Stress: A Brief History is a lively, accessible, and detailed examination of the origins of the field of stress research. This is the first concise, accessible, academically grounded book on the origins of the concept of stress. It explores different theories and models of stress such as the psychosomatic approach, homeostasis, and general adaptation syndrome. The book 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; and, culminates in a discussion of what makes a good theory and what obligations stress researchers have to those whose working lives they study.