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rymdkejsaren's review against another edition
2.0
Well. I am changing my review of this after having read about half of Rutger Bregman's Humankind, a Hopeful History. Although Better Angels still contains a lot of interesting information, some of it which no doubt still holds water, I would be dubious about trusting anything that man has written outside of this field considering the egregious errors and oversights he made with his data collection for this book.
It seems that for all he's such an ardent proponent of reason, he has yet to learn the difference between reason and rationalisation. Do better, Steven Pinker.
It seems that for all he's such an ardent proponent of reason, he has yet to learn the difference between reason and rationalisation. Do better, Steven Pinker.
marysasala's review against another edition
5.0
This is my 2nd Pinker book. It’s terribly dense and technical. Obviously it took me 6 weeks to read it. But is life changing. His systematic way of showing how the world is less violent is amazing. It makes one very grateful for the time we live.
emonhendu's review against another edition
5.0
This book kept coming up as a reference in several podcasts I listen to. At first I was skeptical about the premise, that despite everything we see, hear, or read violence on every level is the lowest it's been in human history. The people repeating Dr. Pinker's claims are all people whose opinions I admire and respect, who rarely steer me wrong on social, scientific, or statistical reporting.
So after hearing so much about it I undertook the task of reading this mighty tome (my copy is 696 pages, plus notes and index). I cannot recommend it enough. Dr. Pinker tells a story of humanity that is disturbing in its darkness but hopeful across the range of research, findings, and reporting from the many sources referenced throughout to the denouement that, overall, life is indeed less bloody, bestial, and inhumane than at any other point in history. And there is little reason to believe the trend will not continue.
This book was published in 2012, so there were several times when reading that I wanted to reach out to the good professor and ask him how these findings hold up in the wake of the recent spread of Trumperism, American nationalism, evangelical and southern U.S. theocratic political activism, mass shootings and other ideological viruses spreading across the U.S. and other parts of the world.
Overall, though, I think the message of this book stands.
So after hearing so much about it I undertook the task of reading this mighty tome (my copy is 696 pages, plus notes and index). I cannot recommend it enough. Dr. Pinker tells a story of humanity that is disturbing in its darkness but hopeful across the range of research, findings, and reporting from the many sources referenced throughout to the denouement that, overall, life is indeed less bloody, bestial, and inhumane than at any other point in history. And there is little reason to believe the trend will not continue.
This book was published in 2012, so there were several times when reading that I wanted to reach out to the good professor and ask him how these findings hold up in the wake of the recent spread of Trumperism, American nationalism, evangelical and southern U.S. theocratic political activism, mass shootings and other ideological viruses spreading across the U.S. and other parts of the world.
Overall, though, I think the message of this book stands.
bupdaddy's review against another edition
5.0
I know people advise taking Pinker with a grain of salt, and I'm not, to tell the truth, up on all the reasons he's not supposed to be paid attention to, but this book is amazing.
Pretend that the book is anonymous, and just critically examine the arguments and evidence presented.
This book cheered me up in Covid pandemic world. As the worse angels of America's nature got a lot of attention and traction, Pinker's examination of the long view shows that we are headed to a better place.
The twentieth century invented genocide, right? Well, no. The twentieth century was the time humans finally acknowledged it exists, and shouldn't be tolerated, even in war.
WWII was the deadliest war in history, right? Well, your odds of living through WWII were much higher than for many other wars; in other words, per capita the death rate was not an outlier. In fact, overall, wars are getting less dangerous. Invasions and conquering of other nations is becoming less frequent.
Human rights are increasing.
It's easy to focus on what's wrong, but a careful examination (and really, Pinker takes no shortcuts) shows that, you must admit it's getting better. It's getting better all the time.
Pretend that the book is anonymous, and just critically examine the arguments and evidence presented.
This book cheered me up in Covid pandemic world. As the worse angels of America's nature got a lot of attention and traction, Pinker's examination of the long view shows that we are headed to a better place.
The twentieth century invented genocide, right? Well, no. The twentieth century was the time humans finally acknowledged it exists, and shouldn't be tolerated, even in war.
WWII was the deadliest war in history, right? Well, your odds of living through WWII were much higher than for many other wars; in other words, per capita the death rate was not an outlier. In fact, overall, wars are getting less dangerous. Invasions and conquering of other nations is becoming less frequent.
Human rights are increasing.
It's easy to focus on what's wrong, but a careful examination (and really, Pinker takes no shortcuts) shows that, you must admit it's getting better. It's getting better all the time.
master_wanderer's review against another edition
5.0
Holy cow this was a book that took about 3 years of on again, off again reading.
I finally started it again in earnest a few months ago and, while it is certainly a slog at times, I have basically been thinking about the ideas within the whole time.
It's profound at times and obvious at others but the argument it lays out is nearly always compelling. I would say my only real complaints are internal - I wish I had been taking notes because it's so dense that I feel like I missed half of it after I finished. There is so much here that I think it becomes a bit confusing for the reader. I know that Pinker lays out 6 stages of historical declines in violence, 5 causes of violence, and 4 causes of pacification. What are they? Let me run to wikipedia real quick...
It becomes a frustrating experience to argue Pinker's thesis on his behalf because I forget the stats and then someone goes, "What about the Rwandan Genocide?" And I go, "I don't know, but I know that he addressed that and had a great response!" which doesn't make for a compelling argument.
Overall, a book to consume carefully, with plenty of post-its and time to think.
I finally started it again in earnest a few months ago and, while it is certainly a slog at times, I have basically been thinking about the ideas within the whole time.
It's profound at times and obvious at others but the argument it lays out is nearly always compelling. I would say my only real complaints are internal - I wish I had been taking notes because it's so dense that I feel like I missed half of it after I finished. There is so much here that I think it becomes a bit confusing for the reader. I know that Pinker lays out 6 stages of historical declines in violence, 5 causes of violence, and 4 causes of pacification. What are they? Let me run to wikipedia real quick...
It becomes a frustrating experience to argue Pinker's thesis on his behalf because I forget the stats and then someone goes, "What about the Rwandan Genocide?" And I go, "I don't know, but I know that he addressed that and had a great response!" which doesn't make for a compelling argument.
Overall, a book to consume carefully, with plenty of post-its and time to think.
wonder_kinder's review against another edition
4.0
i recommend this book to anyone who wants to discuss violence and terror in the modem age. although long, the amount of time it covers is long and deserving of the attention to detail Pinker gives it. it definitely press the current state of affairs into perspective, whilst giving a good foundation for his reasoning as to why. while wordy at points, he ensures you're full understanding of the point he's making. well done.
minimalmike's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.5
Very informative book. My major critique is that it was too verbose and could've been shorter without losing anything of major value to the casual reader.
becca_g_powell's review against another edition
5.0
This book was fascinating. Although the thesis is somewhat limited (violence in the world is at an all-time low), it is meticulously thorough and so ubiquitous that it seems to encompass an entire world view, very persuasively I might add. The history and research is fascinating, and Steven Pinker is an incredible writer. I would have to stop every few pages and reread just because his sentences are such a delight to read. Seriously, I love this book. The only downside is that it is looong. I think it is definitely worth it though - keep it around for several months and read a little here and there, you'll be glad you did.
kwtingley's review against another edition
5.0
Fantastically thorough, engaging and acts as a call to keep pushing violence down.