Book description
Colin Wilson tells the story of human violence from Peking Man to the Mafia - taking into account the calculated sadism of the Assyrians, the opportunism of the Greek pirates, the brutality that made Rome the ‘razor king of the Mediterranean’, the mindless destruction of the Vandals, the mass slaughter…
Why read it?
1 author picked A Criminal History of Mankind as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
A controversial author who I discovered in my twenties; I lapped up his non-fictional work.
This book is an in-depth investigation into the dark side of the human psyche. Wilson explores the psychology and history of criminality and violence, concluding with how that is manifested in what was then his ‘present day’.
Although first published in 1984, nearly forty years on his work is still pertinent. For me that stimulates many questions. Having just pulled it from my bookshelf, I think it is time I read it again.
Wilson covers his subject with focused attention and easy-to-understand detail. He encourages…
From E.I.'s list on candid insight into the human psyche.
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