“Refreshing.” (Library Journal)

“Provocative… and powerful.” (Publishers Weekly)

“An intriguing counterattack to modern psychological cynicism.” (Kirkus)

“Bloom challenges one of our most cherished assumptions about what it takes to be good. With elegance and humor, Bloom reveals just how flawed that assumption is, and offers a new vision of a moral life-one based on how our minds actually work.” (Carl Zimmer, author of Evolution: Making Sense of Life)

“Bloom’s analysis is penetrating, comprehensive, and timely. Against Empathy is destined to become a classic in psychology.” (Michael Shermer, Publisher Skeptic magazine, monthly columnist Scientific American, and author of The Moral Arc and The Science of Good and Evil)

“Despite a near consensus about its merits, Bloom shows that empathy is often just the warm embrace of prejudice-and, like anger, a reliable source of moral confusion. . . . a thrilling book, and reading it could well make you a better person.” (Sam Harris, author of the New York Times bestsellers The End of Faith, The Moral Landscape, and Waking Up)

“I couldn’t put this brilliantly argued book down.” (Amy Chua, Yale Law Professor and author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and The Triple Package)

“A brilliant, witty, and convincing defense of rational generosity against its pain-feeling detractors. Read this book and you will never think about empathy, goodness, or cold-blooded reason the same way again.”- (Larissa MacFarquhar, author of Strangers Drowning: Grappling with Impossible Idealism, Drastic Choices, and the Overpowering Urge to Help)

“Brilliant, powerful, and provocative, Against Empathy is sure to be one of the most controversial books of our time.” (Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness)

“One of the most thought-provoking and convincing books I’ve read. Bloom’s logic is compelling, his prose fluid, and his deep humanity and compassion always evident. A must-read for those who want an alternative to a world where emotional gambits reign supreme--for better and often, for worse.” (Maria Konnivkova, author of The Confidence Game)

“The title may shock, but this is a book of calm reason and expansive compassion. It’s also a pleasure to read: warm, lucid, and thought-provoking.” (Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Better Angels of Our Nature)

“Bracing and provocative, Against Empathy takes a scalpel to empathy. This lucid and entertaining book argues there is a better way - that our capacity for reason, tempered with compassion, will make us better policy makers and better people.” (Emily Yoffe, author of What the Dog Did)