Evil: an Investigation

Rating:
Summary: "I ask for killer sharks; I get bad bass." Dr. Evil
Review: Appreciating this book requires the right set of expectations. Mr. Morrow's underlying assumption is that "evil is a famously elusive subject"; "that evil is like black magic," and; that "mind on the level of art" addresses evil more satisfactorily than the disciplines of "theology, philosophy, politics, science -- for all their institutionalized intellectual apparatus.." So, what does Morrow "think/feel" about evil? That evil "is not an abstraction or principle, but is, rather, the world's narrative energy. Evil makes the world go round; goes round the world." The "proof of the existence of evil is in the stories about evil. The reality of evil is in the stories. And nowhere else." Evil,as in the book under review here, excels, not surprisingly, at telling stories. Morrow asks more questions than he answers in these stories (which he thinks "evil" is prone to do anyway), but he is very good at finding continuities across differing scales. For example, he is able to make you think about the possible similarities between evil on the scale of Nazi Germany and Stalin's Russia, and the more common place, but often viscious, office setting. (His story of an office secretary, then having an affair with the head of a university department, and her attempt to sabotage the career of a vulnerable, yet talented female faculty member has, he thinks, "the presence of evil in it").

The difficulty with this book is that Morrow seems to want it both ways. On the one hand, he contends that that generalizations about evil are tenuous, because it's elusive and each story is itself unique. On the other hand, descriptive generalizations about evil, or statements that appear that way, are unbiquitous in the text. "Evil is a hermit crab." "Evil is a wandering presence." "It rises like a think black gas between our destructive capacities." "Evil tries to be complicated." "Evil is an absolute." And so on throughout. Descriptive statements that are evocative of evil would seem to presuppose the very analytical understanding that Morrow claims is not accessible -- on what basis are they part of the set "evocative set?" It's possible to argue that to investigate evil is to summon one's artistic mental capacities, which his stories, all well-told by this prose-master, are intended to accomplish. But then there is the problem that Morrow does not want to maintain that "evil is relative."

A reader can lost in these woods. In fact, at one point he maintains that investigating evil is like wandering the dark corridors of a haunted medieval castle. Readers who signed up for a less unsettling tour will be disappointed. Those who do take the tour will find that much of what Morrow conveys is powerful preliminary work for a more rigorous and clarifying treament of evil.

Rating:
Summary: "I ask for killer sharks; I get bad bass." Dr. Evil
Review: Appreciating this book requires the right set of expectations. Mr. Morrow's underlying assumption is that "evil is a famously elusive subject"; "that evil is like black magic," and; that "mind on the level of art" addresses evil more satisfactorily than the disciplines of "theology, philosophy, politics, science -- for all their institutionalized intellectual apparatus.." So, what does Morrow "think/feel" about evil? That evil "is not an abstraction or principle, but is, rather, the world's narrative energy. Evil makes the world go round; goes round the world." The "proof of the existence of evil is in the stories about evil. The reality of evil is in the stories. And nowhere else." Evil,as in the book under review here, excels, not surprisingly, at telling stories. Morrow asks more questions than he answers in these stories (which he thinks "evil" is prone to do anyway), but he is very good at finding continuities across differing scales. For example, he is able to make you think about the possible similarities between evil on the scale of Nazi Germany and Stalin's Russia, and the more common place, but often viscious, office setting. (His story of an office secretary, then having an affair with the head of a university department, and her attempt to sabotage the career of a vulnerable, yet talented female faculty member has, he thinks, "the presence of evil in it").

The difficulty with this book is that Morrow seems to want it both ways. On the one hand, he contends that that generalizations about evil are tenuous, because it's elusive and each story is itself unique. On the other hand, descriptive generalizations about evil, or statements that appear that way, are unbiquitous in the text. "Evil is a hermit crab." "Evil is a wandering presence." "It rises like a think black gas between our destructive capacities." "Evil tries to be complicated." "Evil is an absolute." And so on throughout. Descriptive statements that are evocative of evil would seem to presuppose the very analytical understanding that Morrow claims is not accessible -- on what basis are they part of the set "evocative set?" It's possible to argue that to investigate evil is to summon one's artistic mental capacities, which his stories, all well-told by this prose-master, are intended to accomplish. But then there is the problem that Morrow does not want to maintain that "evil is relative."

A reader can lost in these woods. In fact, at one point he maintains that investigating evil is like wandering the dark corridors of a haunted medieval castle. Readers who signed up for a less unsettling tour will be disappointed. Those who do take the tour will find that much of what Morrow conveys is powerful preliminary work for a more rigorous and clarifying treament of evil.

Rating:
Summary: It doesn't get better than this
Review: I haven't read a finer work on the subject, ever. Morrow once again displays his superlative skills and we are dazzled...

Rating:
Summary: Where is my review?
Review: I posted a review on this book on Septmber 1st. It was online for several days and now it is gone.

Rating:
Summary: A thought-provoking book
Review: I was born in 1969, so the most horrible thing I ever saw before 9/11 was the Challenger exploding just after take-off, like most of Morrow's students that he mentioned in one chapter. I was too young to remember anything of Vietnam or WWII or anything like that. And this book serves as a reminder of history's lessons.

This isn't my typical reading ~~ my dad loaned this book to me to read. This isn't a typical book either, nor a typical subject. I've never really thought much about evil or what it means as I've never really been exposed to it. Morrow writes, in essay-style (which makes it easier to read and to grasp his thoughts in a way that makes you ponder each word), about evil. It's not a scientific study. It's not a book that puts the blame on people. It grasps different thoughts of evil, what it means and he used examples to back each thought. Yes, Hitler may be the most popular subject in this book, but that is probably because Morrow grew up with hearing the horrors of the concentration camps as he was born in the late 1930s.

This is one of the most thought-provoking books I have ever read. It is also not an easy read ~~ it is rather dark since Morrow expounds on the subject of evil and whether evil is ever justified or not. He also explores different types of evil ~~ though it is hard to do so since evil is evil and he'll admit that too in this book. He doesn't touch much on the theologian definition of evil in this book ~~ but rather on his thoughts and questions of what he defined is evil.

If you're in a reflective mood, this book would be a good choice. I think philosophy majors, religion majors and even English majors should read this book ~~ it's not your typical book, and it's a book that makes you ponder. You have to come up with your own definition of evil but this book is a great start on that journey. It is also a great discussion fodder for any book group.

7-2-04

Rating:
Summary: SailorSolo
Review: Lance Morrow is singularly one of the most engaging writers in American journalism, and has been for years and years. His cover stories and essays for Time Magazine have surpassed almost anything that appears in that publication, just as with his earlier books. "Evil" continues this standard of excellence. He writes with intrigue, curiosity, drama, thoroughness and eloquence. Reading it will not only be a pleasure -- as you enjoy his mastery of the language -- but it will also make you smarter.

Rating:
Summary: Not smug Not arrogant Not easy
Review: Morrow asks hard questions, real questions about evil. Morrow also states the obvious. The fact that he does state the obvious might turn off the smug and arrogant, but I find it refreshing. The book is also extremely well written and researched. Does evil exist? Yes. And if you disagree, I wish you well during the belly button gazing process.

Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful, But Ultimately Unsatisfying
Review: This book has much of value, but ultimately left me unsatisfied. At the end, I empathized with how the person must have felt who heard the blind men describe their encounter with the elephant; each had latched onto part of the reality of the beast, but their individual pieces didn't add up to a coherent portrait.

In "Evil: An Investigation" Lance Morrow offers a series of descriptions of evil at work in our world. He draws on his own experiences--an encounter with Milosevic, as well as on the terrible events that have dominated so much of the human story. Whether it's Hitler, Caligula, or the events of 911, Morrow has interesting observations, elegantly expressed with the same gifts that have graced the pages of Time magazine for almost 40 years. Most intriguing is his assertion that evil "is always a story, a narrative played out in the world." He poses many intriguing questions--such as whether evil can be committed to further the good, or if degrees of evil exist; but the answers are few.

At the core, though, something is lacking. Morrow ultimately asks if we can--or even if we should try--to understand evil. If that's true, than what is the purpose of this work? I came to these pages hoping to find some sort of greater clarity, if not a definitive explanation. That's why I ultimately finished this book with a sense of disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: A shallow look at the nature of evil
Review: This book is banal.

It has all the intellectual depth of Time magazine, a collection of assorted facts and observations without meaning, depth or purpose and stitched together with the pretentious cleverness of a last-minute Internet paste job.

Not once does Morrow define evil, except to say it is bad. His favorite bad man is Adolf Hitler, who ordered the destruction of 90 percent of Europe's Jews; he says nothing of the destruction of 95 percent of Native Americans. In other words, in the politically correct myopia of Time magazine, "your evil is bad, but my evil is progress."

The weakness of this book is that it reads like a typical collection of tidbits and factoids stitched together by a clever wordsmith who knows little of the origins of the data and nothing of its meaning. It's very good word candy, playing on emotions with offending anyone by offering an original idea. Like Time magazine, for which Morrow writes, this book compresses a massive amount of words into a minimum amount of thought.

Okay, I'll offer a definition: "Evil" is anything which limits or denies human integrity and dignity.

On that basis, my review is evil. Why? My comments likely offend the dignity of Morrow. Granted, it may be a very trivial evil compared to mass murder, but that is the nature of evil. It ranges from trivial to terrible. In my case, my evil is less than allowing unsuspecting readers waste their time or money on this book. That is the dilemma of evil; we do not always get to choose between good and evil, sometimes we must choose the lesser of two evils.

Consider, for example, Morrow's assertion, "It is presumably evil to incinerate a city filled with innocent civilians -- as the allies in World War II incinerated . . . Dresden" (to cite one city he listed). Okay, I remember some elements of 1944; there was a tremendous belief or hope "the war would be over by Christmas." The total suprise of the Battle of the Bulge shattered those hopes.

Dresden was incinerated about two months after the Bulge; the Germans had about 16 percent of their forces on the Western front, and 80 percent in the East. It would have been insane to blithely assume the Germans could not have launched a similar attack in the East. Dresden was the major transportation hub. Does Morrow mean it would have been evil to incinerate a German city in the West if it would have prevented the Battle of the Bulge? Just who was smart enough to foresee the Bulge? Or to know that such an attack was impossible on the Eastern front?

That is the nature of evil. The Allies chose the lesser of two evils, in the bombing of Dresden as well as Hiroshima and other cities. It is the choice a moral person always faces, the necessity to always choose or create the lesser of two evils.

Life is not always so simple as to be a choice between good and evil; most often, it is a choice among evils. We sometimes joke about it, as Mae West did when she said, "Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before." In that, she offered far more insight to the nature of evil than anything or everything in this book.

On that basis, if you start by considering my review evil and perhaps even flawed -- then consider whether this book is a lesser or greater evil than my opinion -- then you are already way ahead of anything you will learn from this book.

In conclusion -- it's Time magazine without pictures.

Rating:
Summary: Rambling, But Intelligent and Worthwhile
Review: This book started out as several essays in "Time" magazine, and there is a certain disconnected quality to it as Morrow rambles from anecdote to anecdote. Eventually he presents a convincing portrait of radical evil in its multiple manifestations. To believe in such a thing as "evil" implies a belief in God, because the very concept of evil cannot exist without the other. Morrow explains that there is an opposition in all things and evil exists in order to provide opportunity for humanity to overcome it. This sounds panglossian, I know; that is, simplistically optimistic. But Morrow is not blind to the horrible price exacted by evil. He provides several hair-raisng examples from history, from "Mein Kampf" to Rwanda, to Bosnia, to the local hermit down the road with a dark secret. Since 9/11, "evil" has come back into public consciousness after a time of peace and prosperity (the '90's) when the idea of it was considered mostly a joke. Morrow provides a good antidote to this moral fecklessnes.