Before Evil

Should we humanize the world's most inhumane leaders? Adolf Hitler. Joseph Stalin. Benito Mussolini. Mao Zedong. Kim Il Sung. Vladimir Lenin. These cruel dictators wrote their names on the pages of history in the blood of countless innocent victims. Yet they themselves were once young people searching for their place in the world, dealing with challenges many of us face--parental authority, education, romance, loss--and doing so in ways that might be uncomfortably familiar. Historian Brandon K. Gauthier has created a fascinating work--epic yet intimate, well-researched but immensely readable, clear-eyed and empathetic--looking at the lives of these six dictators, with a focus on their youths. We watch Lenin's older brother executed at the hands of the Tsar's police--an event that helped radicalize this overachieving high-schooler. We observe Stalin grappling with the death of his young, beautiful wife. We see Hitler's mother mourning the loss of three young children--and determined that her first son to survive infancy would find his place in the world. The purpose isn't to excuse or simply explain these horrible men, but rather to treat them with the empathy they themselves too often lacked. We may prefer to hold such lives at arm's length so as to demonize them at will, but this book reminds us that these monstrous rulers were also human beings--and perhaps more relatable than we'd like.

Dynamic Romanian multimillionaire Nicolae Carpathia's sphere of influence steadily grows as he parlays his looks, charm, charisma, and intellectual brilliance into success in business and politics. But is it mere coincidence that those who oppose or offend him suffer to the point of death? Meanwhile, a young Buck Williams begins his journalistic career. Pilot Rayford Steele gains more responsibility at work and at home. Scientist Chaim Rosenzweig begins work on a secret formula that could change the world. All three go about their daily lives, unaware of each other or of the powerful young man from Romania. Around the world, the stage is being set for the cataclysmic event that will change the world forever.

The genesis of evil. The book of Genesis recites the beginnings of the cosmos and its inhabitants. It also reveals the beginning of evil. Before long, evil infests God's good creation. From there, good and evil coexist and drive the plot of Genesis. In Evil in Genesis, Ingrid Faro uncovers how the Bible's first book presents the meaning of evil. Faro conducts a thorough examination of evil on lexical, exegetical, conceptual, and theological levels. This focused analysis allows the Hebrew terminology to be nuanced and permits Genesis' own distinct voice to be heard. Genesis presents evil as the taking of something good and twisting it for one's own purposes rather than enjoying it how God intended. Faro illuminates the perspective of Genesis on a range of themes, including humanity's participation in evil, evil's consequences, and God's responses to evil.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A modern classic of true crime, set in a most beguiling Southern city—now in a 30th anniversary edition with a new afterword by the author “Elegant and wicked . . . might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime.”—The New York Times Book Review Shots rang out in Savannah’s grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. In this sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative, John Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case. It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman’s Card Club; the turbulent young gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the “soul of pampered self-absorption”; the uproariously funny drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young people dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a sublime and seductive reading experience.

The way in which mainstream human rights discourse speaks of such evils as the Holocaust, slavery, or apartheid puts them solidly in the past. Its elaborate techniques of "transitional" justice encourage future generations to move forward by creating a false assumption of closure, enabling those who are guilty to elude responsibility. This approach to history, common to late-twentieth-century humanitarianism, doesn't presuppose that evil ends when justice begins. Rather, it assumes that a time before justice is the moment to put evil in the past. Merging examples from literature and history, Robert Meister confronts the problem of closure and the resolution of historical injustice. He boldly challenges the empty moral logic of "never again" or the theoretical reduction of evil to a cycle of violence and counterviolence, broken only once evil is remembered for what it was. Meister criticizes such methods for their deferral of justice and susceptibility to exploitation and elaborates the flawed moral logic of "never again" in relation to Auschwitz and its evolution into a twenty-first-century doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect.

The brutal murders of three young boys paralyze the citizens of Platte City, Nebraska. What's worse is the grim realization that the man recently executed for the crimes was a copycat. When Sheriff Nick Morrelli is called to the scene of another grisly murder, it becomes clear that the real predator is still at large, waiting to kill again. Morrelli understands the urgency of the case terrorizing his community, but it's the experienced eye of FBI criminal profiler Maggie O'Dell that pinpoints the true nature of the evil behind the killings—a revelation made all the more horrific when Morrelli's own nephew goes missing. Maggie understands something else: the killer is enjoying himself, relishing his ability to stay one step ahead of her, making this case more personal by the hour. Because out there, watching, is a killer with a heart of pure and perfect evil.

'O'Dell could be Reacher's long-lost twin' LEE CHILD Special Agent Maggie O'Dell doesn't need to set foot at a crime scene to catch a serial killer. From her small Quantico office, she's profiled criminals using just Polaroids and faxed copies of evidence from homicide detectives across the country. Then comes Albert Stucky . . . and nothing will ever be the same. Stucky is a sadistic madman who places pieces of his victims in takeout containers and leaves them for innocent bystanders to find. He enjoys his twisted games as much as he enjoys the kill. And when Maggie is tasked with profiling his murders, Stucky is only too happy to rise to the challenge: 'Let the chase begin.' New York Times bestselling author Alex Kava returns with a heart-stopping new thriller featuring special agent Maggie O'Dell, who will face one of the most terrifying serial killers of her career. 'Rip-roaring action that only builds in intensity with every page' TESS GERRITSEN

The De Malo represents some of Aquinas' most mature thinking on goodness, badness, and human agency. In it he examines the full range of questions associated with evil: its origin, its nature, its relation to good, and its compatibility with the existence of an omnipotent, benevolent God. This edition offers Richard Regan's new, clear readable English translation, based on the Leonine Commission's authoritative edition of the Latin text. Brian Davies has provided an extensive introduction and notes. (Please note: this edition does not include the Latin text).

Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler were two of history's greatest dictators. In this ground-breaking study, Desmond Seward finds striking parallels between their careers and their roles in shaping the destiny of modern Europe. He also shows how Carl von Clausewitz's classic treatise On War - a penetrating analysis of the Napoleonic campaigns read and re-read by Hitler- provides a crucial link between the two men. Napoleon and Hitler demonstrates in an entirely new way how history can repeat itself - and gives new and unexpected insights into these two terrible giants of modern times. "A careful study, clearly written, easy to read. He takes us through the careers of both men in turn, side by side, noting the similarities as he goes along. I am reminded of Plutarch's 'parallel lives' of the great Greeks and Romans... His interesting book deserves to be read both by those who would 'demonise' Hitler and those who are dazzled by Napoleon." Hugh Trevor-Roper - Sunday Telegraph 'Desmond Seward is right to draw attention to their similarities, and to their differences. We should study both: both are among the possibilities inherent in our civilisation.' Independent 'Solid historical biography with a compelling historical slant.' Booklist 'A clever and cohesive look at megalomania in action.' Kirkus Review