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False Alarm: The Truth About the Epidemic of Fear
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.
246 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 12, 2020
I picked up this book a couple of weeks ago knowing that we were about to enter some ridiculous fear campaigning among the media in order to sell papers and get you to watch their programs. It's a capitalistic society after all and they want to make money.
So, after I read this book I started digging for the truth in local newspapers in Germany/France/Italy.
The local news has nothing to sell you. The headline big newspapers wants your attention.
In a German newspaper I read that the %8o of people who contract this particular cold will have a mild case. %18 not so mild especially since they are the unhealthy of society; i.e. the smokers, obese, well maintained diabetics.... the %2 who will not survive it are quite old as in Germany. One man was 80 years old and a diabetic with a heart problem. Something was going to get him soon, it just happened to be this.
So while everyone buys up hand sanitizer which doesn't work because it kills all the good bacteria on your hands, I sit in amazement. Obviously it's a problem for those without the resources. I lived in a small village in Italy, a doctor didn't exist and who knew where the nearest hospital was. It's a completely different world, a world I love, but different. A friend's wife hit her head and the hospital somewhere in central Italy told him to physically drive her to Switzerland to get help because they just didn't have the resources for brain injury. All of my friends had teethe missing because they simply get pulled out if something is wrong.
So, after I read this book I started digging for the truth in local newspapers in Germany/France/Italy.
The local news has nothing to sell you. The headline big newspapers wants your attention.
In a German newspaper I read that the %8o of people who contract this particular cold will have a mild case. %18 not so mild especially since they are the unhealthy of society; i.e. the smokers, obese, well maintained diabetics.... the %2 who will not survive it are quite old as in Germany. One man was 80 years old and a diabetic with a heart problem. Something was going to get him soon, it just happened to be this.
So while everyone buys up hand sanitizer which doesn't work because it kills all the good bacteria on your hands, I sit in amazement. Obviously it's a problem for those without the resources. I lived in a small village in Italy, a doctor didn't exist and who knew where the nearest hospital was. It's a completely different world, a world I love, but different. A friend's wife hit her head and the hospital somewhere in central Italy told him to physically drive her to Switzerland to get help because they just didn't have the resources for brain injury. All of my friends had teethe missing because they simply get pulled out if something is wrong.
June 23, 2019
This book is written by a doctor from New York who is interested in the nature of fear and how it affects the human mind and body. He repeatedly makes the point that in most cases the fear that Americans feel about terrorist attacks or a disease pandemic are in most cases blown out of proportion and lead to unnecessary waste of resources, over-prescription of drugs and various other stress-related ailments. The book is a little repetitive as it gives several examples of how the media and government officials who are supposed to make us feel more safe often just hype up the danger. In chapter after chapter, the author makes basically the same point. The one thing that does keep it from being too repetitive is the first-hand accounts he gives of dealing with patients. This book was written in 2005 when the Iraq war was ramping up and the memories of 9/11 were still fresh in everyone's minds. It would be interesting to see a follow up to this book. I think that many of the things that are used to scare us have changed ( there is no more terrorist threat level chart) fear is still used to manipulate the American public often for political ends. This book is interesting if slightly outdated read that anyone who is interested in how the public can be manipulated through fear.
August 27, 2020
while some aspects of the book are repetitive, this was a timely read with covid controlling our lives. As I see my darling grandkids being kept from school - I am wondering how history will judge our response? It seems, according to the author, that all of these global viruses have made us react hysterically. Or is it the media has flamed this situation? Only time will tell.
May 21, 2020
The author exposes the health authorities, the media, and the politicians for the dishonest fearmongers they are. Read it and weep: the dreaded coronavirus is "a garden variety respiratory cold virus, nothing sexy, nothing sinister."
July 24, 2020
Good read. Makes you think what's really happening
Makes you think what's really happening. Appears t
That the CDC and WHO and media are more interested in showing us that they are on top of things potlically when they the supposed to be non-policable.
Makes you think what's really happening. Appears t
That the CDC and WHO and media are more interested in showing us that they are on top of things potlically when they the supposed to be non-policable.
January 18, 2021
A more timely book there could not be, right now, shortly upon the third decade of the twenty-first century. In a number of venues, it explores the phenomenon of (largely) artificially-induced fear and its role in shaping our society (and not infrequently, our economy). It was written by a New York M.D., an internist rather than a psychiatrist, who was present in New York City on 9/11, and witnessed the terrible tragedy of that fateful day. He thus has a vested interest in the subject, as he continued to live and work in the aftermath. Written in 2005, the book was conceived and primary composed in the years immediately following that event, so it focuses particularly on US policy in the new era, when fear was rampant and pervaded aspects of just about everyone's lives, warranted or not.
Perhaps its greatest virtue is the exposition on how fear is used by those in power, often through their media mouthpieces, to exploit and control the population at large, for power and particularly financial gain. This is indeed a timely issue, in the wake of the legitimately horrific COVID-19 pandemic, as well as recent political upheavals such as the BLM and "Capitol Riots," where angry protestors stormed the US Capitol Building following the defeat of Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Fear has been stoked a-plenty over the last year, by both parties, in a way and with a fervor I haven't personally experienced previously, even in the wake of 9/11. The tactics to which the author alludes even fifteen years ago are yet again front and center, however, so these methods are nothing new.
The first part of the book explores fear in general: it examines in some detail how it functions in higher order mammals, especially primates and humans, noting in particular how greatly it can affect a person's physical as well as their mental health, and certainly their outlook on life. The author notes the human tendency toward a pervasive anxiety over things which will invariably lead to death, such as dangerous diseases (which the media has stoked endlessly for nearly a year) and occasionally other catastrophes (weather, terrorism, economic depression), and the effects this can have on the human body, especially the brain and the immune system. A constant sense of dread and foreboding can have long-term physical repercussions, which is important to remember when facing a lethal virus, as fear and disease can result in an endless feedback cycle.
The succeeding chapters address artificially-induced fear by three primary entities: the government, the media, and big pharma, the latter-most playing on the public's fears of the "bug du jour" to shill their products, largely facilitated by the other two for power or profit. The best example herein: the author notes the case of the common antihistamine Claritin. When the patent expired, and the price dropped two-thirds, Schering, the manufacturer, developed a more potent version of the same thing... and began aggressively undercutting their own product through advertising and essentially lobbying doctors, billing the new version as the superior one, claiming that the former wasn't as effective, and had more side effects... even though it was essentially the same, and the same company had produced it; no one looks at who the manufacturer is, anyway.
One of the most egregious examples of this fear-for-profit came in the wake of the Anthrax fiasco, whereby the CDC began, in a highly-touted campaign, administering the highly-problematic antibiotic Cipro, at $300 for a month's supply. I personally recall seeing a well-known news anchor, in fact (either Peter Jennings or Tom Brokaw, one of those) stating, on air, holding up his pill bottle to the camera, "In Cipro We Trust." As the author notes, the Cipro manufacturer was "stoking this frenzy and playing into public hysteria by promoting the drug.... What the drug company was not telling either patient or doctor was that its usefulness for prevention was speculative. It had not been shown to work better than other cheaper antibiotics like doxycycline (at $30 for a month's supply) or even good old Penicillin." The result? "In the end, many more people got sick from the side effects of Cipro than from the noncontagious anthrax," including permanent, severely debilitating conditions such as severe tendon damage, including rupture. In fact, this class of medications is now considered so risky that it has been reclassified by the FDA as an antibiotic of last resort... and it had been used as a prophylactic.
It's honestly shocking to read this historical review of sorts, of the early 2000s, and to see the evolution, really, of how perverse media companies have increasingly sensationalized whatever they can find to drum up fear for ratings, in the wake of the then-nascent 24-hour news cycle. This has centered on, in particular, diseases: there was the Anthrax scare, then West Nile Virus, then a blip of a Smallpox scare, then SARS, MERS, the Killer Flu (Avian/H1N1), a tryst with Mad Cow Disease, and a seemingly endless parade of other pathogens, all of which have been with us since time immemorial. As the author notes, "The WHO had zoomed to the fore... but where was the same effort on behalf of the real killers, malaria and dengue, AIDS and schistosomiasis? And what about malnutrition? More people have died of hunger than of all these diseases combined. Public health attention to the latest potential killer instead of the known killers is not only an 'epidemic' of misinformation, it is also a form of politically expedient job justification." Quite on point.
So, what can be done? Realistically, I'm not sure. One answer is to hold the grotesque, attention-whoring media accountable and call them out, repeatedly and loudly, on their sensationalism. Similarly for politicians who fear-monger for their own benefit, and engage in systematic recalling or at least voting them out of office. I have to acknowledge, however, that the reality is, that stands little chance of happening any time soon, because fear is power, and those in power will continue to wield it to gain ever more control, it seems, to judge from what has occurred since this book was written. A final point, and on a personal note: although its exact context is disputed, the famous Benjamin Franklin quote comes to mind, here: “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Regardless of its original usage, I think that fits just fine.
I'm curious as to what the author would think of the current situation in which we find ourselves. In short, we have the ready stand-by solution to much of this problem of the Epidemic of Fear, at least at the level of the individual. This author-medical-doctor's prescription?
"Of course, one simple cure is to turn off the TV."
-------------Notable Passages-------------
"Amplification has been used repeatedly to hype potential contagions in the post-9/11 world, beginning with anthrax, in which the free-floating anxiety of 9/11 was transferred to a hysterical fear of our mail."
"Media obsession not only misinforms but also diverts attention from the real danger.... Misdirection means ignoring the fact that millions don't have health insurance and millions are malnourished."
"Leaders create fear around their central issues, making them seem more urgent than the things they're less interested in. Republicans create fear by saying Social Security will go bankrupt if they aren't allowed to fix it, and Democrats create fear by saying the Republic plan will just end social security altogether. Democrats create fear of guns, and Republicans tap into a fear that the government will take guns away from law-abiding citizens."
Perhaps its greatest virtue is the exposition on how fear is used by those in power, often through their media mouthpieces, to exploit and control the population at large, for power and particularly financial gain. This is indeed a timely issue, in the wake of the legitimately horrific COVID-19 pandemic, as well as recent political upheavals such as the BLM and "Capitol Riots," where angry protestors stormed the US Capitol Building following the defeat of Donald Trump in the 2020 election. Fear has been stoked a-plenty over the last year, by both parties, in a way and with a fervor I haven't personally experienced previously, even in the wake of 9/11. The tactics to which the author alludes even fifteen years ago are yet again front and center, however, so these methods are nothing new.
The first part of the book explores fear in general: it examines in some detail how it functions in higher order mammals, especially primates and humans, noting in particular how greatly it can affect a person's physical as well as their mental health, and certainly their outlook on life. The author notes the human tendency toward a pervasive anxiety over things which will invariably lead to death, such as dangerous diseases (which the media has stoked endlessly for nearly a year) and occasionally other catastrophes (weather, terrorism, economic depression), and the effects this can have on the human body, especially the brain and the immune system. A constant sense of dread and foreboding can have long-term physical repercussions, which is important to remember when facing a lethal virus, as fear and disease can result in an endless feedback cycle.
The succeeding chapters address artificially-induced fear by three primary entities: the government, the media, and big pharma, the latter-most playing on the public's fears of the "bug du jour" to shill their products, largely facilitated by the other two for power or profit. The best example herein: the author notes the case of the common antihistamine Claritin. When the patent expired, and the price dropped two-thirds, Schering, the manufacturer, developed a more potent version of the same thing... and began aggressively undercutting their own product through advertising and essentially lobbying doctors, billing the new version as the superior one, claiming that the former wasn't as effective, and had more side effects... even though it was essentially the same, and the same company had produced it; no one looks at who the manufacturer is, anyway.
One of the most egregious examples of this fear-for-profit came in the wake of the Anthrax fiasco, whereby the CDC began, in a highly-touted campaign, administering the highly-problematic antibiotic Cipro, at $300 for a month's supply. I personally recall seeing a well-known news anchor, in fact (either Peter Jennings or Tom Brokaw, one of those) stating, on air, holding up his pill bottle to the camera, "In Cipro We Trust." As the author notes, the Cipro manufacturer was "stoking this frenzy and playing into public hysteria by promoting the drug.... What the drug company was not telling either patient or doctor was that its usefulness for prevention was speculative. It had not been shown to work better than other cheaper antibiotics like doxycycline (at $30 for a month's supply) or even good old Penicillin." The result? "In the end, many more people got sick from the side effects of Cipro than from the noncontagious anthrax," including permanent, severely debilitating conditions such as severe tendon damage, including rupture. In fact, this class of medications is now considered so risky that it has been reclassified by the FDA as an antibiotic of last resort... and it had been used as a prophylactic.
It's honestly shocking to read this historical review of sorts, of the early 2000s, and to see the evolution, really, of how perverse media companies have increasingly sensationalized whatever they can find to drum up fear for ratings, in the wake of the then-nascent 24-hour news cycle. This has centered on, in particular, diseases: there was the Anthrax scare, then West Nile Virus, then a blip of a Smallpox scare, then SARS, MERS, the Killer Flu (Avian/H1N1), a tryst with Mad Cow Disease, and a seemingly endless parade of other pathogens, all of which have been with us since time immemorial. As the author notes, "The WHO had zoomed to the fore... but where was the same effort on behalf of the real killers, malaria and dengue, AIDS and schistosomiasis? And what about malnutrition? More people have died of hunger than of all these diseases combined. Public health attention to the latest potential killer instead of the known killers is not only an 'epidemic' of misinformation, it is also a form of politically expedient job justification." Quite on point.
So, what can be done? Realistically, I'm not sure. One answer is to hold the grotesque, attention-whoring media accountable and call them out, repeatedly and loudly, on their sensationalism. Similarly for politicians who fear-monger for their own benefit, and engage in systematic recalling or at least voting them out of office. I have to acknowledge, however, that the reality is, that stands little chance of happening any time soon, because fear is power, and those in power will continue to wield it to gain ever more control, it seems, to judge from what has occurred since this book was written. A final point, and on a personal note: although its exact context is disputed, the famous Benjamin Franklin quote comes to mind, here: “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Regardless of its original usage, I think that fits just fine.
I'm curious as to what the author would think of the current situation in which we find ourselves. In short, we have the ready stand-by solution to much of this problem of the Epidemic of Fear, at least at the level of the individual. This author-medical-doctor's prescription?
"Of course, one simple cure is to turn off the TV."
-------------Notable Passages-------------
"Amplification has been used repeatedly to hype potential contagions in the post-9/11 world, beginning with anthrax, in which the free-floating anxiety of 9/11 was transferred to a hysterical fear of our mail."
"Media obsession not only misinforms but also diverts attention from the real danger.... Misdirection means ignoring the fact that millions don't have health insurance and millions are malnourished."
"Leaders create fear around their central issues, making them seem more urgent than the things they're less interested in. Republicans create fear by saying Social Security will go bankrupt if they aren't allowed to fix it, and Democrats create fear by saying the Republic plan will just end social security altogether. Democrats create fear of guns, and Republicans tap into a fear that the government will take guns away from law-abiding citizens."
June 23, 2020
Published in 2004, this book has many salient points to make about our culture in general, but specifically the panic many people feel today about the "bug du jour," Covid 19. Dr Siegel covers how the influence of the media (it was written a little before social media became a big player in dissemination of information--which hasn't helped the situation) and the overreaction/underperformance of government agencies contribute to general fearfulness in our society.
Dr Siegel was in NYC on September 11, 2001, and was obviously affected greatly by the terror attacks. Unlike some other writers, he realistically examines the actual chance of being involved in a terror incident (very, very small) vs the fear of terrorism (much greater). He also looks at the Anthrax attacks of 2001 and other bug du jours in the years immediately after with an eye to putting risks in perspective.
One would hope medical people and lay people would both take the risks and realities of covid into consideration when setting forth their responses...one would hope...and not live in fear.
I did get a chuckle out of a chapter on cigarette smoking. He does not go over the well known risks of tobacco in detail, but he does spend several paragraphs on the dangers of second hand smoke. Almost as if he was trying to (what's the word? Oh yes) SCARE people about it. LOL
Recommended for anyone struggling with fear of 21st century life.
Dr Siegel was in NYC on September 11, 2001, and was obviously affected greatly by the terror attacks. Unlike some other writers, he realistically examines the actual chance of being involved in a terror incident (very, very small) vs the fear of terrorism (much greater). He also looks at the Anthrax attacks of 2001 and other bug du jours in the years immediately after with an eye to putting risks in perspective.
One would hope medical people and lay people would both take the risks and realities of covid into consideration when setting forth their responses...one would hope...and not live in fear.
I did get a chuckle out of a chapter on cigarette smoking. He does not go over the well known risks of tobacco in detail, but he does spend several paragraphs on the dangers of second hand smoke. Almost as if he was trying to (what's the word? Oh yes) SCARE people about it. LOL
Recommended for anyone struggling with fear of 21st century life.
April 13, 2012
Well I tend to agree with the overall point of view of the author, I didn't always agree with his analysis of the events that unfolded since 9/11, perhaps because as a CDC employee I am more sympathic to the work the agency does in risk communication. The book is very interesting as a view into a NYC doctors experiences dealing with his patients and his city's response to each "bug du jour"
March 15, 2020
This is an excellent explanation of how the media and government are masterful at manipulating populations with misinformation, hyperbole, and intimidation.
A must-read during this latest flu going around. It will re-open your mind and reveal the vulgar hyperbole and mass hysteria.
A must-read during this latest flu going around. It will re-open your mind and reveal the vulgar hyperbole and mass hysteria.
July 27, 2017
After I've read the chapter on mad cow disease (and how low the chance to contract it really is) I for some reason decided to become a vegetarian and stressed from my decision went out for a smoke :) This book is good, written maybe too much from a medical point of view (for my taste) and mentioning too many illnesses and "bugs du jour" but it really structures for you everything you see and hear online or on tv. And though written in 2005 it still rings true now. What happened to Ebola hype? Zika virus? Those were such hyped up breaking news 24/7 and suddenly they disappear from our screens and our memories. If anything this book will teach you to switch off your tv and stop obsessing over imminent death from some biochemical weapon, and instead start paying attention to what you eat and how you live.
February 15, 2018
Very clear and helpful book. We all risk our lives very slightly each day; driving a car, flying in a plane etc. The risk of death is low and we readily cope and go on with our lives. When our buttons are pushed (we have varying sensitivity) however we can be lead down a path of unnecessary fear proportion to true probabilities of harm to our person. Having these issues endemic to our culture intelligently examined and discussed is quite helpful but a book like this is not enough. We must be diligent in life’s learning process. Learning a bit more science and math every now and then will go a long way in helping us to not be so easily frightened. Anyone obsessed with fear would do well to give this book a read.
May 6, 2025
Concept, great. Execution, hard to read. I skimmed/skipped much of this because it was predominantly retellings of the mass hysteria events in our history and I found it tedious.
The takeaway I got from what I did read: fear is profitable and is killing us; the threats shown in media usually aren’t as bad as they seem and we get past the fear pretty quickly (e.g. swine flu) so it’s pretty pointless to glom onto the fear; the antidote for fear is courage; routine and simplicity will build courage.
The takeaway I got from what I did read: fear is profitable and is killing us; the threats shown in media usually aren’t as bad as they seem and we get past the fear pretty quickly (e.g. swine flu) so it’s pretty pointless to glom onto the fear; the antidote for fear is courage; routine and simplicity will build courage.
August 29, 2020
5 stars for it's pertinence to the covid fear in 2020. A must read for anyone dealing with our latest, and perhaps worst, fear pandemic of all time.
October 27, 2022
Informative as to how the media hypes up things and that our govt. Isn't always truthful either. This is why during covid we stopped watching the news.
August 30, 2012
This is a timely book. Backed up with facts and stats, he explains how the government, media, and big pharma are scaring us... on purpose. In the last twenty years, has there not been a "war" on something? Has the media not over-exposed an unrealistic threat? Have drug commercials not been placed and engineered not to make you feel like you are missing out?
Fear is a science about which those three know every scintilla.
The author's last chapter is a down-to-earth inoculation within everyone's grasp.
I highly recommend this book to everyone who can read.
Fear is a science about which those three know every scintilla.
The author's last chapter is a down-to-earth inoculation within everyone's grasp.
I highly recommend this book to everyone who can read.
February 8, 2025
“The spread of fear has reached epidemic proportions. The national media broadcast threats and warp our perspective. The sense of immediate danger is highly contagious”
This book was written 20 years ago, not long after 9/11. And I think it holds more true today than it did then. The book centers on fears we all have about many things.
An interesting read for sure.
This book was written 20 years ago, not long after 9/11. And I think it holds more true today than it did then. The book centers on fears we all have about many things.
An interesting read for sure.
November 30, 2007
Interesting book about fear and how it shapes political debate.
June 25, 2008
Very insightful!
April 30, 2009
Particularly relevant again with the swine flu going around.
March 27, 2016
Some really fascinating and believable theories.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews