Why We Hate [Paperback]

Jr., Rush Dozier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 27, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0809224798 | ISBN-13: 978-0809224791 | Edition: 1

"In the post-9/11 struggle for a sane global vision, this antihatred manifesto could not be more timely."--O: The Oprah Magazine

In this acclaimed volume, Pulitzer-Prize nominated science writer Rush W. Dozier Jr. demystifies our deadliest emotion--hate.

Based on the most recent scientific research in a range of fields, from anthropology to zoology, Why We Hate explains the origins and manifestations of this toxic emotion and offers realistic but hopeful suggestions for defusing it. The strategies offered here can be used in both everyday life to improve relationships with family and friends as well as globally in our efforts to heal the hatreds that fester within and among nations of the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Combining anthropology, zoology and neuroscience, Why We Hate: Understanding, Curbing, and Eliminating Hate in Ourselves and Our World attempts to explain the scientific underpinnings of the emotion that leads to prejudice, violence and genocide. The far-ranging if sometimes digressive book by journalist and science writer Rush Dozier Jr. (Fear Itself) uses plenty of present-day examples of racial, religious and political conflicts the Russians' war in Chechnya, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Oklahoma City bombing as a launching point for his explanations of how the primitive reptilian brain and the fight-or-flight response lie at the root of our cultural prejudices.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"In the post-9/11 struggle for a sane global vision, this antihatred manifesta could not be more timely."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (June 27, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809224798
• ISBN-13: 978-0809224791
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #589,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book, December 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Why We Hate : Understanding, Curbing, and Eliminating Hate in Ourselves and Our World (Hardcover)

I like that way that the author explains the biological reasons for hate and the ways that hate can be reduced and avoided by training and education. I particularly like the way that the author excludes any religious angles, and sticks to the science of the matter.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring! Great insight to the human mind, February 1, 2003

By 

"amwalee" (Bangkok, Thailand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why We Hate : Understanding, Curbing, and Eliminating Hate in Ourselves and Our World (Hardcover)

This book is a great read. The author does a great job of uncovering the mechanism behind the human tendency to steoreotype about a person, a group of people and oneself. The book is extremely well written and well researched. The author describe hatred as a complex emotion created by an imbalance between different parts of the brain leading to, among other things, racism, sexism, and phobia. The book help answers lot of questions, I had, for example, how the brain process violence in the media or whether there is a connection between intolerance and lack of self-esteem, etc. The author provides biological, cultural and social conditions, that lead to hatred, dehumanizing of another person/group and eventually acts of violence (e.g. war, crime, etc). The examples include many types of violent acts, from honor killings to Timothy McVeigh and from serial homicide to depression induced suicide. Familiar headlines help the reader follow the rather unique and complex description of the human brain. The book also makes a convincing case of why raising gender rights will help to curb hatred in the world. Towards the end of the book, the author cites examples of society where hatred is uncommon and provides strategy to elimiate hatred.

Important takeaway: Hate is extraordinarily difficult and dangerous to overcome but peace cannot be maintained without addressing the problem of hatred.

I can't wait to read Dozier other book, Fear Itself.

5 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good topic, explores issues, but I do have a gripe, January 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Why We Hate : Understanding, Curbing, and Eliminating Hate in Ourselves and Our World (Hardcover)

This book tries to explain why people varying from Osama Bin Ladin to Dylan Klebold lack all empathy for their victims, and why they hate. It is also about why we hate. The author looks at neurobiology, psychology and history.
I do have somewhat of a gripe with some of his history though. He treats the Arab-Israel conflict as a sort of feud, and thats not what it is. A peace-loving country can be surrounded by neighbors who use violence to destroy it, and so it must use violence to defend itself. It doesn't take two to make war, it just takes one aggressor, and one country that refuses to be a victim. For instance, the US didn't invade Afghanistan because it hated Afghans, or Moslems. It invaded largely to defend itself, and after the invasion we learned just how extensive the Al Queda training camps were and how they saw our cities as their targets.
Talking about "cycles of violence" doesn't make sense in this type of context. Rush Dozier does not regard the US action against the Taliban as a feud or cycle of violence, which is good, but he does view the Israel situation that way, which is bad.