The Book of Phobias and Manias Audiobook By Kate Summerscale cover art

The Book of Phobias and Manias

A History of Obsession

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The Book of Phobias and Manias

By: Kate Summerscale
Narrated by: Stephanie Racine
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From the winner of the Edgar Award and the Samuel Johnson Prize, a cultural history of “everyday madness”

The Book of Phobias and Manias is a thrilling compendium of 99 obsessions that have shaped us all, the rare and the familiar, from ablutophobia (a horror of washing) to syllogomania (a compulsion to hoard) to zoophobia (a fear of animals).

Phobias and manias are deeply personal experiences, and among the most common anxiety disorders of our time, but they are also clues to our shared past. The award-winning author Kate Summerscale uses rich and riveting case studies to trace the origins of our obsessions, unearthing a history of human strangeness, from the middle ages to the present day, and a wealth of explanations for some of our most powerful aversions and desires.

©2022 Kate Summerscale (P)2022 Penguin Audio Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Mental Health
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Whether you suffer from a phobia or mania or not, this book will provide you with both entertainment and information. The author does not just list these afflictions, but she examines closely the ones that affect the most people as well as some of the stranger ones. You will find information—including a history of the term, statistics, cultural differences, and relevant case studies on hoarding, fear of the number 4, hair plucking, and a fear of being buried alive, to name just a few. The performance is very well done. I enthusiastically recommend!

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