False Alarm: The Truth About The Epidemic Of Fear - Hardcover

Siegel, Marc

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471678694 ISBN 13: 9780471678694

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2005

Synopsis

Life today for citizens of the developed world is safer, easier, and healthier than for any other people in history thanks to modern medicine, science, technology, and intelligence. So why is an epidemic of fear sweeping America? The answer, according to nationally renowned health commentator Dr. Marc Siegel, is that we live in an artificially created culture of fear. In False Alarm, Siegel identifies three major catalysts of the culture of fear government, the media, and big pharma. With fascinating, blow–by–blow analyses of the most sensational false alarms of the past few years, he shows how these fearmongers manipulate our most primitive instincts often without our even realizing it. False Alarm shows us how to look behind the hype and hysteria, inoculate ourselves against fear tactics, and develop the emotional and intellectual skills needed to take back our lives.

About this title

Review

"Marc Siegel is an articulate voice of reason in a world beset by hype and hysteria. We would be well advised to listen closely to what he has to say." Jerome Groopman, MD, staff writer, The New Yorker

"In this masterful and provocative work, Dr. Marc Siegel, an accomplished physician and author, skillfully dissects our present–day culture of fearmongering. An engaging and readable blend of science, politics, and social criticism, False Alarm––fully supported by extensive research––is an eloquently written and unflinching exploration of fear (real and imagined) in the modern world. Most importantly, Siegel exposes how government officials, the media, and the pharmaceutical industry exploit––and spread––fear for profit and power. They all should be scared of this powerful book." –– David Corn, Washington editor of The Nation

"False Alarm asks an important question about threats from bioterrorism and emerging diseases: when should we be afraid? Siegel cuts through the hype about the "deadly" this and the "lethal" that, and applies reason in seeking the answers. Those who think for themselves will find useful guidance here."––John M. Barry, author of The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History

"Relax and put away your duct tape. In exposing the phony politics of fear, Dr. Marc Siegel proves that things aren t as bleak as they seem. The only thing to fear is fear itself."––Bill Press, Former Host, CNN s "Crossfire"

"A passionate aria that puts Marc Siegel stage center in the Anti–Hysteria chorus. As both an empathetic doctor and a shrewd observer of popular culture, Siegel updates that 1950s truism: Watching TV can be injurious to health...especially if you believe the hype about imminent terrorist threats and fearsome potential epidemics. False Alarm is a color–coded burst of sanity amid the fear and frenzy of 21st Century America."–– Walter Shapiro, author of One–Car Caravan

Review

"Anthrax, vaccine shortages, and SARS, oh my! Americans have been pummeled with an endless series of apparent threats. Siegel makes a passionate argument that the only thing we have to fear is, indeed, our own paranoia. Reason, he says, is the best vaccination for this epidemic." ( Psychology Today, September/October 2005)

"Marc Siegel tries to reduce the hysteria quotient with a straightforward recitation of facts and statistics. Recalling the famous Orson Welles broadcast of "The War of the Worlds," Siegel tries all too sensibly (and one suspects futilely) to assess risk accurately and respond only to "plausible" threats such as the vulnerability of our container ships or "loose nukes" in former Soviet republics." (Benamin Barber, Los Angeles Times, August 7, 2005)

About this edition

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0471678694
• ISBN 13: 9780471678694
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256