Mark Stein

press release: On some level, nearly every American falls victim to political panic, and the hype, intensity and propaganda that come with it. Such panics have been occurring among Americans since the 1692 Salem witch hunt, and they have continued in a number of forms, and with various targets. Mark Stein, author of the wildly popular How the States Got Their Shapes, traces this fascinating, frightening, and recurring by-product of the American psyche in his new book, American Panic: A History of Who Scares Us and Why.