Michael H. Stone (1933–2023)

Very detailed study of violence. I've read many books over the last 40 years or so on violence , killers. This book is way more informative than any I've read. Many times I had to stop reading as so much is overwhelming. Very highly recommended for any one truly interested in trying to understand the evil we see.

3.5
It only had a few errors.
I would have finished it sooner but for looking up a lot of the books that were referenced.
I wanted to read this because I can't understand people with no compassion, one of whom used to be one of my sisters. Another was a boyfriend in my past, I'm ashamed to say.
It's not easy to figure out why people are "evil," or "consumed by chaos," as I prefer to categorize them. Supposedly, from this author's viewpoint, it's half nature/half nurture. But there's so much show more more to it... alcohol/drugs can catapult someone who would otherwise not be "evil." Sometimes head injuries, sometimes parental neglect/abuse combined with mental disorders.
Humans really need to be taken down by mother nature, since nothing else seems available to stop us. We are just so very ugly to each other. show less

At turns fascinating and horrifying, Doctor Michael H. Stone's analysis of Evil in mankind is quite well done. Starting out with Dante Alighieri's different levels of hell, Dr. Stone attempts to classify levels of evil according to a certain standard. This is something that is difficult to do, seeing as how people do not all come from the same mold. There are signs that one can follow; like when a child enjoys torturing animals, but even that is not decisive.

Anyway, Stone's system is called show more The Gradations of Evil. In it, there are 22 different levels, going from justified self-defense killing all the way to sadistic torture murders. In the book, there are short biographies of the criminals or perpetrators, the crimes they committed and a supposed rating on the scale. Some of these atrocities go beyond imagination and defy our sense of decency, justice, and a loving God.

Some of the criminals I have heard of, mostly from the news, but most I have not. This is mostly because I don't really gain joy from reading about horrible things people do to each other. The one that stays in my mind the most is probably the one where a father injected his own 5-year old son with HIV positive blood, giving him AIDS just so he could avoid being a parent. show less

Áhugaverð yfirferð yfir þá glæpi sem kallaðir hafa verið hrein illska eða evil á ensku. Stone reynir að skoða morðingja sem hafa verið fordæmdir fyrir illsku og raða þeim upp á skalanum 1-22. Hann leggur sálfræðilegt mat á einstaklingana og byggir lögregluskýrslum, ævisögum og í sumum viðtölum viðtölum við viðkomandi. Áberandi er hve uppeldi, heilaskaði, undirmiga(?!) og fátækt hefur mikil áhrif á að móta morðingja en líkt og Stone bendir á er show more það alls ekki algilt. Stórfróleg bók en takmarkaður fjöldi morðingja í hverjum illskuflokki Stones vekur hins vegar upp spurningar um alhæfingar hans. show less