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A review by shonaningyo
The Anatomy of Evil by Michael H. Stone
5.0
This is one of THE GREATEST books I have ever read on the subjects it deals with, which is essentially criminology and the strong link between extreme mental illness and horrific crimes committed, as well as stepping in with a brief philosophical approach along the book's journey, which quizzes the reader, "What is EVIL?"
As if to try to give the reader an answer, Michael H. Stone goes through some of the worst of the worst serial and spree killers, sexual sadists and torturers, kidnappers, and shooting spree victimizers; he lays the ground work, and then categorizes each and every one of his examples with a chart he himself created which contains 22 levels of "evil". At the top is "justified": An example he gave was a son shot and killed his father because he was abusive to him, his mother, and his little sister, and I believe he was molesting the sister as well. The judge understood why and gave him very light sentencing. The very bottom is 22, containing THE MOST EVIL acts one can commit, which is--to basically all of us sane people--- sexual sadism/torture with murder, and sometimes cannibalism is thrown in just for funsies; usually this type of 'evil' is drawn out long to maximize the pain the victim experiences, and though the author makes the note that it needn't always be sexual, I'm sure we can all agree it is USUALLY going to cause a boner in the loon who's committing the crime.
The worst of the worst are made examples of in here. A kind of crazy-people Rogues Gallery, if you will. Ed Gein, Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, David Parker Ray
The causes of "evil" in people are analyzed at many different angles, such as drug abuse, mental illness, abuse at home, or personality defects, like extreme jealousy, narcissism, and plain not giving-a-damn for your fellow human (also known as being a friggin sociopath). All efforts are made to try and teach the reader that many factors are possible in creating a killer or a rapist or whatever, but in the end it's really just the right -- or maybe wrong? -- blend of different elements and -bad- luck that people like this exist in this world.
Also contains some handpicked examples' photographs in court located in the middle of the book, people like Ted Bundy and David Parker Ray (oh God... I saw his picture and I had shivers down my spine... ) .
If you're looking for a book that delves deep in the mind of those we have rightfully deemed insane and "evil", look no further. This will be a treat, as I can safely say it was for me.
As if to try to give the reader an answer, Michael H. Stone goes through some of the worst of the worst serial and spree killers, sexual sadists and torturers, kidnappers, and shooting spree victimizers; he lays the ground work, and then categorizes each and every one of his examples with a chart he himself created which contains 22 levels of "evil". At the top is "justified": An example he gave was a son shot and killed his father because he was abusive to him, his mother, and his little sister, and I believe he was molesting the sister as well. The judge understood why and gave him very light sentencing. The very bottom is 22, containing THE MOST EVIL acts one can commit, which is--to basically all of us sane people--- sexual sadism/torture with murder, and sometimes cannibalism is thrown in just for funsies; usually this type of 'evil' is drawn out long to maximize the pain the victim experiences, and though the author makes the note that it needn't always be sexual, I'm sure we can all agree it is USUALLY going to cause a boner in the loon who's committing the crime.
The worst of the worst are made examples of in here. A kind of crazy-people Rogues Gallery, if you will. Ed Gein, Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, David Parker Ray
The causes of "evil" in people are analyzed at many different angles, such as drug abuse, mental illness, abuse at home, or personality defects, like extreme jealousy, narcissism, and plain not giving-a-damn for your fellow human (also known as being a friggin sociopath). All efforts are made to try and teach the reader that many factors are possible in creating a killer or a rapist or whatever, but in the end it's really just the right -- or maybe wrong? -- blend of different elements and -bad- luck that people like this exist in this world.
Also contains some handpicked examples' photographs in court located in the middle of the book, people like Ted Bundy and David Parker Ray (oh God... I saw his picture and I had shivers down my spine... ) .
If you're looking for a book that delves deep in the mind of those we have rightfully deemed insane and "evil", look no further. This will be a treat, as I can safely say it was for me.