Customer Reviews

The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things: Crime, Drugs, Minorities, Teen Moms, Killer Kids, Mutant Microbes, Plane Crashes, Road Rage, & So Much More

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I knew that the media exaggerated certain situations in the news but I had no idea how far off statistically these concerns are from the truth. What this book does is not only show what the problem isn't, but what the true problems are that we need to address. The real problems are getting lost because they are more complicated than what can be said in scary sound bites and harder to solve. This book helps to put all the, supposedly, scary things into perspective. I consider myself a skeptic but I watch alot of media and some of it got by me this book helped me to sort it out.

I think that a lot of criticisms of this book (and maybe a lot of positive reviews as well, to be fair) are political. A 1-star review of the 2000 version cites The Economist magazine's review noting the book's "liberal-dem" leanings. Yes, a lot of fears Americans have ARE due to politics, culture, gender, etc. That doesn't make them less real to the individual, yet the likelihood of the assumed threat should be examined, as a service to the fearful as well as the rest of us. Solid statistics involving behavior are difficult to verify; even hard-science medical studies frequently rely on self-reported information.

I am often reminded of this book while reading the news, such as recent reports (Mar 2011) that some Americans are desperately trying to buy iodine pills in reaction to the nuclear crisis in Japan, in spite of the fact that there is virtually no risk to them. For me, this book was a starting point to identify things that I fear, investigate the rationality of those fears, and examine reasonable ways to protect myself. If you find something that you currently fear is remarkable unlikely, but that something you never considered could happen, you can change your priorities and possibly avert a genuine threat.

Those who say he doesn't criticize liberals or the left haven't read the book. He devotes entire chapters to doing exactly that (read "Metaphorical Illnesses" as one example), and he's been criticized for doing so. One of the great things about this book is precisely that the author goes after anyone and everyone who propagates needless fears.

I wanted to purchase this book after reading a quote from it in Eula Biss' excellent essay collection on race relations in America, "Notes from No Man's Land." Learning that "Culture of Fear," had been published in 1999, I was a little wary, as so much had changed in twelve years, most of it leaning heavily in favor of what Glassner advocates. So, I was excited to find that the book had recently been updated (note "updated," not "reprinted") for our "Post 9/11 World," and quickly bought a copy on Amazon.

About a quarter of the way into the text, while I was perpetually in agreement with almost the entirety of Glassner's conclusions, it started to become apparent that that most recent statistical findings were from 1997. Wait a minute... Nearing the end, when the concept of supply and demand/price wars uses VCR sales as metaphor, the fact that there was absolutely no change to the text since original publication was annoyingly clear. And, while I admittedly support the majority of Glassner's statistical conclusions on most topics, I primarily sought out "Culture of Fear," to shed further light on concepts of stigmatization of marginalized populations in fear-mongering. Disappointingly, the chapters I most anticipated, "Black Men," and "Smack is Back" (the latter addressing fallacies in the "War on Drugs") seemed most limited.

The only actual update to the text is the final chapter, which focuses primarily on post-September 11 fear of terrorism, particularly as perpetuated by the Bush Administration. While feeling somewhat cheated that Glassner doesn't address the resulting discrimination of Middle-Easterners, Glassner's analysis seems to end around approximately Spring 2005 and leap quickly ahead to Obama's election in 2008.

Something's missing here, say, around August 2005. Um...a hurricane?

Although Glassner is quick to point out voting disparity among black and white voters in the 2008 election, wouldn't even the slightest mention of a massive disaster that devastated a largely African-American US city and the government's poor reaction generously support his argument? While I understand the massive effort involved in editing over 200 pp. to incorporate recent (actually, over ten years' worth) of social and historical events, I don't think that tacking on an end chapter, particularly with egregious omissions, constitutes as updating a text. Albeit, "Culture of Fear," uses strong, fact-based evidence in its arguments. However, its lack of modern, supplementary material causes it's applicability to be limited to the era it was written. Considering the wealth of new knowledge in affirmation of Glassner's theories rising since the book's 1999 publication, an actual update, most likely in the form of an entirely new text, would make more sense.

I haven't finished this book. Don't know if I will. I didn't know I was buying a commentary on the evils of conservatism. The political issues mentioned are no doubt justified, but are presented in such a one sided view that within the context of the book as a whole (being afraid of the wrong things and dissmissing the important things) the underlying message is not, "be weary of the political process", but rather, be afraid of conservatives. The glaring lack of counter-balancing liberal transgressions makes the book as a whole completely suspect.

If I could talk with the author I would not debate him on the points he made, but would instead ask him about the points he did not. Really? Liberals don't do any of those underhanded things? Really? Is that genuine intellectual honesty?

It is clear that this author has a political adgenda. If you want a book that confirms the righteousness of liberalism, then this is the book for you. If you want a book that offers a unique and fair look at the dirty dealings of both parties, skip it. I wish I could get my money back.

In fairness, there are other issues in the book that are non-political, and seem (to the lay person) to be dealt with honestly, and are intersting to read. I do wonder if someone with in depth knowlege on these topics would find his representations as biased as his political views.

This book is a powerful contribution to the atmosphere of shrill and hostile dialog typically conducted by both the far left and the far right. Glassners rhetoric of accusation and blame and his insistence on demonizing those who oppose his views, can do no one any good. Such polarization - to the left or the right - focuses on "fixing the blame" rather than "fixing the problem." This is perhaps the single biggest crisis in American politics today.

Further, Glassner's willingness to speak out on topics where he has no experience (e.g. the economy, international trade, and international security) displays a level of hubris that I can only admire from afar.

Glassner is just another liberal, refusing to acknowledge American cultural and world realities. Your first tip off should be his status as a sociology (race and class-baiting indoctrination) professor at a left-coast university. The leap to praising Obama in the last chapter is expected, and he doesn't disappoint. This indoctrinator of our impressionable youth refuses, like so many other liberals, to shine the light on evil and socially damaging influences.