The Two Faces of Fear: Violence and Inequality in the Mexican Metropolis, Oxford University Press, 2024. By Ana Villarreal

Over the past two decades, increased criminal and state violence has profoundly transformed everyday life in Mexico. The book draws on two years of qualitative fieldwork conducted during a major turf war in Monterrey, Mexico to trace the far-reaching impact of fear and violence on social ties, daily practices, and everyday spaces. Villarreal brings two seemingly contradictory faces of fear into focus--its ability to both isolate and concentrate people and resources, deepening inequality. The book puts forth a new approach to the study of emotion and provides tangible evidence of how quickly fear worsens inequality beyond Mexico and the "war on drugs. This book addresses, among other topics, the impact a sudden increase in violence and fear can have on work, workplaces, relations between workers and employers, separation of home and work.