Not Just Evil

In 1927, a schoolgirl’s murder leads to a Hollywood manhunt, a bizarre confession, and a landmark trial in this historical true crime. Twelve-year-old Marion Parker was kidnapped from her Los Angeles school by an unknown assailant on December 15, 1927. The killer dropped her off a few days later, fleeing with the ransom money before Marion’s father discovered she had been brutally murdered. When William Edward Hickman was hunted down and charged with the killing, he admitted to all of it, in terrifying detail, but that was only the start. Hickman’s insanity plea was the first of its kind in California, and it led to a national media frenzy. His lawyers argued that their client lived in a fantasy world, inspired by movies and unable to tell right from wrong. In a year when the first talking picture had just been released, the movie industry scrambled to protect itself from ruinous publicity. As scandals threatened the proceedings from the start, the death of a young girl grew into a referendum on the state of America at the birth of mass media culture. Author and private investigator David Wilson captures the maelstrom surrounding Marion Parker’s death in vivid detail. From the crime itself to the manhunt that followed, the unprecedented trial, and its dramatic aftermath, Wilson draws readers into this fascinating true account of the birth of the celebrity criminal.

Provocative essays that seek “to turn the attention of analytic philosophy of religion on the problem of evil . . . towards advances in ethical theory” (Reading Religion). The contributors to this book—Marilyn McCord Adams, John Hare, Linda Zagzebski, Laura Garcia, Bruce Russell, Stephen Wykstra, and Stephen Maitzen—attended two University of Notre Dame conferences in which they addressed the thesis that there are yet untapped resources in ethical theory for affecting a more adequate solution to the problem of evil. The problem of evil has been an extremely active area of study in the philosophy of religion for many years. Until now, most sources have focused on logical, metaphysical, and epistemological issues, leaving moral questions as open territory. With the resources of ethical theory firmly in hand, this volume provides lively insight into this ageless philosophical issue. “These essays—and others—will be of primary interest to scholars working in analytic philosophy of religion from a self-consciously Christian standpoint, but its audience is not limited to such persons. The book offers illustrative examples of how scholars in philosophy of religion understand their aims and how they go about making their arguments . . . hopefully more work will follow this volume’s lead.”—Reading Religion “Recommended.”—Choice

The acclaimed author of Ignore Everybody is back with more irreverent wisdom, wit, and original cartoons. "It has never been easier to make a great living doing what you love. But to make it happen, first you need an EVIL PLAN. Everybody needs to get away from lousy bosses, from boring, dead-end jobs that they hate, and ACTUALLY start doing something they love, something that matters. Life is short." -Hugh MacLeod Freud once said that in order to be truly happy people need two things: the capacity to work and the capacity to love. Evil Plans is about being able to do both at the same time. The sometimes unfortunate side effect is that others will hate you for it. MacLeod's insights are brash, wise, and often funny.

Whether expressed in theological or secular terms, evil poses a problem about the world's intelligibility. It confronts philosophy with fundamental questions: Can there be meaning in a world where innocents suffer? Can belief in divine power or human progress survive a cataloging of evil? Is evil profound or banal? Neiman argues that these questions impelled modern philosophy. Traditional philosophers from Leibniz to Hegel sought to defend the Creator of a world containing evil. Inevitably, their efforts--combined with those of more literary figures like Pope, Voltaire, and the Marquis de Sade--eroded belief in God's benevolence, power, and relevance, until Nietzsche claimed He had been murdered. They also yielded the distinction between natural and moral evil that we now take for granted. Neiman turns to consider philosophy's response to the Holocaust as a final moral evil, concluding that two basic stances run through modern thought. One, from Rousseau to Arendt, insists that morality demands we make evil intelligible. The other, from Voltaire to Adorno, insists that morality demands that we don't.

Sandra Brown was eight when her friend and neighbour, twelve-year-old Moira Anderson, disappeared from the small town of Coatbridge near Glasgow in 1957. Moira has never been seen since. Twenty-seven years later, at a family funeral, Sandra's estranged father confessed to her that he had been involved in the girl's disappearance. Appalled and fascinated by his curious half confession, Sandra began to delve into the case and in so doing discovered that her father was an acknowledged child molester whose activities were known not just to everyone in Coatbridge but also to the police. The horrifying jigsaw she pieced together, along with the admission her father had made, ultimately convinced Sandra that he had indeed been responsible for Moira's disappearance nearly fifty years ago. Where There Is Evil is the remarkable story of Sandra's quest to unravel the mystery and see justice done. 'Completely gripping...Sandra Brown found evil in the person of her own father; and she confronted it as few could have done...Everyone will want to read this amazing story' Andrew O'Hagan 'Inspirational...This book is not only important but unique' Jimmy Boyle

A leading cognitive scientist argues that a deep sense of good and evil is bred in the bone. From John Locke to Sigmund Freud, philosophers and psychologists have long believed that we begin life as blank moral slates. Many of us take for granted that babies are born selfish and that it is the role of society—and especially parents—to transform them from little sociopaths into civilized beings. In Just Babies, Paul Bloom argues that humans are in fact hardwired with a sense of morality. Drawing on groundbreaking research at Yale, Bloom demonstrates that, even before they can speak or walk, babies judge the goodness and badness of others’ actions; feel empathy and compassion; act to soothe those in distress; and have a rudimentary sense of justice. Still, this innate morality is limited, sometimes tragically. We are naturally hostile to strangers, prone to parochialism and bigotry. Bringing together insights from psychology, behavioral economics, evolutionary biology, and philosophy, Bloom explores how we have come to surpass these limitations. Along the way, he examines the morality of chimpanzees, violent psychopaths, religious extremists, and Ivy League professors, and explores our often puzzling moral feelings about sex, politics, religion, and race. In his analysis of the morality of children and adults, Bloom rejects the fashionable view that our moral decisions are driven mainly by gut feelings and unconscious biases. Just as reason has driven our great scientific discoveries, he argues, it is reason and deliberation that makes possible our moral discoveries, such as the wrongness of slavery. Ultimately, it is through our imagination, our compassion, and our uniquely human capacity for rational thought that we can transcend the primitive sense of morality we were born with, becoming more than just babies. Paul Bloom has a gift for bringing abstract ideas to life, moving seamlessly from Darwin, Herodotus, and Adam Smith to The Princess Bride, Hannibal Lecter, and Louis C.K. Vivid, witty, and intellectually probing, Just Babies offers a radical new perspective on our moral lives.

An expert in criminology and psychology uses science to understand evil in today’s society. What is it about evil that we find so compelling? From our obsession with serial killers to violence in pop culture, we seem inescapably drawn to the stories of monstrous acts and the aberrant people who commit them. But evil, Dr. Julia Shaw argues, is largely subjective. What one may consider normal, like sex before marriage, eating meat, or working on Wall Street, others find abhorrent. And if evil is only in the eye of the beholder, can it be said to exist at all? In Evil, Shaw uses an engrossing mix of science, popular culture, and real-life examples to break down timely and provocative issues. How similar is your brain to a psychopath’s? How many people have murder fantasies? Can artificial intelligence be evil? Do your sexual proclivities make you a bad person? Who becomes a terrorist? If you could travel back in time, would you kill baby Hitler? In asking these questions, Shaw urges readers to discover empathy and to rethink and reshape what it means to be bad. Evil is a wide-ranging exploration into a fascinating, darkly compelling subject from wickedly smart and talented writer. Praise for Evil “A brilliant panorama that elucidates humanity’s dark side. . . . This science-based foundation for studying the minds of sadists, mass murderers, freaks and creeps, as well the new role of tech in promoting evil is presented in a totally engaging fashion.” —Philip Zimbardo, PhD; Professor Emeritus, Stanford University; author of The Lucifer Effect “This overview of various kinds of aberrant behavior grouped under the umbrella term evil is well backed up by the expertise of Shaw. . . . Shaw’s work will be particularly appropriate for college and high school libraries for its sober-minded, academically rigorous examination of an oft-sensationalized subject.” —Publishers Weekly “Capably written with a smooth mix of scientific insight and theoretical thought, the book will hopefully inspire empathy and understanding rather than hysteria and condemnation. A consistently fascinating journey into the darker sides of the human condition that will push on the boundaries of readers’ comfort zones.” —Kirkus Reviews

Sometimes the greater good requires the smaller evil. 17-year-old Arman Dukoff can't remember life without anxiety and chronic illness when he arrives at an expensive self-help retreat in the remote hills of Big Sur. He’s taken a huge risk—and two-thousand dollars from his meth-head stepfather—for a chance to "evolve," as Beau, the retreat leader, says. Beau is complicated. A father figure? A cult leader? A con man? Arman's not sure, but more than anyone he's ever met, Beau makes Arman feel something other than what he usually feels—worthless. The retreat compound is secluded in coastal California mountains among towering redwoods, and when the iron gates close behind him, Arman believes for a moment that he can get better. But the program is a blur of jargon, bizarre rituals, and incomprehensible encounters with a beautiful girl. Arman is certain he's failing everything. But Beau disagrees; he thinks Arman has a bright future—though he never says at what. And then, in an instant Arman can't believe or totally recall, Beau is gone. Suicide? Or murder? Arman was the only witness and now the compound is getting tense. And maybe dangerous. As the mysteries and paradoxes multiply and the hints become accusations, Arman must rely on the person he's always trusted the least: himself.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU FOUND OUT YOUR CHILD IS A PSYCHOPATH? One night when Jennifer Hanson returns home, she catches her 12-year-old son Shane stabbing their cat to death. Thankfully, he doesn't see her. Having long known Shane has a brain with psychopathic tendencies, her worst fears may be confirmed. Ever since he accidentally shot his father to death at age six, she has done everything she can to ensure Shane doesn't become a full-blown psychopath. He has behaved normally up until now. Have her efforts been in vain? She can tell he's changing, becoming increasingly dangerous, but she can't stomach putting him in a psych ward. But then she finds pics of a dead girl in his phone, a girl everyone thought had died accidentally... NOTE: This box set contains the complete trilogy. murder, horror, crime, suspense, psychological thriller

HOW DO YOU STOP THE UNSTOPPABLE A supernatural entity that has been imprisoned in the earth for millennia is released in a small town. It quickly spreads, leaving a trail of blood and carnage in its wake. Harlan is the local sheriff and he is in a race against time to save his family, his town and the rest of the world from this terrifying evil. "Fast moving... Wholly original... Features a setting and atmosphere that might have been plucked from the horror greats of the 70s and 80s." Publishers Weekly/BookLife "Richardson has a flair... Definitely going to keep this author on my radar." Manhattan Book Review "Bil Richardson has a writing style that cuts to the chase, with ever increasing pace and a labyrinth of surprises. Highly recommended." Reader's Favorite "I was hooked. Magnificent story, kept this reader turning the pages." Amy Shannon, Bookshelf Reviews NOTE TO READERS: This novel has a lot of blood in it so if that is a turnoff then this book isn't for you. However, it is not gore for the sake of gore. It is intrinsic to the nature of the evil in the story. Most of the violence is directed at the monsters and there is no sexual violence. If you want kinder, gentler, atmospheric horror then this isn't your stop. But if you want a fast paced, vicious read then you've come to the right place. Now hold on. This terrifying roller coaster ride is about to start.