I have to say I was disappointed in this book. The topic and approach of the author is great, but the analysis I found to be rather superficial. The author also plays down the active role that political forces on the right in the US have played historically in hyping threats. The chapters on the history of attitudes towards safety of children, and the current hysteria over child safety, is one of his targets. Stearns also points to what I find obvious: the effect of many of the measures supposedly taken to make us safer actually makes us more afraid. ( )