Extremely enlightening - Rated 
Not only will this book make you think twice about the fear prevalent today on a whole range of issues, it will also equip you to understand how this has come about and what you can do to avoid being led down the same path.
The Fear Industrial Complex - Rated 
This being Dan Gardner's first book, I am thoroughly impressed. From the language he uses, you can detect in many instances his journalistic background. He starts of perfectly by introducing to us System One (intuitive, quick and emotional) and System Two (calculating, slow and rational). He progresses and simply refers to System One as 'Gut' (gut instinct) and System Two as 'Head'.
Without getting into too much detail, the overall conclusion of the book is that the System One side of our brain (gut instinct) is damaging to our rational thought processes. By following our ancestors' mindset and preferring to listen to stories rather than statistics, we become irrationally fearful of the wrong things and force the media to tell us irrelevant, albeit entertaining stories that subsequently induce fear into our minds. He outlines the dangers of becoming irrationally fearful from the very beginning, such as how 1,500 extra people were killed on the roads as a result of the fear of planes following 9/11 in America.
Some cases in the book seem ambiguous. For instance, it became somewhat confusing as he, within the space of 15 pages, contradicts himself very clearly. On page 83 he talks about how the human mind responds to the presentation of statistics. He mentions how humans do not respond emotionally to `percentages' the same way they respond to absolute figures. "Whats a `per cent'? Can I see a `per cent'? Can I touch it? No. But '20 out of every 100 patients' is very concrete and real" he mentions on page 83. On page 98 he then writes "Even saving `85 per cent of 150 lives' garnered more support than saving 150 lives. The explanation lies in the lack of feeling we have for the number 150. It's vaguely good, because it represents people's lives, but it's abstract. We can't picture 150 lives and so we don't feel 150 lives. We can feel proportions however." It's these few lines that I find contradicting in the book.
Overall though, the book is very insightful, if not a bit verbose, and witty. Gardner reminds the reader of the incentives to invoke fear in every area of society. He covers a wide range of areas, from psychology, sociology and biology which make the book even more unique and a thoroughly enjoyable read. It leaves you slightly more incredulous and forces you to question any news story, or politician that even slightly plays to your fears; Rudy `9/11' Giuliani....I'm looking at you.
Puts everything back into perspective! - Rated
From how our prehistoric brain assesses risk and copes with modern life, to the impact that the modern media has upon our subconscious... This book is fascinating and a must-read. Although this is not a long book, it would have been an even better read had it been more concise... Perhaps 100 pages fewer, as I found it lost pace at points. However, don't let this put you off what is a great book and a real eye opener to the way in which we assess risks without realising.
OK, but a bit ponderous - Rated 
If you are new to books that challenge the current popular panicky pseudo scientific world view, then this one may be for you. Although it is well written however it got a bit repetetive and tedious in my view after a bit and could have been condensed down to half its size. The subject matter is of course hugely imporant.
Don't Be Scared - Rated
A really interesting and thought provoking read by the prize winning journalist. On page after page one realises quite how ridiculous some of our fears are. There is no factual basis to the idea that these are uniquely dangerous times. In fact, the evidence points to the opposite.
I remember a while back reading a comment in The Guardian newspaper after a child abduction story broke. The comment contained a fact I often like to repeat to people: In 20 years, the rate of child murder by strangers has remained pretty much the same level. And yet, in the same period, the fear has been ratcheted up to a remarkable degree. Adults are scared to let children play out on their own, even though they possibly went out and played in a time when they were even more at risk. I mean really, when you think about it, how many major child abduction cases do you hear in a year? 1? 2? Not many I suspect. And yet the media creates a vision of a country in which children are abducted on a regular basis.
Gardner comes up with many examples of the exaggeration of risk and the threats that are posed. Take, for example, the 'threat' of Islamic terrorism. There have been many examples of alleged terrorist activity by white, non-Muslims, and yet they have not been reported. Why? Because they do not fit the current narrative. If they were Islamic, every single one would be headline news. They aren't, so it's not.
Another example is the case of children being kidnapped in America. According to the statistics, of the 797,500 children under the age of 18 that go missing every year, only 115 are due to child kidnapping. 115! That means, as Gardener points out, that a child under 18 in America has a 0.00016% chance of being kidnapped. A figure that, according to the insurance industry, is so low it is zero.
One other example to mull over....Despite the rhetoric regarding terrorism, terrorist attacks have actually been declining ever since the end of the Cold War. According to one body that tracks international terrorism, if you take out the Middle East and South Asia, terrorism has continued to decline since 1991. The threat to us in the West has actually declined, despite the attacks of September 11th.
Although I don't agree with everything in the book, Gardner makes a very convincing case. I would seriously recommend this to anyone interested in how governments and corporations play (and profit) on our fears to an alarming degree. A fascinating read. Just remember: there is nothing to fear but fear itself.
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