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Humanity
Oct 7, 2024 10:14 AM

Author:Jonathan Glover

Humanity

This book is about history and morality in the twentieth century. It is about the psychology which made possible Hiroshima, the Nazi genocide, the Gulag, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Pol Pot's Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and many other atrocities.

In modern technological war, victims are distant and responsibility is fragmented. The scientists making the atomic bomb thought that they were only providing a weapon: how it was used was to be the responsibility of society. The people who dropped the bomb were only obeying orders. The machinery of the political decision-taking was so complex that no one among the politicians was unambiguously responsible. No one thought of themselves as causing the horrors of Hiroshima.

Jonathan Glover examines tribalism: how, in Rwanda and in the former Yugoslavia, people who once lived together became trapped into mutual fear and hatred. He investigates how, in Stalin's Russia, Mao's China and in Cambodia, systems of belief made atrocities possible. The analysis of Nazism explores the emotionally powerful combination of tribalism and belief which enabled people to commit acts otherwise unimaginable.

Drawing on accounts of participants, victims and observers, Jonathan Glover shows that different atrocities have common patterns which suggest weak points in our psychology. The resulting picture is used as a guide for the ethics we should create if we hope to overcome them. The message is not one of pessimism or despair: only by looking closely at the monsters inside us can we undertake the project of caging and taming them.

Reviews

Superbly argued, and always accessible, Humanity is an essential guide to modern catastrophe. Few books interrogate our recent moral history so directly or profoundly, or provide such a civilized analysis of the never-ending atrocity exhibition.

—— Ian Thomson , Independent on Sunday

Jonathan Glover's Humanity deserves classic status and the widest readership.

—— Edward Pearce , History Today

A stimulating new book... written with understanding and exceptional lucidity... Glover's analysis is thoughtful and penetrating.

—— Noel Malcolm , Sunday Telegraph

Highly readable and accomplished.

—— Bryan Appleyard , Sunday Times

A book which as many people as possible ought to read... An indispensable work of reference.

—— Samuel Brittan , Prospect

A delightful, intelligent, and thought-provoking addition to the growing body of our sexual knowledge of self

—— Publishers Weekly

Jesse Bering is the Hunter S. Thompson of science writing, and he is a delight to read - funny, smart, and madly provocative.

—— Professor Paul Bloom, Yale University

A colourful romp through psychology, philosophy and popular culture.

—— New Humanist

A balanced and considered approach to this often inflammatory topic.

—— Nature

A colorful romp through psychology, philosophy and popular culture.

—— New Humanist

Witty... [Bering] employs examples and analogies that make his arguments seem like common sense rather than the hard-earned scientific insights they really are.

—— New Scientist

Prof Mischel argues that individuals can be taught self-control with persistence and a number of practical techniques ... [and] such skills are increasingly valuable.

—— The Financial Times

A picaresque journey through the human psyche - one in which the detours are at least as fascinating as the destination.

—— Mail on Sunday

This book is best read as a memoir of gratification ... it is a fascinating read and a considerable achievement.

—— The Economist

Mischel's insights are fascinating and rewarding.

—— Sunday Telegraph

Rising stars of 2015: one to watch

—— Guardian

Using a series of fascinating case studies as a framework, Dr O’Sullivan skillfully weaves the historical understanding, and misunderstanding, of functional illness into a series of narratives that are moving and thought provoking.

—— Adam Staten , British Journal of General Practice

A sympathetic, insightful study of psychosomatic illness

—— Charlie Hegarty , Catholic Herald

An excellent study of psychosomatic disorders

—— Stuart Kelly , Scotland on Sunday

Fascinating foray into the subject of how mental factors affect our health.

—— Simon Shaw , Mail on Sunday

Her Book, shortlisted for the 2016 Wellcome prize, describes case histories…with precision and compassion.

—— Jane Shilling , Daily Mail

It’s not only a beautifully written book…it’s also a book to start a revolution in healthcare.

—— Helen Rumbelow , The Times

Humane and deeply sympathetic.

—— Jane Shilling , Daily Telegraph

Impressively vivid and sympathetic argument for the reality of the mind’s more harrowing inventions.

—— Brian Dillon , Irish Times

A compassionate, honest and compelling read.

—— Lady

She mixes an easily accessible vocabulary with complex medical terms, something which I found both enjoyable and informative… Ultimately I found this book quite fascinating… I would recommend this book, which contains some hard hitting and highly personal stories.

—— Independent Nurse

A great immersion in psychosomatic problems… If you want to get a head-on feeling for the clinical experience of psychosomatic patients, read this book.

—— Edward Shorter , British Medical Journal

[A] controversial but utterly compassionate memoir.

—— Damian Barr , Guardian

It is as addictive as a great box set makes you rethink some of your closest relationships and wonder about some of the people you know best; and above all, like all truly great book it is about love and compassion.

—— Sathnam Sanghera , The Times, Book of the Year

Epstein is too respectful of the complexity of his subject matter to leap to any grand conclusions. The book was conceived partially as a rebuttal to glib theorising, and it is all the more fascinating as a result

—— Ken Early , Irish Times

Fascinating from start to finish

—— Amanda Khouv , Women's Fitness

Epstein forces us to rethink the very nature of athleticism

—— GrrlScientist , Guardian

Looks at the science of extraordinary athletic performance.

—— Adam Whitehead , Daily Telegraph

Captivating… Dazzling and illuminating

—— Richard Moore , Guardian

Epstein is not afraid to follow science in “trekking deep into the bramble patches of sensitive topics like gender and race"

—— Choice

Captivating… In a particularly fascinating chapter, Epstein investigates an old theory that purports to explain why Jamaica produces so many Olympic sprinters

—— Christie Ashwanden , Scotsman
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