Why read Collision of Wills?

Book cover of Collision of Wills: How Ambiguity about Social Rank Breeds Conflict

Book description

Minor debts, derisive remarks, a fight over a parking space, butting in line-these are the little things that nevertheless account for much of the violence in human society. But why? Roger V. Gould considers this intriguing question in Collision of Wills. He argues that human conflict is more likely to…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Collision of Wills as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Jill Leovy

Author

Here’s a radical idea: let’s think deeply about murder. Let’s imagine that understanding why we fight and kill each other is as lofty an intellectual challenge as any other great, sweeping mystery of human nature or human origins.

Roger C. Gould never came out and said that a higher vision of murder was his purpose, but his book Collision of Wills achieves nothing less. It set a new bar for theorizing on human violence, and is a great, complex, and surprising tour de force about petty street violence.

If you're interested in lawlessness, Collision of Wills is indispensable, right up…

From Jill's list on escaping the true-crime rut.