Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century

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In Humanity, English ethicist Jonathan Glover begins with the now commonplace observation that the last 100 years were perhaps the most brutal in all history. But the problem wasn't that human nature suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse: "It is a myth that barbarism is unique to the twentieth century: the whole of human history includes wars, massacres, and every kind of torture and cruelty," he writes. Technology has made a huge difference, but psychology has remained the same--and this is what Glover seeks to examine, through discussions of Nietzsche, the My Lai atrocity in Vietnam, Hiroshima, tribal genocide in Rwanda, Stalinism, Nazism, and so on.

FROM OUR EDITORS

One of the strongest works of moral philosophy of the last two decades, Humanity presents deeply felt and disturbing meditations on the 20th century's most brutal historical episodes. Jonathan Glover ambitiously attempts a moral psychology, tracing the patterns of human psychology that breed violence. Shrewd case studies examine the intellectual follies and moral horrors of the First World War's trench warfare, Hitler's Holocaust, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the ideologically driven social experimentation by Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot, and the ethnic and tribal hatreds that tore apart the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The twentieth century was the most brutal in human history, featuring a litany of shameful events that includes the Holocaust, Hiroshima, the Stalinist era, Cambodia, Yugoslavia, and Rwanda. This important book looks at the politics of our times and the roots of human nature to discover why so many atrocities were perpetuated and how we can create a social environment to prevent their recurrence.

Jonathan Glover finds similarities in the psychology of those who perpetuate, collaborate in, and are complicit with atrocities, uncovering some disturbing common elements—tribal hatred, blind adherence to ideology, diminished personal responsibility—as well as characteristics unique to each situation. Acknowledging that human nature has a dark and destructive side, he proposes that we encourage the development of a political and personal moral imagination that will compel us to refrain from and protest all acts of cruelty.

SYNOPSIS

This important book confronts the brutal history of the twentieth century to unravel the psychological mystery of why so many atrocities occurred—the Holocaust, Hiroshima, the Gulag, Cambodia, Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and others—and how we can prevent their recurrence. Jonathan Glover finds disturbing similarities in the psychology of those involved with atrocities, yet offers hope that the development of a political and personal moral imagination can empower us to resist all acts of cruelty.

FROM THE CRITICS

Michael J. Kerlin - America Magazine

The history . . . is indeed horrifying, but it is also fascinating and instructive. . . . well worth reading.

Steven Pinker

This is an extraordinary book: brilliant, haunting and uniquely important. —New York Times Book Review

Shashi Tharoor

There is much that is excellent in Humanity, especially Glover￯﾿ﾽs lucid summary of the monstrosities of Stalinism—indispensable. —Los Angeles Times

George Scialabba

Humanity is a . . . contribution to the immense labor of understanding some of the worst experiences humankind has ever had. —Boston Globe

Houston Chronicle

This most original photography book of the season . . . opens up a world where time seems to have stopped.Read all 9 "From The Critics" >

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

It is hard to imagine a more important book. Glover makes an overwhelming case for the need to understand our own inhumanity, and reduce or eliminate the ways in which it can express itself—(and he then begins the task himself. Humanity is an extraordinary achievement. — (Peter Singer, DeCamp Professor of Bioethics, University Center for Human Values, Princeton University)

Our libraries teem with tedious books that try to explain the modern world in terms of ideology or economics or power politics. But Jonathan Glover, by linking history with ethics, has found an unusually refreshing, thought-provoking and convincing approach.  — (Norman Davies, author of Europe: A History and The Isles: A History)

Humanity raises some of the most important issues of our time. — (Robert Conquest, author of Reflecting on a Ravaged Century