{"product_id":"9781472984661","title":"Scared to Death : From BSE to Coronavirus: Why Scares are Costing Us the Earth","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eScared to Death\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Christopher Booker, Richard North\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNewly revised and updated in the light of COVID-19\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor most of the latter part of the last century, and the early part of this, Britain has been assailed by a succession of 'scares', from salmonella and eggs to BSE, from the Millennium Bug to bird flu, from DDT to passive smoking, from asbestos to global warming. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThese scares have become one of the most conspicuous and damaging features of our modern world, so much so that as we entered the third decade of the new century, our senses had become so blunted that we scarcely recognised the real thing for what it was, until it arrived – COVID-19, for which we were almost completely unprepared.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe authors analyse the crucial roles of the different factions who perpetrated the scares: from the scientists who misread or manipulated the evidence to the media and lobbyists who eagerly promoted scares without regard to the consequences, and the politicians and officials who came up with absurdly disproportionate responses, leaving us to pay a colossal price.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this updated edition, \u003ci\u003eScared to Death\u003c\/i\u003e not only presents a detailed account of the scares that have dominated our society for the past 50 years – through all of which the authors lived – but also examines the background to the COVID-19 pandemic, tracing our lack of preparedness to its roots and then assessing, by way of contrast, why this is the real thing, as opposed to the succession of scares that we have experienced.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Every politician, every journalist, every consumer of journalism should read, mark and inwardly digest this book” —\u003ci\u003eMail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This is a huge book in size, scope and importance. Anyone who reads it will find it hard to disagree with the authors' conclusion.” —\u003ci\u003eThis England\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A highly valuable and much needed investigation into the 'crisis industry' in which pressure groups and journalists work together to keep us entertained with a succession of 'crises'.” —\u003ci\u003eContemporary Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9781472984661\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Bloomsbury Continuum","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback","offer_id":40816840212686,"sku":"9781472984661","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/getimage_484b2d45-208c-4fb7-86a6-7f57d2efd2d5.jpg?v=1642843996","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9781472984661","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}