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This lively-written book offers numerous instances of panic which occurred among soldiers and civilians during wars. Intended for the general reader, the essay does not give detailed analyses of the recorded cases of mass panic as would a technical scientific discussion. “One speaks of panic when a dangerous occurrence causes a spontaneous, disorganizing reaction in the individual or the community. The socially important factor is the sudden reaction, the decomposing effect, the disintegration of the social formation or the individuality which results.” The author, however, quotes a number of social phenomena which do not fit his or other definitions of panic, e.g., the children's crusades in the middle ages or the reactions of the starved civilian population in Russia when food finally arrived. The great variety of the causation, development (factors contributing to panics, or reducing them), and outcome of panics is well illustrated by the author. He makes the reader keenly aware of the great complexity, irrationality, and power of panics. Attempts at a theoretical explanation are limited and tentative. Meerloo points out that not all people respond to panic in the same way. Some react even with “a shivering exaltation” which “produces for a short moment the ecstatic feeling of power.” The political background, facilitating or preventing latent panic, as well as the immediate causes releasing it, are briefly discussed. According to the author, democratic government, freely accepted discipline, political freedom and personal responsibility are the best immunizers against latent panic, while terror and dictatorship—as long as it does not waver—“makes the masses docile and dependent by lulling the people and keeping them in a constant grip of fear” which prevents, or at least delays, the outbreak of mass panic. This book is an entertaining collection of stories about the gruesome effects of intense fear upon mass behavior.
Piotrowski