Outbreak! The Encyclopedia of Extraordinary Social Behavior

by Robert E. Bartholomew

$38.95

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Author: Robert E. Bartholomew

Publisher: Anomalist Books

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 1933665254
ISBN 13: 978-1933665252

Hardcover:
ISBN 10: 1938398459
ISBN 13: 978-1938398452

From fads, crazes, and manias to collective delusions, scares, panics, and mass hysterias, history is replete with examples of remarkable social behavior. Many are fueled by fear and uncertainty; others are driven by hope and expectation. For others still, the causes are more obscure. This massive collection of extraordinary social behaviors spans more than two millennia, and attempts to place many of the episodes within their greater historical and cultural context. Perhaps the most well known example of unusual collective behavior occurred in 1938, when a million or more Americans were frightened or panicked after listening to a realistic radio drama about a Martian invasion of New Jersey, based on an adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel "War of the Worlds." Less known but equally remarkable scares based on Wells' book occurred in Chile in 1944 (when Army units were mobilized), in Ecuador in 1949 (when riots broke out, leaving more than a dozen dead), as well as in Buffalo in 1968, Rhode Island in 1974, and Europe in 1988 and 1998. The modern civilized world is by no means immune to such peculiar episodes. In the late 20th century, scores of people in the U.S. and Europe were wrongly incarcerated following claims of Satanic ritual abuse by authorities untutored in False Memory Syndrome. This episode recalls the European witch terror of the late Middle Ages, when innocent people were tortured and executed for consorting with the Devil based on the flimsiest of evidence. OUTBREAK! THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EXTRAORDINARY SOCIAL BEHAVIOR is an authoritative reference on a broad range of topics: collective behavior, deviance, social and perceptual psychology, sociology, history, folklore, religious studies, political science, social anthropology, gender studies, critical thinking, and mental health. Never before have so many sources been brought together on the mesmerizing topic of collective behavior.

Review

"...an absorbing and authoritative read and an extremely valuable reference for anyone interested in the field of psychosomatic medicine."

- Keith Petrie, Professor of Psychological Medicine, University of Auckland

"Outbreak! is a treasure trove for cultural psychiatrists... The book contains a phenomenal 2880 citations, a great many of which are original sources... It's a terrific reference book and I heartily recommend it."

- Amando Favazza M.D.,, Emeritus Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Missouri-Columbia

"...looks set to become the definitive reference work of our age on bizarre collective delusions and mass hysteria."

- Professor Chris French, Goldsmiths, University of London

...this Encyclopedia is an essential work...

The large choice of nineteenth century French studies, mostly medical, of visions and apparitions is especially notable.

-Véronique Campion-Vincent, Paris, Maison des Sciences de L'Homme

"...quite possibly the most important contribution to the world of Forteana... in a very long time...

...The book is indeed scholarly; but it is also highly informative, insightful, illuminating and witty.

- Nick Redfern, Best-selling author

From the Publisher

"I was incredibly impressed. A remarkable and surprising collection of social behaviors that demonstrates how quickly we humans make the bizarre seem normal when we huddle together in groups. Both compelling and complete...an Aladdin's cave of social curiosities drawn from rigorous research. I can't think of any book that is a more complete guide to the oddities of human social history." - Vaughan Bell, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Department of Psychiatry, Universidad de Antioquia

"In this encyclopedic guide to the wilder shores of collective behavior, Evans and Bartholomew explore unusual social movements and what seem otherwise inexplicable outbreaks of collective behaviors. The result is a work of immense erudition and scholarship but also a thumping good read. I read it on a plane, and found that my companions in the seats either side of me were as engrossed as I was..." - Simon Wessely, Chair and Head of the Department of Social Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London

"An extraordinary compilation of approximately 340 incidents of collective behavior spread over many countries on all continents, encompassing a time span of centuries. It is, without any doubt, the most ambitious undertaking of its sort, with entries ranging from the Children's Crusades to the Chilean Martian Panic, from Cyber Ghost Scares to the Popish Plot...an excellent resource for library references as well as for college-level teachers of collective behavior." - Benigno Aguirre, Professor of Sociology, University of Delaware

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An authoritative reference on a broad range of topics.

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Outbreak! The Encyclopedia of Extraordinary Social Behavior