Customer Reviews

A Criminal History of Mankind

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had read only one book by Colin Wilson ("The Outsider", of course) when I found a paperback in a used-book store. There followed a month of fairly intense reading, because "A Criminal History of Mankind" is fascinating from beginning to end, and many sections I read over again. Wilson divides the book into three main sections: 1) The Psychology of Human Violence 2) A Criminal Outline of History 3) The Age of Mass Murder. In the first section, Wilson notes that criminal actions have been motivated by the "hierarchy of needs":food, shelter, sex, and the need for admiration. (In recent years, we have seen those who commit murder in order to gain fame.) Wilson describes what he calls the "right man", a sociopath obsessed with image and self-esteem. Most of these people are life's losers, but not all. A startling exception is the successful comic actor Peter Sellers, whose son's biography shows Sellers to have been almost criminal in his manic, morbidly obsessive nature. The second section is, by Wilson's own admission, H.G. Wells' "Outline of History" from a criminal point of view, everything from ancient Athens to Victorian London. Interestingly, Wilson writes: "This book is centrally concerned with crime; but if we ignore the creativity, we shall not only fail to understand the crime: we shall miss the whole point of human history." The third section goes into our own era, the Bundys, the DeSalvos, the Mansons. Wilson spends a full 50 blood-drenched pages on the Mafia. The book, published in 1984, touches only briefly on the disturbing increase of children who kill. Along with the horrors, there are pages of incisive philosophy: "It is true that we cannot live without an ego; a person without an ego is little more than an idiot. Another name for ego is personality, and in artists, saints, and philosophers, the personality is a most valuable tool. Neither St Francis nor Beethoven nor Plato would have achieved much impact without their personalities. But the personality is a dangerous servant, for it has a perpetual hankering to become the master. Every time we are carried away by irritation or indignation, personality has mastered us."Violence will always be with us. A casual glance at yesterday's New York Times finds the coverage of a man who threw his baby from a 15-story window while bickering with his wife. But Wilson ends his riveting book with cautious optimism: Referring to the criminal as a distortion of humanity, he writes (and quotes the German poet Novalis) that when humanity itself is aware that this is only a nightmare, we are close to awakening.

The title is misleading... this is a work far beyond criminal history. It is comprehensive history and philosophical work... it is Colin Wilson at his best... and as always difficult to find but easy to read.

An enjoyable and thought-provoking romp through the horror that has been everyday life for most people. If you've read other Wilson I don't have to tell you that there are a good many questionable assertions and several straight-out mistakes. His Roman history section in particular leans way too much on the dazzling but unreliable Suetonius. But I enjoyed it anyway; work your way through three or four of his massive tomes and you can skip college!

I bought my initial copy of this book almost 30 years ago. I am drawn to re-read it every four to five years and everytime, am overwhelmed by the effortless blending of research and information into an exceptionably readable style. An academic myself, I know how difficult it is to explain complex ideas in simple terms, so I salute Colin Wilson for his fluid style and readability.

Essentialy, Mr Wilson's argument asks: "Can people be bad?" His discussion and evidence suggests firmly that, yes, people can be; which negates the "Nature Vs Nurture" debate which has raged steadily for so many years. His annecdotal examples support his hypothsis in a believable and compelling manner. I find this a facinating insight into the pychological make up of the distanced person, who views their fellow human almost as an abstract, whilst thinking: "As I am above this, I shall and can, do as I please."

A truly insightful study into the human mind and its depths. Essential reading for anyone who has ever wondered about the fundamental nature of humankind.

Mr. Wilsons book is at its best when he sticks to just running through his colorful and slightly morbid summary of crime.

His analysis of politics and political crime comes across as very confused and overly occupied with the left. Marx, for example, gets lots of (harsh) words. But Mussolini, a fascist mass-murderer, is hardly mentioned, only in a side-sentence. And then only as not being too bright and a bit silly? Franco plays a small role too, and is portrayed as one who rebels after the "Socialist" take over the Republic. When in fact the (2nd) Republic is formed when the king steps down. The "rebellion" is a "crusade" called against the democratic republic by the industrialist, the military and the church.

Most horrendous is Mr. Wilson remark, that everybody, even anti-war activists, knows now that the Vietnam war was a "good" war. His argument is that the several 100 thousands of Vietnamese who fled after the war, somehow justifies the millions of victims murdered during the war.

I could go on!


I agree with the idea that crime is all about narcissism and left-brain thinking. But I fail to understand how Mr. Wilson can show examples after example how easy it is "cure" the society of crime(here I agree). And then go on to cursing that modern man has lost his "natural" place in society, and therefore crime is an inevitable scourge that will surely destroy society!

And what the hell is "mans natural place"?

I think the book is simply not worth the time. One star for gory tales and history-falsification.

Just finished reading it (little hard to find copy) and once again Colin Wilson doesn't disappoint. I'm truly amazed at the amount of research the author put in. Recommended to readers who like true crime.
There are others who have said the same thing but Wilson's perspective makes all the difference.

this is a great book. the title is misleading since it is primarily about history and philosophy. I loaned my book to someone and have forgotten who...would love to have a copy but it is very difficult to find. found the original in Singapore but is out of print. highly recommend.

if you have ever read anything by colin wilson (certainly youve read "the outsider") then definetly read this book. The things this book can teach us about society and humanity is unparalelled in a 'simple' true crime fashion. One of our centuries greatest philosophers has an intriguing view on many things, yet quite often you will find yourself agreeing with much of what he says about us all.

I rescued a copy of this book from my library's pulp stock...thank god. I think I've read it at least 20 times, because it's full of so much history, there's no way of encompassing it in one go.

This is a study of how and why man is naturally a criminally minded animal. The author takes many different arguments and theories, blended with his own views on why man is the only animal to inflict cruelty upon his own species. The format of this book starts with examining what makes us tick and follows on with an enthralling trip through mans prehistory to modern civilisation. This is one book to really open your mind to.