Stress: A Brief History is a lively, accessible, and detailed examination of the origins of the field of stress research. First concise, accessible, academically grounded book on the origins of the concept of stress.Explores different theories and models of stress such as the psychosomatic approach, homeostasis, and general adaptation syndrome.Discusses the work and intriguing contributions of key researchers in the field such as Walter Cannon, Hans Selye, Harold Wolff, and Richard Lazarus.Explains the origins of key concepts in stress such as stressful life events, the coronary-prone personality, and appraisals and coping.Culminates in a discussion of what makes a good theory and what obligations stress researchers have to those whose working lives they study.


Cary L. Cooper is Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at the Manchester School of Management. He is the author of over 100 books, as well as senior co-editor of the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Management (12 volumes, with Chris Argyris). He has been an advisor to the World Health Organisation, two UN bodies, and the International Labor Organisation. Philip Dewe is Professor of Organizational Behaviour and Head of the Organizational Psychology Department at Birkbeck College. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including Organizational Stress (with Cary L. Cooper and Michael P. O’Driscoll, 2001) and Coping, Health and Organisations (edited with Tom Cox and Michael Leiter, 2000).