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A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic Paperback – May 16, 2021
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Print length320 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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Publication dateMay 16, 2021
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Dimensions5.06 x 0.73 x 7.81 inches
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ISBN-101780667205
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ISBN-13978-1780667201
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Product details
- Publisher : Pinter & Martin (May 16, 2021)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1780667205
- ISBN-13 : 978-1780667201
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.06 x 0.73 x 7.81 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #595,505 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #972 in Medical Psychology Pathologies
- #1,617 in Popular Psychology Pathologies
- #2,293 in Medical General Psychology
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Laura Dodsworth is an author, journalist, photographer and commentator and has been described as a ‘latter-day punchy Cassandra’ and a ‘Slayer of Taboos’. She is the author of the two instant Sunday Times Bestsellers, 'Free Your Mind: The new world of manipulation and how to resist it' (2023) and 'A State of Fear: How the UK government weaponised fear during the Covid-19 pandemic’ (2021). Her previous books 'Bare Reality: 100 women, their breasts, their stories', 'Manhood: The Bare Reality' and 'Womanhood: The Bare Reality' attracted worldwide media coverage and excellent reviews. Laura and the creation of 'Womanhood' were the subject of a documentary for Channel 4, '100 Vaginas', which received 5 star reviews and has been broadcast around the world.
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Very deeply researched. Easy to read and extensively annotated.
Excellent work on a tough subject.
Laura Dodsworth is a voice in the wilderness, confronting the nonsensical scare tactics being employed about Covid, designed to keep us all cowering behind our sofas.
Compelling reading!
Top reviews from other countries
A desire to stimulate necessary debate, albeit inevitably toxic at times, is Dodsworth’s avowed intention, but she admits, sensibly, that “rational argument is only possible if the emotionality of a situation does not exceed a critical degree.” Dodsworth does an admirable job of demonstrating, with reference to some plum examples, just how far that “critical degree” of emotionality was exceeded during the COVID era.
A recurrent “Leitmotif” throughout the book is that of disproportionality in the government’s handling of COVID-19. Here Dodsworth shows that she has done her research thoroughly ; this book is not just a series of references to Wikipedia entries. She quotes in support of her criticisms the head of a self-harm research group at Nottinghamshire University, who slammed as “repugnant” the memorable “Don’t let a coffee cost lives” mantra. Most of us would not have known of the existence of such a research group. Dodsworth is clearly media-savvy, homing in on the power of the video, as against the written word, to frighten us into compliance with state directives. A video produced by Haringey council, advising that jogging alone in your local park WOULD (not might) spread the disease is singled out for particularly heavy criticism. Even under the most severe lockdown regimes, leaving your home for up to an hour a day to exercise in your local area was permitted!
Dodsworth doesn’t always see the wider picture in her criticism of the Johnson administration of the handling of COVID-19. She is rather quick to apply the label “autocratic thinking in disguise” to Matt Hancock’s previously expressed view that provision of services by the state to the people is a two-way street and that people have to take their share of responsibility, yet complains later about the lack of priority given to personal responsibility in the government’s narratives. So she laments the lack of priority given to something which she had previously slammed as “autocratic.” Is this not a little muddled? Was it not objectively reasonable to expect from individuals a degree of personal responsibility, in terms of not putting themselves needlessly in positions in which they could easily infect others, or become infected themselves? Whilst one can make an objective case for not making universal COVID vaccination compulsory (and Dodsworth does so very well), was it not incumbent on individuals to consider the choice to vaccinate very carefully, having regard to their own personal circumstances?
But to be fair, Dodsworth does provide solutions rather than merely heaping criticism on the government. For instance, she advocates, and provides credible evidence for, a targeted approach to vaccinations, albeit not mandatory ones, for over-50s and specific vulnerable categories. This, she says, would have eliminated 98% of the death risk and 85% of the serious illness risk associated with COVID, whilst not endangering the lives of those whose immune systems cannot handle the vaccine. A true anti-vaxxer would not offer such a measured viewpoint.
The most significant take-away from this book is the breathtaking double standards of the “zero-risk brigade,” those who want, among other things, zero road casualties, zero carbon emissions and, of course zero COVID, and who want them now, at zero cost to society, but only so long as they don’t affect their pet causes. Dodsworth criticises Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, for declaring solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protests just a week after branding anti-lockdown protests as “irresponsible.” She also mentions the truly frightening prospect of future climate change lockdowns, which make the COVID lockdowns seem very reasonable. These were mentioned at the 2022 G7 summit, to which many senior politicians were transported in pollution-generating aircraft. Kudos to Dodsworth for not glossing over such hypocrisy. She advocates “a little scepticism” towards the motives of those who rule us when they claim to have our best interests at heart, an excellent example of her skill in treading the middle path. Many would say that she was understating the point and that a lot of scepticism was advised. Conversely, a small minority of vaccine-obsessed hardliners would probably accuse her of inciting insurrection against the state. But Dodsworth is very adept at picking the right sources to support her position. She refers to Michael Gove, a prominent member of Johnson’s COVID-era cabinet, admitting to a likely extreme reluctance of government to hand back powers granted under emergency legislation once the causative emergency had passed. Getting your opponents to make your own case is always a good tactic ; Dodsworth employs it to good effect.
If A STATE OF FEAR were written as a thesis for a master’s degree in public health studies, Dodsworth would justifiably graduate with distinction and be a worthy candidate for the office of secretary of state for health. Not only has she undertaken her research in as constructive a manner as one could hope, she has generated an end product that is as balanced as one could ever expect a book about such an emotive topic to be. It deserves a five-star rating.