Fear: A Cultural History

A spectre is haunting humanity -- the spectre of fear. Death stares unblinkingly at us. Danger appears in everyday environs. Sometimes a scary person or a menacing object can be identified: the flames searing patterns on the ceiling, the hydrogen bomb, the terrorist. More often, anxiety overwhelms us from some source within: there is an irrational panic about venturing outside, a dread of failure, a premonition of doom. There often seems no limit to the threats. In this astonishing, wide-ranging book, we encounter the fears and anxieties of hundreds of British and American men, women and children who lived in the twentieth century. From battle experiences to agoraphobia, from cancer to nightmares, this is an utterly original insight into the mindset of the twentieth century from one of the most brilliant historians and thinkers of our time.