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The Book of Phobias and Manias: A History of the World in 99 Obsessions

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The book is divided by the alphabet. I find that a tad disappointing because I would have liked them separated by category like in the introduction. That would have been much more helpful. Bonus phobia: arithmomania-the desire to count or preoccupation with math "but this one goes to 11" Phobias and manias are a great way to investigate the weirdness that is the human mind. Where do they come from? Why do they infect us so thoroughly? I can't say that I know the answer to these questions any better after reading this book, but I do have some interesting factoids that I can share at dinner parties (like I attend those . . .). Tetraphobia/Triskaidekaphobia - Fear of the number 4 and 13. Numbers only scare me when I have to do maths with them. Hydrophobia - Fear of water. This is a rabies-related fear, so no. I am irrationally afraid of getting rabies, however.

And then let’s not forget about the mania - we all remember beatlemania in the 60s bit what about oniomania (shopping), nymphomania (sex), plutomania (riches) and of course something we could all identify with - bibliomania (books)! Bonus phobia: koumpounophobia-fear of buttons Steve Jobs had this couldn’t stand keyboards and dress shirtsCynophobia - Fear of dogs. A friend of mine gets completely paralysed when she sees a dog. It seems an especially difficult fear in the modern world. I had this as a kid because my aunt & uncle's kuvasz dogs (an extremely large breed) ran over me when I was small. Acrophobia - Fear of heights. A lot of people I know have this, though they might overstate it. I thought I had this until I met actual people with actual fear of heights.

Ophidiophobia - Fear of snakes. Recently found out one of my cousins has this. Pretty understandable as far as phobias go. Informative, witty, and unique . . . Summerscale, author of The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher and other well-regarded books, lists 99 fears and compulsions, and the result is a peculiarly engaging book.” — Kirkus

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The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the sphere of suffering shared, and in this case extended to the death march itself, there is no spiritual or emotional legacy here to offset any reader reluctance. The repetition lies in the fact that most manias and phobias overlap, and often their mechanics and origins are very similar. Likewise, treatment is more often than not the same; e.g., exposure therapy to treat fears. Sometimes, you could see Summerscale struggling to add some originality to the entries - which, I'll admit, she thankfully did very well most of the time (every entry with a funny and/or extremely disturbing historical story about weird Victorians made my mornings a little bit better). It also helped that the book is gorgeous-looking, and contains lots of quirky illustrations (that might trigger some people that actually suffer from these fears and manias. Free therapy!). Mysophobia - Fear of defilement and contamination. Absolutely my dad, especially if excessive hand-washing counts towards this. Anschließend werden die einzelnen Obsessionen anhand von Fallbeispielen erläutert. Der Schreibstiel hat mir dabei sehr gut gefallen.

Esta completa obra consta de 312 páginas donde la autora recoge a modo de “diccionario” diferentes fobias y manías( un total de 99 aproximadamente)poniéndole así nombre a todo lo q nos asusta y obsesiona. Brontophobia - Fear of thunderstorms. This was a kid fear of mine. I thought it was meteorites falling down and we'd all die, like the dinosaurs. Here's my very professional assessment of the phobias and manias I, my friends, and/or family might have - and the ones I definitely don't have. Inspired by another reviewer: BEATLEMANIA: yes that's in the book. Although it typically comprises those teeny bloopers from the '60s it can also include the criers. I am that crier. That is all. hard-to-stop-reading histories . . . from the familiar (homophobia) to surprising fears of eggs, hair, silence and everything (pantophobia). Did you know that Oprah is afraid of balloons?”— Chicago Tribune

Tulipomania - Since I'm Dutch, it's probably lingering somewhere in my genes, ready to be triggered. Ich fand es sehr interessant zu lesen, dass viele Menschen unter denselben Ängsten leiden und man nicht allein mit seiner Angst ist. Erythrophobia - Fear of blushing. Teenage and early 20s me suffered this; sometimes I started blushing before talking to someone because I was afraid I would anyway. It doesn't help that I have that Northern European rosacea-prone skin. In einigen der beschriebenen Obsessionen habe ich mich persönlich wiedererkannt. Das Buch konnte mir dabei helfen, nicht nur meine eigenen Ängste besser zu verstehen, sondern auch die Ängste anderer.

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