Paura. Una storia culturale

In "Fear: A Cultural History," Joanna Bourke takes on an absolutely massive task: exploring the ways that fears have manifest throughout history. I think the best way to describe the book is through something of a 'Goldilocks' experience. When I first purchased it, my immediate reaction was weariness Leggi tutto

Fears have always been with us: the fear of uncertainty, of others, of death. They show themselves in anxiety, nightmares, phobias. But this extremely well-researched and organized book shows that fears evolve according to their time and place. It has a fascinating conclusion that shows that the fea Leggi tutto

The research makes sense. I never thought about how fear drives decisions on education, or art! But it's pretty dry reading, and I probably skimmed my way through half this book. And I came to the conclusion that fear can be helpful in deciding, but cannot be the only motivation for important decisi Leggi tutto

A unique book in the way it deals with the idea as to how fear has shaped the modern world and what influence fear has had on people in the past 3 centuries. A well written and poignant book that could have done better with more peer reviewed studies supporting some of the claims the author makes. T Leggi tutto

Are you petrified every time you step onto an airplane? Do you live in fear of the thought of a house fire? Perhaps it’s spiders or snakes that make you tremble most of all? Most of us have something that stirs up our greatest fears, and the same has been true throughout history; fearful people have Leggi tutto

All’inizio è un po’ difficile da seguire, l’autrice fa continui riferimenti che a volte sembrano fuori dal contesto e che a volte vengono riportati senza molti dettagli su chi li dice e in quale contesto. Tuttavia verso la fine si riscatta, parlando di tematiche veramente interessanti come la paura d Leggi tutto