The Book of Phobias and Manias

Fascinating ... Summerscale uses the same talent for elaborating on psychological tics that made her non-fiction thriller The Suspicions Of Mr. Whicher a top bestseller * Mail on Sunday *
This fascinating compendium traces phobias and manias through their rich social, cultural and medical history -- Hannah Beckerman * Observer *
An endlessly intriguing book * Daily Mail *
Magnificent -- Marcus Berkmann
Thought-provoking, eloquent and entertaining * Fortean Times *
Endlessly fascinating. It's a tantalising glimpse into the labyrinth of the human unconscious -- The Tablet
Amusing and oddly unsettling * The Times *
Fascinating ... Phobias and manias create a magical space between us and the world -- Malcolm Gaskill, author of the No. 1 bestseller The Ruin of All Witches
We are all, in some way or other, plagued by fears and desires beyond our control ... Fascinating, beautifully written and thoroughly researched * Irish Times *
Thought-provoking and such fun -- Ian Mortimer, bestselling author of The Time Traveller's Guides
A fascinating book -- David Crystal
A new book from Summerscale is always a treat. She does vast amounts of research, and then manages to let go of it, and take flight in prose that is both forensic and conversational ... Her sub-title - 'A History of the World in 99 Obsessions' - might echo Neil MacGregor, but this reads more like a book by Oliver Sacks, with dashes of Roald Dahl * Spectator *
An intriguing guide to human fixations * Guardian *
Fascinating... Exquisitely detailed and consistently insightful, this is an entertaining guide to humanity's compulsions * Publishers Weekly *
99 hard-to-stop-reading histories ... from the familiar (homophobia) to surprising fears of eggs, hair, silence and everything (pantophobia) * Chicago Tribune *
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 *