Fear: A Cultural History

by Joanna Bourke

Whether we like it or not, an atmosphere of fear pervades modern culture. In America, each day is color-coded for the level of threat; newspapers fill with gloomy news of climate crisis; and the radio and TV bleat with Amber alerts, car crashes, and the war wounded.

In this groundbreaking work, award-winning historian Joanna Bourke helps us understand the landscape of fear we now navigate. Her review of the past two hundred years — from diagnosed phobias to the media's role in creating new ones — prompts strikingly original observations about the mind and worldview of the “long twentieth century.” Blending sociocultural analysis with psychology, philosophy, and popular science, this beautifully written and exhaustively researched book offers an authoritative look at one of humankind's most basic emotions.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Psychology, Sociology, Social Issues, Anthropology, Microhistory

520 pages, Paperback

First published May 10, 2006

About the author

Joanna Bourke (born 1963 in New Zealand) is an historian and professor of history at Birkbeck, University of London.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not going to lie - I couldn't make it more than a quarter into this book. There were two major problems I ran into:

1) The author has the bizarre habit of inserting very odd opinions, with no backing, that made me doubt the rest of her un-cited proclamations. In the first prologue (and there are several), she states that "No one in the West fears starvation" (really? I'm pretty sure there a number of people in the United States alone living far below the poverty line) and that "Feminist tracts teach women to fear all men" (a statement that could only be made by someone who has learned about feminism via the Daily Mail). Both of these statements are so incredibly bizarrely wrong that it just made me suspicious of the rest of the book.

2) It's not written in a remotely interesting way. I have a soft spot for books on death and disease and such morbid things, and it is SO difficult to make that boring. Bourke neatly succeeds in that arduous quest.

I really really wanted to like "Fear," but alas, it and I were not meant to be. Two stars because it was at least competently written, if dry.

[Judd Street · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 about the length (and likelihood of it remaining interesting throughout). Two hundred pages in, my perspective had shifted: it was much too /short/, glossing over massively important psychological questions because of just how big a topic 'fear' is. But, by the end, I had come around to its 'Goldilocks' status: actually, I think this book is just right.

Reading 'Fear' was a reminder of just how big a single topic can be. From phobias to every-present anxiety of terrorism; from literary fear to fears of cancer lurking within; Bourke weaves together a multitude of different perspectives on what fear is, how it has evolved, and how it affects our lives. In a sense, the book is 'Fear 101,' laying out a fascinating terrain that is inherently interdisciplinary and complex. Particularly well written were the chapters on social hysteria, civilians under attack, and terrorism - these segments did a really nice job of pulling back the curtain on the complex and intertwined kinds of fears that exist in our lives, and how historical events have morphed and changed them. I think these chapters were so effective, in part, because they were able to draw very clear cause-and-effect narratives (e.g., how 9/11 changed fear in America) that were a little more nebulous and less direct elsewhere in the book.

Indeed, if I needed to offer a critique of the book, it would be that: because fear is indeed so multidiciplinary (requiring cognitive science, psychology, history, sociology, etc to explain its causes and effects), a book that is a 'cultural history' of fear is necessarily limited. There were many points throughout where I craved more of the sociological or psychological 'why,' in addition to the historical 'why' that was being explored. And, there were times where the scoping felt a little narrow, focusing on very European and American experiences of fear, versus those in South America, Africa, or Asia.

However, I'm not persuaded that the first critique is actually a fair one. Rather, it's simply an acknowledgement that 'Fear: A Cultural History' really just needs to be part of a series alongside a variety of other disciplinary views on the study of fear and anxiety. And, in that sense, Bourke's contribution is masterful: it does exactly what it needs to do, providing a lay of the cultural history landscape of fear, identifying meadows and groves worthy of more in-depth exploration, and to serve as one of many maps to understand that place (alongside the sociological, psychological, anthropological, and ... maps of the fear landscape).

In short, it was an excellent volume. If you have an interest in fear, anxiety, and all things scary, it's well worth a read!

[Vanessa Princessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book thanks to Blinkist.

The key message in this book:

Since the nineteenth century, the human fear of death has played a key role in the popular imagination. From nuclear war to cancer to parenting and public architecture, fear and the struggle to cope with it shape many aspects of our societies and day-to-day lives.

[Janet Aird · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 fears of a people or a society, instead of evolving, can be manipulated by forces that benefit from their fears. A very worthwhile read.

[R Nair · Rating 3 out of 5]

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. The book is still worth a read though.

[Andie · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 decisions.

[Sakib Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 existed across societies, continents, and generations.

But this doesn’t mean that we’ve always been scared of the same things – or in the same way. Fears that used to dominate society in the past, be they the thought of nuclear war or witches, no longer grip us in the same way. So, how has fear changed throughout history? These blinks will take a look.

Since the nineteenth century, the human fear of death has played a key role in the popular imagination. From nuclear war to cancer to parenting and public architecture, fear and the struggle to cope with it shape many aspects of our societies and day-to-day lives.

[Tobias Koch · Rating 3 out of 5]

A worthwhile read about how public fear evolved in the last century. For the most part, the book is a meta-study comprising literature and lots of quotes from famous authors and people talking about their experiences.
The book is well structured in strict chronical order and distincts between eras with different prevalent fears.
Although the book focusses on history, some ideas about essence, implications and origins of fear are presented.
Some passages of the book seem dry and are exhausting to read.

[Giovanna Di Pietro · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 del cancro, dello stupro e del terrorismo (anche perché sono più vicini al nostro tempo) e vengono trattati in modo chiaro. La conclusione è significativa e tira efficacemente le fila del discorso.
Vale sicuramente il tempo speso per leggerlo.

[Bookwormthings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting, although I'm not sure I agree with all of her analysis of the most recent events. Time will tell. A really good and thoughtprovoking read - which I will probably have to read again.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

An incredibly interesting topic. So much research went into this, I am impressed. It came across very textbook-like at times, very dry, which made some sections a bit of a snooze-fest. Overall though a very ambitious book.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read about something that affects us all at some point, and in different ways.

[Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to confess that I am a little bit in awe of Joanna Bourke her scholarship and range of subjects is genuinely impressive (her history of men's bodies in and after WW1 is fabulous). In this she traces fear as a phenomenon in Britain and the US during the 19th and 20th centuries to show a developing emotion that shifts focus from fears of death and disasters, of the mob, and social panics (Orson Welles' War of the Worlds radio play features large here) to an increasingly psychological and psychoanalytic state through investigations of how people experience and talk about nightmares and phobias, discussions of how soldiers and civilians experience war. In the later half of the 20th century though she argues that specific fear to more diffuse anxiety, although often focussed on specific things – crime, nuclear war, terrorism – in all cases uncontrollable, ubiquitous, and often omnipresent.

Each section concludes with a broader theoretical or methodological point – accessible for general readers, good for specialists and cultural historians in general. All in all, a fabulous piece of historical writing that is the kind of work more in my profession should do: serious, challenging, and aimed at an intelligent but non-specialist audience.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joanna Burke conducts an interesting review of (i) what people have feared in the last two centuries, and (ii) how they wrote about that fear. It's well references, seems thorough (though I am no expert on the subject), and certainly thought-provoking.

The most interesting takeaway is how people's fears have changed as culture and society has changed; two centuries ago, people worried about things occuring after death - today, people worry about things that occur during their life.

It was also fascinating to note that a fear of "terrorism" is no new thing; it has been increasingly written about since the 1980s as an existential threat.

[Inma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic work. Excellent book to understand that part of human behaviour that is affected by fear.
My only complain is that it only covers modern fears, roughly the last 3 centuries, and it covers mostly fear in the anglosaxon world. But it's really interesting for anyone.

[India Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

A bit of a slog to read and didn't really engage/grip me in the way that I thought it would, but parts were very interesting, although the author did insert some rather odd and unbacked 'opinions' into the book, i.e that no one in the West fears starvation.

[Mat Ranson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concisely detailed, factually fascinating. Excellent read, vital resource.

[Terri Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting at times, but droning and monotone in others. Disappointingly predictable.