Editorial Review

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 Read more

Reviews (149)

A timely call to courage for a nation of Chicken Littles and the politicians/media who encourage them
"We have the resources to feed, house, educate, insure, and disarm our communities if we resolve to do so....We can choose to redirect some...funds to combate serious dangers that threaten large numbers of people. At election time, we can choose candidates that proffer programs rather than scares." (p. 210)
The most horrible book
This is the worst book that you can have at home. It has a lot of negativism and not good things. For school I have to do it a report, but for me I wouldn't buy it.
Excellent study on the herd mentality
I read this book after watching the documentary "Bowling for Columbine." The fear mentality Glassner writes about can be seen on the evening news and in quotidian suburban mindsets. Tying fear and misinformation to political control is an important topic that merits the awareness that this book propagates. I'd recommend this book to anyone irrespective of their political views; for some, "The Culture of Fear" may only corroborate what they've already observed, for others it may provide additional insights. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American    2. Anxiety    3. Current Affairs    4. Emotions    5. Fear    6. Politics/International Relations    7. Popular Culture - General    8. Social perception    9. Social problems    10. Sociology    11. Sociology - General    12. United States    13. Cultural studies    14. Social, group or collective psychology    15. Sociology, Social Studies    16. USA   

Reviews (3)

Great Experience
This book arrived on a timely manner and in real good condition. It was exactly what they said it would be in their description. Wouldn't mind doing business with them again in the future!

This is MY professor you guys are talkin' about!!!!
These reviews just blow me away and impress me so much since I have Stu as a professor this semeseter (winter 2004) at Eastern Michigan University. Stewart Tubbs offers a solid body of research.
Stewart L. Tubbs is arguably the center of the Organizational ManagementUniverse.His keen insight into how small groups interact is a completecompendium of the essence of how small groups behave in the workenvironment.To Human Resource Managers, this is a foundational referencemanual.This text contains the facts behind each of our common experiencesas members of the business community. This text confirms our good hunchesand refutes our bad habits.This text will show you who in yourorganization is in need of some direction and who is on the ball with thelatest techniques of inspiring the best in your people.I highly recommendthis book as a college textbook and as a resource for good, meaningful,solid business practice.Well done Dr. Tubbs! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business/Economics    3. Decision Making & Problem Solving    4. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy    5. Organizational Behavior    6. Public Speaking    7. Language Arts & Disciplines / Speech    8. Social, group or collective psychology   

Reviews (97)

Shakespeare is Full of Quotes
A careless reading of "Amusing Ourselves to Death" will reveal a string of cliches about the modern era of industry and sense of participation in it: that our politicians are image-focused, "news-of-the-day" is typically useless, and our preachers and teachers are entertainers primarily. This book is hack, if only in the sense that the ideas he presents were of grave concern to Plato. Postman takes that (1) truth is given form by rhetoric, (2) which is defined by the mode of expression, (3) and although historically authors were aware of the distinction between speech, image and text, with the rapid accumulation of new forms of meda we are no longer conscious of how they shape our dialogue, (4) and via the transformation of discourse into image-driven entertainment we are losing the context of content.
Desperate Networks
The cover art of headless viewers watching television says it all. My only brush with the late Neil Postman came when he spoke at the university I was attending in the northwest. A breezy east coaster, he was unaware of the need to step on eggs. During the questions, one woman said, "Mr. Postman, how can we help children have self-esteem?" to which he replied, "I don't want them to have self-esteem; I want them to esteem something other than themselves."
Interesting, but...
This is a very interesting book where the author builds a solid argument about the "downfall" of culture as we know it ever since we've had access to any sort of communication technology that came after the printing press (he condems the use of the telegraph and anything that came after it, but in his point of view, the TV is the worst invention ever created).
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Subjects:  1. Education    2. Influence    3. Mass media    4. Sociology    5. Sociology - Social Theory    6. United States    7. Popular psychology    8. Social Science / Media Studies    9. Social, group or collective psychology   

Reviews (1)

no serious student of the topic should be without this book
This book is _the_ reference on the topic of the psychology of religion.The reference section itself is worth the price of the book!As a text, it would be more appropriate to a graduate level than an undergraduate level class, but then few schools offer a class on the subject at all.However, anyone interested in pursuing this topic would do well to have a copy of this book on their shelf, preferably within reach at all times. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Clinical Psychology    2. Psychology    3. Psychology of Religion    4. Psychology, Religious    5. Religion - Commentaries / Reference    6. Psychology & Psychiatry / Social Psychology    7. Religion & Beliefs   

Subjects:  1. Applied Psychology    2. Mental Health    3. Psychology    4. Social Psychology    5. Health psychology    6. Psychology & Psychiatry / General   

Reviews (3)

THIS BOOK MUST BE TAUGHT IN OUR WAR TORN SCHOOLS
as one means of ending the lethal violence there, most unreported.
Stimulates your thinking on war and peace
While I don't share some of Mr. Kurlansky's political thinking, his book is well worth reading because it stimulates one's thinking on the big issues of war and peace. He gives some important recent examples (e.g., America in the 1960s, Eastern Europe in the 1980s, etc.) where nonviolence worked or might have worked (e.g., in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict).I am extremely skeptical of his apparent claim that nonviolence by itself could have ended slavery in the US or defeated Hitler. However, the important point Mr. Kurlansky makes is that nonviolence can work and that more people should be inspired by it and use it to resolve seemingly intractable disputes. The track record of war as a means of settling many disputes certainly is not great.

Walk Softly & Hope Nobody Notices You Are Defenseless
In the tradition of Dave Dellinger, Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, Mark Kurlansky reconstitutes history to fit his ideological beliefs. The ineluctable fatal flaw in the familiar drum beat of these revisionists is that recorded historical events are out of sync with their tin ears.
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Subjects:  1. History & Theory - General    2. History - General History    3. Modern - 20th Century    4. Nonviolence    5. Political Advocacy    6. Social Psychology    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. Violence (Sociological Aspects)    10. Violence in Society    11. History / Modern / 20th Century   

Reviews (1)

The Clearest ANT
Perhaps it has a lot to do with the book being written in English (or at least it appears to have been, there is no translator listed), but this is by far the most lucid thing I've read by Latour. In a way it's a radical break, he finally embraces his troubled intellectual child Actor Network Theory, stops expecting its meaning to magically emerge from the context and sets forth exploring what it actually is and how it can work. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Philosophy    2. Social Science    3. Social groups    4. Social sciences    5. Sociology    6. Sociology - General    7. Business | Management | Organizational Behavior    8. Social & political philosophy    9. Social Science / Sociology / General    10. Social theory    11. Social, group or collective psychology   

Reviews (4)

Read between the lines
I have read this book cover to cover and am rather disappointed with some of the sections. The authors matter of factly discuss widow burning in India as a cultural practice. They offer no cross cultural comparisons to this. In France and the USA we call it murder. On the other hand the behavior of needy children is described as 'bonding' with their mothers in China,and 'clingy in the USA. Here a cross comparison is provided. Another cross cultural comparison: 'genital mutilation' of young girls (clearly for other reasons than for boys) is called 'circumcision' in some cultures. Gusii mothers in Kenya hold their babies longer than women in Boston. Why?Because of infant mortality. Here a cross-cultural reason is provided. But no explanations for widow burning, female genital mutilation, and child marriages are given, where the maternal mortality rate is three times greater than women in the 20-24 year age group. (UN report 1991). In fact the authors add that there are schools for clitorectemies which girls between 8 and 12 "attend". Young girls of 10 are married in some cultures. In France and the USA that is called child molestation, but the authors don't write that. Chinese foot binding of women is described as a previous "sign of beauty", matter of factly, They clearly don't want to take a stance about these practices. That is because they tacitly uphold the political position that the nuclear family is above the law, and any practices that take place are legitimate. This is why they primarily cover general topics regarding the nuclear family, cross culturally speaking. We are not supposed to question this, because that would , according to the authors, involve a cultural perspective inconsistent with another. The UN however has many case studies to contradict that, even if the rights of women and children are not legitimated in comprehesive policy. But at least the UN convention CEDAW- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women knows there is a gender hierarchy in the world, which the authors don't, or at least don't mention in a relatively meaningful way.
Stands alone as the cross-cultural developmental text book
I just got this book from the publisher and have decided to use it for my cross-cultural development class.No other book that I have found does an even remotely adequate job of combining cross-cultural research and humandevelopment.Teaching this class should be a lot easier.

easy to understand with many interesting stories
I have read that book and I found many interesting stories about how culture affect our live which I've never imagine it before and I learn a lot about many different unique cultures around the world and if you wantto know more detail about culture differences and compare them, you shouldread this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Cognition and culture    3. Cross-Cultural Psychology    4. Cross-cultural studies    5. Developmental - General    6. Ethnic Issues    7. Ethnic Studies - General    8. Ethnopsychology    9. Personality and culture    10. Social Psychology    11. Social Science    12. Socialization    13. Sociology    14. Sociology - General    15. Ethnography    16. Social Science / Sociology / General   

Reviews (3)

Handbook of Attachment
When I ordered this book I thought there was a later version available. Online there are two versions available - this one (1999) and a later one - 2002 or 2003 or even later - I can't remember. It was confusing if the later one was available or if there is even a later one. When I submitted this question to Amazon they basically said that there was no way of determining which book would be sent to me. So it was disappointing when I received the earlier version. I wasn't about to take the time to send it back because I needed to start using it.

A great product but................
This is a great book. However, it is too clinical and hard to read. Very dry reading. I was looking for some practical tips to use at work. The heading "Handbook" is misleading. To me a handbook is a reference tool that I can go to and get information I can use quickly, practically and the client can understand. I think I wasted my money in this sense. But, it was my choice. Thanks.

Great resource!
Wonderful resource for academics - good overview of important and current issues in attachment theory. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Clinical Psychology    2. Developmental - General    3. Developmental - Lifespan Development    4. Mental Health    5. Psychology    6. Child & developmental psychology    7. Psychology & Psychiatry / Developmental Psychology    8. Social, group or collective psychology   

Subjects:  1. Data processing    2. General    3. Methodology    4. Psychology    5. Social Psychology    6. Social sciences    7. Sociology    8. Statistical methods    9. Probability & statistics    10. Psychology & Psychiatry / General    11. Social research & statistics   

Reviews (13)

Social Construction of Reality
This critical work is a cornerstone in the study of being human. Recommended for anyone interested in sociology, psychology, philosophy, or human communication. Easy to read, easy to understand. This work is often cited in scholarly literature. It is so profound, it's almost a religious experience.

A Must Read
The Social Construction of Reality (1967)
He paints with a broad brush ...
And thinks with one too; the words of Quine couldn't be more apt.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Knowledge, Sociology of    3. Sociology    4. Sociology - Social Theory    5. Philosophy / General    6. Social, group or collective psychology   

Subjects:  1. Social Science    2. Sociology    3. Sociology (General)    4. Sociology - General    5. Social Science / Sociology / General    6. Social, group or collective psychology   

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Human Resources & Personnel Management    5. Organizational behavior    6. Psychology, Industrial    7. Public Relations    8. Success in business    9. Business & Economics / Human Resources & Personnel Management    10. Social, group or collective psychology   

Reviews (6)

Transformative Mediation = Transcendental Meditation?
If only the world would/could operate under a theory like this!
What are you doing??????????????
This book helped me clarify just what I'm doing as a mediator. The authors show that one's worldview necessarily affects how one mediates. Unawareness of one's assumptions creates the potential to do great harm as a mediator. Our assumption that it's our job to make a settlement happen requires us to behave in a way that is neither neutral nor helpful to the parties.It's too easy to use our litigation tools (such as evaluation, analysis, and persuasion) against both parties in order to further our own agendas. By gaining clarity about what our agenda is, and about what's beyond our jurisdiction, we reduce the harm we do to the parties; and we create more opportunity for the parties to take greater responsibility. The approach described in this book supports parties as they tend to grow from weakness to strength and from selfishness to compassion. I'm grateful to the authors.

Good Introduction on Transformative Mediation
A good introduction on Transformative Mediation but just a good "Introduction".Read more

Subjects:  1. Arbitration, Negotiation, Mediation    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Conflict (Psychology)    4. Conflict Resolution    5. Conflict management    6. Mediation    7. Negotiating    8. Social Conflict    9. Social interaction    10. Business & Economics / Leadership    11. Personnel & human resources management    12. Social, group or collective psychology   

Reviews (12)

Disappointing
As someone suffering from social anxiety disorder, this book was extremely disappointing.It focuses almost entirely on what causes anxiety and the "suggestions" are not helpful at all.I felt as though all this book did was explain to me what it felt like to have this phobia. If you are looking to research the disorder, it would be a great book. If you are looking for help in battling social anxiety this book will be of no use to you, as I am guessing you already know what it feels like.

Extremely Helpful
If you want to start dealing with your social anxiety, this is a great book to begin with.It teaches the reader excellent techniques to managing anxiety, and even after two years of therapy, I found the relaxtion excrises extremely helpful.Reading this book also gives the shy, lonely person who may have social anxiety a sense of belonging.Reading this book made me realize that I am not the only one with S.A.D. and it really has helped me tremoundlsy.This book is great for starting out with dealing with social anxiety and I would definatly recommend it.

Disappointed
This is the first and only book I've bought concerning social phobia. Perhaps because I had already researched this subject on the web, a lot of the suggestions in this book were common sense and obvious. Too much was devoted to explication (e.g., what causes anxiety, nature vs. nature, what are SSRIs, etc.) vs. providing actual suggestions which I thought was a waste.
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Subjects:  1. General    2. Mental Disorders    3. Neuropsychology    4. Phobias    5. Psychology    6. Psychopathology - General    7. Self-Help    8. Self-help techniques    9. Social Psychology    10. Social phobia   

Reviews (4)

Compelling analysis into the causes of mass violence and hope for the future
The Roots of Evil is an important book, both in its application of a comprehensive theoretical lens to the problem of mass violence and in its practical usefulness for efforts to prevent genocide from happening again.Staub explains how difficult conditions combine with social/political events to enable inter-group violence using detailed historical examples.His analysis shines light on the darkest actions of human beings, making sense of how neighbors can turn against each other.The book also offers hope that mass violence can be prevented, especially through efforts to humanize the "other" and speak out during the early events that can lead to genocide.In a world in which dehumanization remains all too common, this book will remain critical reading for years to come.It has been an inspiration for me, and for many others working in diverse fields related to peacebuilding.I recommend it highly.

An important book
This book, by one of today's most eminent genocide scholars, presents a simple to grasp analysis of the main human drives causing mass violence and genocide. Its ability to combine these drives into an easily understandable system makes it extremely useful for people that need to deal with this subject on the ground in combating ethnic violence. Professor Staub's book has inspired communication campaigns against the hatred fanning the genocide and mass killings in Rwanda, the DRC and Burundi.There, survivors of one of the last centuries' worst outbreaks of mass murder, find comfort in the way his analysis sheds light on how seemingly incomprehensible acts could be committed by the most seemingly normal people. around them.

A pompous plan for solving the world's problems...
This book begins with the arrogant assertion that psychology in general, and the author in particular, can change mankind and create a "caring and compassionate" society in which genocide and all lesser forms of evil will be unthinkable.It then goes through several hundred pages of repetitive ramblings, introducing and summarily dismissing the theories of Hobbes, Freud, and many others, relegating Nietzche to the position of Hitler's ego, and ultimately arriving at a conclusion that could have been summed up in a short article: humans are frustrated by "difficult life conditions" (a phrase which grates on the mind with each repetition after the first 50 pages of overusage), which causes them to join together to lash out against those who they deem responsible.His interpretations of the causes of the four instances of genocide which he chooses to discuss seem absurd in some cases, and contradict themselves in others.The last two chapters outline the author's naive plan for the construction of a warm and fuzzy world of understanding and compassion.Even if his plan were plausible, his view of human nature is ultimately deluded and irrational, and it is therefore of no value.Some may say this reviewer is cynical or jaded, but I prefer realism to useless optimism.An authoritative book on the psychological drives behind mass killings which brings together the ideas of many great minds and uses convincing evidence to support itself would be most welcome.This, however, is not it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Aggression (Psychological Aspects)    2. Group Psychology    3. Personality    4. Psychology    5. Sociology - General    6. Genocide    7. Psychology & Psychiatry / Personality    8. Social, group or collective psychology   

Reviews (1)

This is a great book!
This book is a must read for anyone studying gender in psychology or human development. It's a wonderful reference for students and can be used as a text or supplement for teachers. It's also excellent for general readingfor those interested in understanding women and related issues. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Developmental - General    2. Gender Studies    3. Psychology    4. Sex differences (Psychology)    5. Sex role    6. Social Psychology    7. Women's Studies - General    8. Psychology & Psychiatry / Social Psychology   

Reviews (1)

solid foundation of social capital
Lin has devoted in area of the sociology. This book is another great work followed by other works in sociology.Strongly suggest to buy and own it as a scholar's guid of the theory of social capital. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Social Science    2. Sociology    3. Sociology - General    4. Social Science / Sociology / General    5. Social theory    6. Social, group or collective psychology   

Reviews (17)

The irony of de Botton
I am a great fan of de Botton's previous books, but he seems to have lost his direction and his philisophical anchor with this one. Expanding on his discussion of Epicurious found in "The Consolations of Philosophy", "Status Anxiety" repeats a single argument seemingly endlessly: That we would all be happier if we simply lowered our expectations and looked inward for satisfaction.
Smile: your wallet is empty!
Now it happened to me that at a certain point in my life everybody around me seemed rich but unhappy... My wallet was pretty much empty a long way before the end of the month but I quickly recovered a smile on my face after this reading...

Looks at Status Through the Ages -- but what about now?
I picked up this book at our local library on a whim, knowing little about the author or his previous works.I found his holistic, literary approach to be quite compelling -- and I feel I now possess a much better understanding of the historical question of issues of status and the way the question has been asked and answered by philosophers throughout the ages.
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Subjects:  1. Emotions    2. Personal Growth - Self-Esteem    3. Psychological aspects    4. Psychology    5. Social Psychology    6. Social status   

Editorial Review

Why do otherwise intelligent individuals form seething masses of idiocy when they engage in collective action? Why do financially sensible people jump lemming-like into hare-brained speculative frenzies--only to jump broker-like out of windows when their fantasies dissolve? We may think that the Great Crash of 1929, junk bonds of the '80s, and over-valued high-tech stocks of the '90s are peculiarly 20th century aberrations, but Mackay's classic--first published in 1841--shows that the madness and confusion of crowds knows no limits, and has no temporal bounds. These are extraordinarily illuminating,and, unfortunately, entertaining tales of chicanery, greed and naivete. Essential reading for any student of human nature or the transmission of ideas.Read more

Reviews (48)

First 100 pages good, but the rest of the book was slow
I recommend Edward Chancellor's "Devil Take the Hindmost" instead of this book.I enjoyed this book for first hundred pages (financial speculation), but I was not interested in the later sections of the book.

Hilarious...
This author retells three famous stories of speculative markets in Europe.The book essentially consists of sober accounts of how deranged a place can get amidst speculative fervors.The first two stories involved a good idea that goes horribly bad when the people in control do not completely understand the dynamics of new systems when they are implemented.The third story is about silly, unadulterated greed and the sheer obliviousness of masses to a mania.I recommend this book to those who do not want to run straight off the cliff with the lemmings during the next market crash.

Google at $400.00? Hmmmm - maybe there are more chapters to write?
Keep this book within handy reach for any time that you're getting a bit too smart for your britches. How otherwise intelligent and rational folk get themselves into these troubles is truly fascinating and instructive. The writing here is, of course, rather archaic to modern sensibilities (originally published in 1841) but the stories are interesting and very readable. It's tempting to read the tales as history but when I see Goggle trading at over $400.00 I scratch my head and wonder. And when I hear the president cutting taxes, increasing spending, and still assuring me that my Social Security payments are secure, well, I think there might be a few chapters still waiting to be writing in the book. A good read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Delusions    2. Early works to 1900    3. Impostors and imposture    4. Occultism    5. Popular Culture - General    6. Psychology    7. Social History    8. Social Psychology    9. Sociology    10. Swindlers and swindling    11. Controversial Knowledge & Mysteries    12. England    13. History / General