Fear

An Alternative History of the World

By: Robert Peckham

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Paperback | 3 December 2024

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448 Pages

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19.6 x 12.8 x 3.0

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It's been said that we're a more fearful society than ever before. Yet fear, and the panic it produces, have long been driving forces - perhaps the driving force - of world history: fear of God, of famine, war, disease, poverty, and other people. In Fear: An Alternative History of the World, Robert Peckham considers the impact of fear in history, as both a coercive tool of power and as a catalyst for social change. Beginning with the Black Death in the fourteenth century, Peckham traces a shadow history of the world through fear, from the French Revolution and the social movements of the nineteenth century to modern market crashes, Cold War paranoia and the AIDS pandemic, and into a digital culture increasingly marked by uniquely twenty-first-century fears. What did fear mean to us in the past, and how can a better understanding of it equip us to face the future? Through the stories of the people and the moments that changed history, Peckham reveals how fear and panic made us who we are.

Industry Reviews

'Compelling' - Economist

'An ambitious deep dive into history' - Irish Independent

'[An] elegant synthesis of centuries of intellectual history ... Peckham's mapping of fear across centuries of thought offers an opportunity to reflect on a persistent political geography of anxiety' - Lancet

'Clear and engaging ... readers keen to grasp a better understanding of the history of the world will be entranced by Peckham's ability to communicate complex political, religious, economic, artistic, medical, military, technological and cultural trends' - BBC History Magazine

'Brilliant and breathtakingly wide-ranging ... As Peckham shows in gripping and beautifully written detail, fear isn't just the stock in trade of wicked despots; in some circumstances it can be turned to positive effect. Could it, now, be that fear is our friend? Read Peckham and judge for yourself.' - Simon Schama

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