I nominate.."The Science of Fear: Why We Fear the Things We Shouldn't--and Put Ourselves in Greater Danger".. by Daniel Gardner
Reviews
"Where writers such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Francis Wheen have been content largely to enumerate the errors of less rational men and women, Dan Gardner has collated part of what we need to diagnose the problem. If skeptics spent less time moaning about the propensity of their fellows to believe what they want to believe and more time asking why they do so, there might not be such a crisis of reason in the West today.”
--The Independent
“Excellent…. analyses everything from the media’s predilection for irrational scare stories to the cynical use of fear by politicians pushing a particular agenda…. Gardner never falls into the trap of becoming frustrated and embittered by the waste and needless worry that he is documenting. A personal anecdote about an unwise foray into a Nigerian slum in search of a stolen wallet disposes of the idea that the author is immune to the foibles he describes. What could easily have been a catalogue of misgovernance and stupidity instead becomes a cheery corrective to modern paranoia.”
--The Economist
An invaluable resource for anyone who aspires to think clearly.”
--The Guardian “Elegantly summarises the results of psychological research … Gardner is forensic in his dissection of bogus claims in advertising and politics, just as he is lucid about the science explaining why they work.”
--The Observer
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Science-Fear-Sh ... 0525950621
P: I loved this book for a many reasons, all of which stem from the fact that it validated a lot of my otherwise unsubstantiated opinions of modern politics and media, and why so many people with half a brain feel so disaffected by them both. I also loved it because it spoke a lot about the actual science behind the psychology of fear. It's always a pleasure to me when a book I read lives up to its title.