Yale to publish 'groundbreaking' exploration of xenophobia

Yale University Press London will publish American psychiatrist and historian George Makari’s Of Fear and Strangers: A History of Xenophobia, which will put timely issues of inclusivity and racism into a broader context and explain the history of xenophobia. 

The book was inspired by Makari’s visit to London on the eve of the Brexit vote in 2016, when he was promoting his book Soul Machine: The Invention of the Modern Mind (W W Norton). He later began to research the origins of xenophobia and discovered that, although fear and hatred of strangers may be ancient, the notion of the dangerous bias we now call xenophobia arose far more recently. According to the publisher, Makari’s "groundbreaking" work will help readers comprehend the new kind of xenophobia society now faces.

Senior commissioning editor Jo Godfrey acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Jessica Bullock at The Wylie Agency. Publication is slated for 24th August 2021. 

Godfrey commented: "I am really excited to be bringing George Makari to the Yale list – Of Fear and Strangers is an extremely wide-ranging, authoritative account of an urgent issue."