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People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil Paperback – January 2, 1998
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People who are evil attack others instead of facing their own failures. Peck demonstrates the havoc these people of the lie work in the lives of those around them. He presents, from vivid incidents encountered in his psychiatric practice, examples of evil in everyday life.
This book is by turns disturbing, fascinating, and altogether impossible to put down as it offers a strikingly original approach to the age-old problem of human evil.
- Print length272 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateJanuary 2, 1998
- Dimensions5.31 x 0.68 x 8.25 inches
- ISBN-100684848597
- ISBN-13978-0684848594
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About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Touchstone; 2nd edition (January 2, 1998)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 272 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0684848597
- ISBN-13 : 978-0684848594
- Item Weight : 8.5 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.31 x 0.68 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #14,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #38 in United States Executive Government
- #60 in Communication Skills
- #60 in Popular Psychology Personality Study
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

M. Scott Peck's publishing history reflects his own evolution as a serious and widely acclaimed writer, thinker, psychiatrist, and spiritual guide. Since his groundbreaking bestseller, The Road Less Traveled, was first published in 1978, his insatiable intellectual curiosity has taken him in various new directions with virtually each new book: the subject of healing human evil in People of the Lie (1982), where he first briefly discussed exorcism and possession; the creative experience of community in The Different Drum (1987); the role of civility in personal relationships and society in A World Waiting to Be Born (1993); an examination of the complexities of life and the paradoxical nature of belief in Further Along the Road Less Traveled (1993); and an exploration of the medical, ethical, and spiritual issues of euthanasia in Denial of the Soul (1999); as well as a novel, a children's book, and other works. A graduate of both Harvard University and Case Western Reserve, Dr. Peck served in the Army Medical Corps before maintaining a private practice in psychiatry. For the last twenty years, he has devoted much of his time and financial resources to the work of the Foundation for Community Encouragement, a nonprofit organization that he helped found in 1984. Dr. Peck lives in Connecticut.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2022
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Nevertheless, since I had purchased the book I decided to plow on and see if there was anything of value, and there was much. I had to look at the date this book was written because the chapter describing malignant narcissism so perfectly described President Trump who demands “affirmation independent of all findings.” Yet, I see so many cheering Trump on and so many capitulating to his evil that it can feel hopeless. They indeed seem to have lost the ability to think. Evil contaminates those in its presence, and we see this happening to people surrounding Trump. The Republicans in Congress and the Evangelical Christians openly admit they have made a pact with the devil to gain power in order to force their ideology on others. Evil has attained an extraordinary degree of political power in this White House. Addressing this existential problem is enough reason to read “People of the Lie.” It truly is a matter of life or death for our democracy.
The case studies were fascinating, yet I am uncomfortable with labeling so many human foibles as ”evil.” It is important to recognize the ways we so damage others by thoughtless behavior. Whether that constitutes evil is debatable. I like that the author said we must dedicate ourselves to something higher than ourselves, something the malignant narcissist does not do. For the first time I realized that I had dedicated myself to the truth long ago as a child. But his claim that our goal is perfection is so predictable. What is perfection? Is it the same for everyone? That is a Christian concept that I find useless. It reveals Christianity as a dour and negative religion. Even God as presented in the Bible is imperfect.
The author lost me completely when he took exorcism seriously. I just don't see the world in terms of God and Satan - who ironically he refrains from labeling male. Not sure what higher good this author has dedicated himself to.
Even if you don't agree with this treatise or it's conclusion, there is so much valuable information to ponder from real life cases. He's been criticized for being Freudian and that Freudianism has been debunked or that evil people can't be cured etc. etc. I don't think that's entirely fair. If you listen to the cases and where he lands with the patients, you'll see that he's getting to the bottom of real issues. There is hope for these people and he indicates that quite well.
I think for me, looking back at this book and then looking at today's world, it seems that Peck's idea of evil can really be seen in just about any maladaptive behavior, organic illnesses notwithstanding. Some people are just ill because they have a chemistry problem or whatever. But the people he's dealing with in this book are definitely victims of malevolence and even have their own evil at work.
So to consider this book useless and deny that he is onto something valid seems shortsighted and really missing a lot of what is being said. For anyone who didn't like it, I recommend reading it again with an open mind.
It's a product of its time, before the delineation between autism and narcissism were so resoundingly outlined by psychology and neuroscience. It's written from a religious perspective, though the author voices respect for people whether religious or secular, and recognizes loving and enlightened people from all backgrounds.
Victims of religious abuse might find his endorsement of exorcism rituals, even from a thoughtful place, really problematic, and I've personally seen such rituals conducted to further narcissistic abuse under the cover of religion, a kind of behavior Peck's own discussion about how narcissism seeks religious cover would anticipate. I withhold one star for caveats like this.
Interpreted through modern perspective, as you would any dated thinker who was ahead of their time, there's much here that holds up, and some parts are keenly relevant to our present time. He firmly speaks from a place of clinical expertise and empathy. Peck notably asserts that "people of the lie" can neither understand nor accept two things: love and science. He walks through several scenarios that definitively reveal the tipping point between common dysfunctionality and a truly insidious personality disorder that operates from truly evil place.
His reflections on how pop-psych gets these predators wrong, how institutional cover for narcissistic behavior works, and how apathy, abuse, and enabling all interoperate from spousal and child abuse all the way up into international atrocities like My Lai make connections I think we all need to make.
This book can't be the last word on the subject of malignant narcissism, at home or in society, but it's got such great insight that I still recommend it thoroughly.
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After reading it through it and hundreds of notes I can say this is the most ‘impactful’ book I’ve read in a long time.
I believe there is no reason to not read this important work.




Read in one sitting. When the student is ready, the master(book) will appear.
All for love
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