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A review by rsr143
The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined by Steven Pinker
4.0
I toiled away at this book for over two months. Even then, upon hitting page 500, I realized that it would take me another month to finish if I didn't change my strategy. I then (yesterday in fact) started skimming the final 200 pages, reading the beginning and ending parts of each chapter. I had gotten the point of the book and was ready to move on.
Why so long? The author is such a good (and detailed) writer, I would often reread paragraphs to make sure I got all the points being made. This book is a detailed and tremendously thought-provoking work.
The only problem was its length and the depth to which is plunged into each of its points. It was more of a textbook than a book for a layperson. What kept me engaged for several months was that it was just so well written! At times, it was tremendously funny as well, a tough task for the author given the gravity of the subject matter.
I do wish they created a "300-page" version of this book, it would be a more accessible.
In the meantime, if you have the appetite for it, pick up this book and come away optimistic about the direction our world is heading in...away from the brutish violence that has so often tainted our past.
P.S. Don't read it (or skip a few of the graphic sections on torture) if you are squeamish. The author goes into gory detail about torture, sadism and the dark sides of human history. At times, I felt that I would have been better off note having exposed my mind to these concepts, not unlike the remorse of having watched a horror movie. It's not that I want to be ignorant of the violence in our history. I just don't want to witness the barbarity in full detail. I don't think it's necessary to "relive" that graphic violence in order to get to the punchline at the end of the book.
Why so long? The author is such a good (and detailed) writer, I would often reread paragraphs to make sure I got all the points being made. This book is a detailed and tremendously thought-provoking work.
The only problem was its length and the depth to which is plunged into each of its points. It was more of a textbook than a book for a layperson. What kept me engaged for several months was that it was just so well written! At times, it was tremendously funny as well, a tough task for the author given the gravity of the subject matter.
I do wish they created a "300-page" version of this book, it would be a more accessible.
In the meantime, if you have the appetite for it, pick up this book and come away optimistic about the direction our world is heading in...away from the brutish violence that has so often tainted our past.
P.S. Don't read it (or skip a few of the graphic sections on torture) if you are squeamish. The author goes into gory detail about torture, sadism and the dark sides of human history. At times, I felt that I would have been better off note having exposed my mind to these concepts, not unlike the remorse of having watched a horror movie. It's not that I want to be ignorant of the violence in our history. I just don't want to witness the barbarity in full detail. I don't think it's necessary to "relive" that graphic violence in order to get to the punchline at the end of the book.