Roots of Evil

How can human beings kill or brutalise multitudes of other human beings? Focusing particularly on genocide, Erwin Staub explores the psychology of group aggression. He sketches a conceptual framework for the many influences on one group's desire to harm another and within this framework, considers four historical examples of genocide.

"A valuable and important study." Dimensions, "Thoughtful, provocative work." Indochina Chronology, "...a serious, noteworthy effort to present a general psychosocial/cultural analysis of the causes of genocide and mass destruction in the modern age." Bridges, "Staub offers us a multi-textured psychological understanding of genocide and group violence generally, as well as some concrete proposals for promoting caring, connection, and nonaggression. The book is well written and well organized; largely devoid of psychological jargon, yet conceptually rich, it should be easily comprehended by all. While it is written from the analytical perspective of a scholar, it is illuminated by the humane spirit of a man who, as a Hungarian Jew, experienced the horrors of the Holocaust. It is a provocative book from which scholars, students and the general public can benefit greatly." Pearl Oliner, Shofar, "...a rich essay based on extensive and thoughtful scholarship....Staub's book...represent[s] major advances in understanding our vulnerability to become perpetrators and the responsibilities and opportunities that inhere in our unchosen roles as bystanders." Contemporary Psychology