The Anatomy of Evil [Hardcover]

Michael H. Stone (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1591027268 | ISBN-13: 978-1591027263 | Publication Date: July 28, 2009

The crimes of Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Dennis Rader, and other high-profile killers are so breathtakingly awful that most people would not hesitate to label them 'evil'. In this ground-breaking book, renowned psychiatrist Michael H Stone - host of Discovery Channel's former series "Most Evil" - uses this common emotional reaction to horrifying acts as his starting point to explore the concept and reality of evil from a new perspective. In an in-depth discussion of the personality traits and behaviour that constitute evil across a wide spectrum, Dr Stone takes a clarifying scientific approach to a topic that for centuries has been inadequately explained by religious doctrines. Basing his analysis on the detailed biographies of over 600 violent criminals, Stone has created a 22-level hierarchy of evil behaviour, which loosely reflects the structure of Dante's Inferno. He traces two salient personality traits that run the gamut from those who commit crimes of passion to perpetrators of the worst crimes - sadistic torture and murder. One trait is narcissism, as exhibited in people who are so self-centred that they have little or no ability to care about their victims. The other is aggression, the use of power over another person to inflict humiliation, suffering, and death. Stone then turns to the various factors that, singly or intertwined, contribute to pushing certain people over the edge into committing heinous crimes. They include heredity, adverse environments, violence-prone cultures, mental illness or brain injury, and abuse of mind-altering drugs. All are considered in the search for the root causes of evil behaviour. What do psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience tell us about the minds of those whose actions could be described as evil? And what will that mean for the rest of us? Stone discusses how an increased understanding of the causes of evil will affect the justice system. He predicts a day when certain persons can safely be declared salvageable and restored to society and when early signs of violence in children may be corrected before potentially dangerous patterns become entrenched.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"For centuries we have defended against the incarnate reality of evil by intellectualizing it, often traveling along the meandering and ethereal avenues of philosophy and theology. Dr. Stone brings evil to earth--the perpetrators, the acts, and the victims--as a force that is instantly recognizable because it makes our skin crawl." --J. Reid Meloy, Ph.D., Forensic Psychologist author, The Psychopathic Mind

[P]sychiatrist Stone (Personality Disorders) provides an etymology of evil with case studies of over 600 violent criminals, giving readers a comprehensive picture of the nature and varieties of human evil." --Library Journal, Xpress Reviews; June 26, 2009, Melissa Mallon, Univ. of Pittsburgh Johnstown Lib., PA

"Psychiatrist Michael Stone is the Einstein of Evil. Or, rather, Stone is the forensic psychoanalyst who has journeyed into the strange universe of murder, torture and savagery, to forge a Unified Theory of Evil he calls the 'Gradations of Evil Scale.'...This is a scientific thriller and we are all victims of real Evil, which is why this book is impossible to put down. Which of the many suspects will Stone finger for true Evil? Is it Nature or nurture? Or is it brain injury, sex abuse, drugs or the fabled 'Bad Seed?' To give away the ending of such a compelling thriller would itself be an act of evil." --Kieran Crowley, New York Times bestselling author of Almost Paradise

About the Author

Michael H. Stone, MD (New York, NY) is professor of clinical psychiatry at the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is the author of ten books, most recently Personality Disorders: Treatable and Untreatable, and over two hundred professional articles and book chapters. He is also the host of Discovery Channel's former series Most Evil and has been featured in the New York Times, Psychology Today, the Christian Science Monitor, CNN, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Post, the London Times, the BBAC, and Newsday, among many other media outlets.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 430 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (July 28, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591027268
• ISBN-13: 978-1591027263
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael H. Stone, MD (New York, NY) is professor of clinical psychiatry at the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is the author of ten books, most recently Personality Disorders: Treatable and Untreatable, and over two hundred professional articles and book chapters. He is also the host of Discovery Channel's former series Most Evil and has been featured in the New York Times, Psychology Today, the Christian Science Monitor, CNN, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Post, the London Times, the BBAC, and Newsday, among many other media outlets.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant and scientific survey of evil in peacetime: Most highly recommended!, July 11, 2009

By 

Y. Liu (NYC, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Anatomy of Evil (Hardcover)

In "Anatomy of Evil," Dr. Stone (known for his Discovery Channel show, "Most Evil") defines and expands upon the "scale of evil" he uses on the series. Going much further in depth and scholarly analysis than in that excellent series (yet remaining accessible from a lay person's point of view), he defines "evil" against a backdrop of religious, philosophical and psychological debate, favoring in the end a usage that is really separate from those disciplines, and that emerges from contemporary consensus (culled from newscasts, reports, the sentences by a judge, etc.). An important feature of the book is that Stone focuses chiefly here on heinous acts in peacetime (as opposed to in the name of one warring faction, political regime, or another, which Stone suggests would be material for an entirely separate book). Stone has distilled hundreds of true crime books and a vast catalogue of the human cruelty into a compelling and chilling book. He has also interviewed serial killers in prison and mental hospitals, contributing further to his special insights as a forensic psychiatrist.

On Dr. Stone's scale, the highest numbers (the "most evil") are reserved for those who are both extremely sadistic AND are aware (that is, not driven by hallucinations, or other mental disorder) of their actions (prolonged torture, violent rape, murder, etc.), and who show little or no remorse afterward. Like Dante's Inferno, with its descending circles of Hell that Stone refers to in his chapter headings, "The Anatomy of Evil" is a sophisticated, subtle, and uncompromising analysis of the worst in humanity (including contemporary examples, such as Joseph Fritzl, the Austrian father who raped his daughter and kept her and their children in a dungeon beneath his home for decades). It also features chapters delving into the latest scientific research into pathology and the minds of many varieties of horrible people. If for only that reason -- that the book provides a scientific survey of "evil" in all its imaginative, mundane, and ruthless incarnations -- this is a worthwhile addition to the literature, and I think will be of immense value to professionals and average readers (who can stomach it!). Stone's style is gripping and his many examples (infamous and otherwise) vividly support his arguments and theses. A complete Index, with Notes, contributes to the scholarly feel. Most highly recommended.

31 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing and Confounded, August 19, 2009

By 

Chris O'Leary (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Anatomy of Evil (Hardcover)

I was very interested in this book, and the ideas it puts forth, until I came across the material on Charles Whitman, the University of Texas tower shooter who killed 14 people. The problem with the Whitman case is that he had a brain tumor in the region of the brain that controls emotions. I wouldn't have had a problem if he had been excluded from the book because of this, but for the author to include someone with such a confounding medical history, and to ignore the implications it has for the author's theory, is problematic and makes me question the author's conclusions.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Evil as Part of Everyday Life, February 19, 2010

By 

southpaw68 "southpaw68" (florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Anatomy of Evil (Hardcover)

Stone has written a solid account of how violent criminals operate and what their characteristics are. He provides a lot of summaries about some of the worst criminals and does some scientific analysis of why they commit violent acts. The book goes between pure academic analysis and sensational story telling; it is neither of both. He has a love of the classics and shows off some of his learning by making references to them, especially Dante's Inferno, which he uses as a scale for how evil each violent criminal is. I did not understand the purpose behind ratings though. The book lacks original insight into the subject. Given the subject, it is disturbing reading at times. When they are not committing violent acts, these criminals can seem rather normal.

As far as violent criminals' characteristics go, they often have the three characteristics in their youth of violence against pet animals, fire-starting, and bed wetting. In their adult years, they may move on to violence against humans. Often these children grow up unloved, unwanted, and abused. These violent criminals are narcissistic and lack empathy for other people's feelings. They have failed to become socialized by good parental care. Occasionally, violent criminals can come from good homes though. They often deny their crimes and show no remorse for their actions. Stone thinks that both genes and environment influence violent behavior in a 50/50 split. Sometimes these criminals have had a severe head injury which reduces their inhibitions or they are on drugs or alcohol which reduces their inhibitions to do evil. They no longer have the mental "brakes" to stop acting out violent fantasies. Although most people have violent fantasies, only rarely do individuals act them out. In the sense that we have violent fantasies that often are unleashed during wartime, we are not very far away from becoming violent criminals, except for the inhibitions, empathy, and moral reasoning that holds us back. Violent criminals can often have a superficial charm that can manipulate people in to doing what they want. This leads people into getting lured into becoming their victim or victimizing others.

Some of these violent criminals have received some incredibly light sentences for their crimes and are often put back on the streets again to produce more mayhem. Stone proposes that criminals that show no signs of remorse or change in behavior should stay in prison if they are determined to be still dangerous. He does think that those who have shown remorse and have changed their behavior should be let back into society again, even though they have taken the lives of others that they will never get back. He is a cautious liberal going between the ideas of "Hang `em high!" or "Give them therapy!" for violent criminals.