlighting how relatively isolated cases get extrapolated into major trends, ie Granny Dumping, Pre-teen Pregnancy, Counterfiet Airplane Parts. All this generates fear in the citizenry. Other strong points of the book are the madening cases where the truth is known, but gets smothered in a wave of emotion-based reporting, ie. breast implants, youth crime, etc. Yea, as others have noted Glassner can be a little shrill when it comes to guns. His strident language on this issue kind of sticks out like a sore thumb since the rest of his writing is fairly objective. Also, I was surprised that in his section on Metaphoic Illneses that he ommitted any discussion about the inflated statistics and fear mongering among AIDS advocacy groups. In fact, he avoids the AIDS issue altogether. It just seems very strange that in a book which tackles the formation of popular perceptions on major issues one of the biggest stories of the past 15 years is left out. Why? If I ever met Glassner, this would be the first question I'd ask of him. Other reviewers have mentioned Frank Fuerdi's 1997 book of the same name. While Glassner is the better writer, Fuerdi is a lot more balanced and intellectually honest. Definitely buy Fuerdi's book and if you have the extra money buy Glassner's too.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've read in years.
Review: I was cruising the 'net while watching the news last month and came across various references to The Culture of Fear. Then I read the comments on Amazon and got really intrigued. Here's the bottom line, folks: the gun nuts who have sent negative comments are totally off the mark (pun intended). First off, Glassner is right about what he says about guns, and he provides loads of evidence. Second off, talk about guns takes up maybe 2% of the book! If you want to know what this brilliant book is REALLY about, read the subtitles (why Americans are afraid of the wrong things, like road rage, crime, kids, and so forth). I learned more about the current state of American society from this book than from a year's worth of newspapapers-- which The Culture of Fear put in a whole new perspective anyway.
Rating: 
Summary: It's 1938 All Over Again
Review: In 1938 Orson Well's adaptation of War of the Worlds generated a tidal wave of terror that swept the nation. The scare was short lived. Now we have the same thing except we get it every day in the form of the "Fear du Jour," an unending barrage of pseudoshocking realities that we see on TV. Not only do the fear mongers waste our precious time, they also knock the optimism out of all of us by stuffing us full of negative presumptions about our fellow citizens, social institutions, and personal safety. Billions of dollars is wasted on pseudo problems and largely mythical hazards like road rage etc. The author however might reread his book and profit from his lessons. Guns are not the cause of violence any more than ovens caused the deaths of 6 million Jews. To focus on guns is to focus away from the real causes onto something fake. The real causes are complex and involve poverty, fear, ignorance, personal neglect, social neglect etc. Things we don't like to address or talk about. Better books on this same subject are Pseudoevents in America, The Death of Common Sense, and How the News Makes Us Dumb. To help you figure out when the media is lying I recommend books that cover elementary logic: The Art of Persuasion by Linda Bridges and William Rickenbacker and The Art of Argument by Giles St. Aubyn.
Rating:
Summary: Two good messages and one blatant hypocrisy
Review: I'll start with the good points. First, Glassner's belief that you should never believe everything you read/hear/see in the news is one that I think more Americans would do well to take to heart. News programs are limited to reporting "actual" events; applying creative license to content is the realm of screenwriters and novelists. Since all reporters basically have the same story to tell, it's in their best interests to make it as shocking and as eye-grabbing as possible. Thus are born the stories that are prefaced by, "A report you can't afford to miss...!" Save your time and ignore them. Second, Glassner makes an excellent point about the shocking crises, outbreaks, epidemics, and whatnot that the media prattle on about so frequently. He claims that many of the attention-catching news items gloss over the real problem. I've been reading news lately thinking, "What's the REAL problem here?" This is important, I think, because people tend to get swept up in the coverage and avoid the problem (i.e. road rage, single mothers, etc.) Finally, the blatant hypocrisy: Guns. When I realized Glassner was an ammophobe, I began counting warnings about the danger of guns (somewhere around page 42 or 46). After that he made 5 sincere warnings about guns that I counted. I happen to agree with Mr. Glassner for the most part, but I'm surprised he took such a stance in a book that encourages us to ask more questions about social ills than about social symptoms. Ultimately, his book is an interesting offering, but one I doubt will be taken seriously by more than those on the left.
Rating:
Summary: A decent book
Review: Its an alright book, but the fact that the author feels the need to rant about guns every 10 pages, for the sake of advancing his own political cause, was rather hypocritical and tasteless.
Rating:
Summary: A vital read for those with their heads above ground
Review: Barry Glassner takes a solidly skeptical approach to commonly proclaimed threats. He does an excellent job of refuting the hype and clamor of the media. Much like Chomsky, he describes the effect of a filtered media and one which provides us with pre-digested opinion masquerading as fact. He also fingers the popularized "Talk-Show" and does not spare them a scathing critique. The book is well written and a compelling read. Glassner also demonstrates how easy it is to fall into the trap of finding only facts which support our pet beliefs, and even falls headlong into one of his own making. His diatribe against guns, and his surety that they were the root cause of Columbine and other crimes spoke of belief and not of fact. I was sure that it was a trick and that he would recant it with a flourish at the end, saying "You see!", but alas, he seemingly ignores all evidence which refutes his position on guns. How could somebody so well researched have missed John Lott and Gary Kleck? It is a fine book, and the stumble over guns does not cripple its power, but only serves to underline the absolute importance to think clearly and to challenge our own beliefs constantly.
Rating:
Summary: The Phantom Menaces of The Media
Review: Actual newspaper headline: The number of homicides committed by children age 12 and under grew by 125%! Should we be afraid of being done in by tiny tots? Well, the 125% increase brings the annual total up to about 40 per year. I would guess that means there are 40 bad eggs in a population of about 40 million little guys. The misleading reporting just recounted is what this book is all about. Only anecdotal evidence and misleading statistics typically support the latest report on the newest "national menace". Then, to really convince you that you should be frightened out of your wits, some second rate professional or scholar is quoted saying that things are just awful. A prominent west coast newspaper declared that the Pacific Northwest was a region particularly "plagued by a rise in road rage", and then after 22 paragraphs of anecdotes and warnings, informed the reader that 5 people had died in road rage incidents in the region in the last five years. "One death a year constitutes a plague?" asks the author. In my own experience I am frequently frustrated by these kinds of stories which are often found in the nation's two major newsweeklies (which publications come under frequent attack by Glassner). I am repeatedly asked to believe in some new horror for which only a few anecdotes are presented as support. The sad thing is that this unfortunate reporting has resulted in unnecessary laws; corporate bankruptcies; misapplication of scarce resources; and the ignoring of true problems and their causes. You may disagree with some of the author's views, but hopefully reading the book will make you more skeptical the next time a news anchor tries to inform you of the national danger brought about by the increasing number of people bludgeoned to death with a frozen leg of lamb.
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