“The Better Angels of our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined,” by Steven Pinker, is one of those books that will positively change the way you view the world. Despite the tales of horrors and sorrows from around the world that
“The Better Angels of our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined,” by Steven Pinker, is one of those books that will positively change the way you view the world.
Despite the tales of horrors and sorrows from around the world that the media inundates us with everyday, we actually are living in the most peaceful, most tolerant, and least violent time in all the history of humanity.
Surprised?
Steven Pinker, a multi-award winning Harvard College Professor of Psychology, who has been named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World Today and Foreign Policy’s 100 Global Thinkers, proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that we live in far better times than any before.
Pinker has compiled an amazing array of research, statistics, and information that spans the entire breadth of human history from all societies. Combined with the latest in neuroscience and sociology, Better Angels, presents undeniable facts in a way that is very easy to follow, along with an engaging sense of humor.
Here’s a few interesting tidbits— Did you know that even the most “peaceful” of primitive cultures had a higher death by violence rate than even the worst inner cities of the United States today?
Or that per capita the Mongolian Conquests were far deadlier than the entire Second World War? Or that you are far more likely to be struck by lightning (or killed by bees, deer, or an allergic reaction) than you are to be a victim of a terrorist incident? To have command of so much research, spread across so many different fields, is an incredible achievement. Pinker’s research is impeccable, undeniable, and is by far one of the most important and vital books we have come across. We look forward to hearing your thoughts on the book after you’ve read it!
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Ed and Cynthia Justus are owners of The Bookstore in Hanapepe.
