10 Books That Screwed Up the World: And 5 Others That Didn't Help Hardcover – April 15, 2008

Great read by a great author. Dr. Wiker takes you on a journey from...* Why Machiavelli's The Prince was the inspiration for a long list of tyrannies (Stalin had it on his nightstand)* How Descartes' Discourse on Method "proved" God's existence only by making Him a creation of our own ego* How Hobbes' Leviathan led to the belief that we have a "right" to whatever we want* Why Marx and Engels's Communist Manifesto could win the award for the most malicious book ever written* How Darwin's The Descent of Man proves he intended "survival of the fittest" to be applied to human society* How Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil issued the call for a world ruled solely by the "will to power"* How Hitler's Mein Kampf was a kind of "spiritualized Darwinism" that accounts for his genocidal anti-Semitism* How the pansexual paradise described in Margaret Mead's Coming of Age in Samoa turned out to be a creation of her own sexual confusions and aspirations* Why Alfred Kinsey's Sexual Behavior in the Human Male was simply autobiography masquerading as scienceI posted the summary of this book because I think that it makes you (the reader) more aware of the content and substance that this book is dealing with. I like that Dr. Wiker takes Darwin to task because Darwin idea is definitely one of the most malignant in the history of mankind...remember WW2.Brother Albert

This book is my first exposure to some of these horrid philosophies and it is really interesting to see the underlying assumptions that are common to all of them: There is no God and humans are animals. When one combines these assumptions with a strong desire to justify your own perversions and desires as "right" you can quickly bring hell to earth as we saw in the 20th century and continue to see today. Thank you for writing this biok it was fantastic!

This book is necessarily - and by design - summary in structure and content. It has certainly moved me to start reading some of the 'basis' works with which I am only roughly familiar. I'll probably skip some of them, however, since they enjoy a reputation for being wandering and obscure; history also insulates me from taking some of them seriously since in many cases I already have good reason to dismiss them as demonstrably erroneous in their fundamental understanding of the nature of their subject matter - i.e., the nature of Man and the functioning of society.

An honest and critical analysis of the bad items in these books and the motives of the individuals who wrote them, under an admitted Catholic perspective. Not hyperbolic.

Great book. Be prepared to hit YouTube.com before each chapter to watch a few refresher videos to get acclimated. Worth while; great book

I found the book to be interesting and revealing. I would recommend it to any truth seeking Christian. It is very well written.

I enjoyed Dr Wiker's book tremendously; it was honestly hard to put down. On the one hand, it could get frustrating reading the histories of various ideas. On the other, it was gratifying realizing there is a logical explanation for much of the craziness in our world today. All in all, fantastic read. Thank you, Dr Wiker!

It's always fascinating to see how, over the centuries, ideas changed and who contributed changing those ideas.

This book exposes the consequences of theories of authors I had read in university with (sadly) little discernment. It is deeply distressing that these authors are still influencing the world when the results of their work is so obviously devastating.

Excellent book. I first heard it as an audiobook and knew I wanted to buy it. It is very interesting and thought provoking. I think every Pastor Priest and Rabbi should read this book as it is that good. When you understand how our society has been shaped by the writings of others down through the years it really opens your mind

I love this book, the truth is so obvious. It was easy to read and I learned a lot about humanity, philosophy and history.Thank you

Another good read!

This is an excellent book. Perhaps a summary taken from the back DJ flap is well put...."Witty, shocking and instructive, 10 Books That Screwed Up the World offers a quick education in the worst ideas in human history - and how we can avoid them in the future."To be honest, I've only read one of the books critised in this work - The Descent of Man, by Charles Darwin. However, I found that Wiker's short summary of the crucial themes accurate and his conclusions appropriate. I can be sure that other books covered, such as 'Mein Kampf', are also fairly portrayed and given the treatment they too deserve. (I'm going to check though, by reading each one!).This book is far better than his previous one, Moral Darwinism, which I found rather dry, even though containing an important message. I recommend this present book, even if only as an introductory text to further investigation and study.

Purchased for the English Department for both teachers and students to read. Unable to describe or compare the product as we haven't put it in circulation as yet.