Fear: An Alternative History of the World (Hardback)

Compelling An ambitious deep dive into history 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 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. Extraordinary. This exceptional and thought-provoking book sheds light on the intricate position fear occupies in the unavoidable realities of politics and our spiritual existence. We all know what fear is, but who amongst us have considered its history? Peckham is fear's astute historian-translator in this big, brave, honest, and learned book. He moves us back and forth across time and place, from fourteenth-century century plague to bombs in Afghanistan, in a profoundly human history of the politics of one emotion. It's gripping as well as uncomfortable reading, that shows us the stakes when fear and freedom are twinned Robert Peckham's deeply informed and lucidly staged anatomy of fear is a remarkable achievement. Peckham shapes a fundamentally transformative account of the sociology of fear - and of fear as a constitutive element of modern sociality itself. A groundbreaking study. Fascinating, compelling and erudite. I have written quite a lot about fear and the brain, but learned so much about fear itself from this book.