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Description of Scared to Death |
From salmonella in eggs to BSE, from the Millennium Bug to bird 'flu, from DDT to passive smoking, from asbestos to global warming, 'scares' have become one of the most conspicuous and damaging features of our modern world. This book for the first time tells the inside story of each of the major scares of the past two decades, showing how they have followed a remarkably consistent pattern.It analyses the crucial role played in each case by scientists who have misread or manipulated the evidence; by the media and lobbyists who eagerly promote the scare without regard to the facts; and finally by the politicians and officials who come up with an absurdly disproportionate response, leaving us all to pay a colossal price, which may run into billions or even hundreds of billions of pounds. This book culminates in a chillingly detailed account of the story behind what it shows has become the greatest scare of them all: the belief that the world faces disaster through man-made global warming. In an epilogue the authors compare our credulity in falling for scares to mass-hysterias of previous ages such as the post-mediaeval 'witch craze', describing our time as a 'new age of superstition'.
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Contents of Scared to Death |
The examples analysed, with an introduction and conclusions, includes six food scares, leading on to four of a more general nature;
- Salmonella in eggs
- Listeria
- BSE
- E Coli
- The Belgian Dioxin scare
- Nitrates
- Asbestos
- Speed Can Kill
- Global Warming
- Passive Smoking
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About Christopher Booker and Richard North |
Christopher Booker was one of the founders of Private Eye and its first editor. He has a weekly column in the Sunday Telegraph and a regular column in The Daily Mail. He has published several books including The Neophiliacs (Harper Collins), The Mad Officials (Constable), and Castle of Lies (Duckworth). Richard North is a political analyst who has been a research director in the European Parliament, and was formerly a nationally known consultant on public health and food safety.
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