Rating: 
Summary: Relevant, Fascinating, Horrifying
Review: Although the studies that are contained in this book are a little over 40 years old, they are as relevant as ever. Although Milgram wrote with his eye to the past - he looked back to the Holocaust and to My Lai (he finally wrote the book in 1972, 10 years after the studies were completed) - his voice has proven to be not only prophetic, but of continuing insight and relevance for understanding group dynamics of power and violence.Milgram's studies were done between 1961 and 1962 while he was at Yale; they were all variations on a theme: a unknowing participant (the subject-teacher) was brought to believe that s/he was participating in a learning study. The other two main participants were a man who posed as the student (the learner) and one who posed as the principal investigator (the authority figure). The subject-teacher was told that the learning would occur in this way: the student would be hooked up to an electric shock generator while the teacher would read a set of word pairs, which the student would repeat back. When the student missed one of the word pairs, he would be shocked by the "teacher" in increasingly higher shocks (the shocks increased in 15 volt increments), up to 450 volts (which was marked, along with the 435 volt mark, with XXX). The basic goal of the study was to find out how far the "teachers" would go despite the cries, pounding and eventual silence on the part of the students. The frightening finding was that more often than not, the vast majority of teachers followed through with the command to continue the experiment, which was given by the man acting as the principal investigator every time one of the "teachers" wanted to quit. [It should be noted, however, that the experiment was designed such that the "student" was never shocked, as the student was an actor, typically in a connected room and could only be heard via microphone.] One of the things that makes reading Milgram's studies so chilling is the scientific exactness of Milgram's own writing style as he describes the studies. The moral and ethical issues raised in these studies, although addressed by Milgram in his narrating the book, are also expressed in this same mathematically cold style. It's almost like a bad science fiction movie where our whole human story is narrated - moral failures and all - with robotic precision. It's unsettling. Of course, it *should* be: any experiment that deals with human interaction on such a violent and perversely authoritarian level ought to get us a bit uncomfortable. Of course, Milgram also notes that when the subjects were confronted with their own complicitness, they often blamed others or excused themselves in some way. It really does give a tremendous insight into the psychology of human beings: when faced with our own evil, we try to excuse it rather than deal with it. If, at the end of reading Milgram's book, we aren't questioning ourselves and our ability to be violent and to promote the spread of violence by being passive, we have missed the entire point of the book. Milgram's goal is to not simply report the collection and analysis of data, but to engage the reader on a fundamentally moral level. He cites Hannah Arendt's work Eichman in Jerusalem and notes that evil is not necessarily expressed in a pro-active way; indeed, it can be far more subtle but no less dangerous. Milgram's book is one well worth the effort. It reveals an element of human being that is so easy to forget, especially given that our culture is so bent on *denying* any element of - or at least any potential for - evil within ourselves. Of course, such blindness to the reality of evil and tragedy is what makes *letting it happen* so easy.
Rating:
Summary: Relevant, Fascinating, Horrifying
Review: Although the studies that are contained in this book are a little over 40 years old, they are as relevant as ever. Although Milgram wrote with his eye to the past - he looked back to the Holocaust and to My Lai (he finally wrote the book in 1972, 10 years after the studies were completed) - his voice has proven to be not only prophetic, but of continuing insight and relevance for understanding group dynamics of power and violence. Milgram's studies were done between 1961 and 1962 while he was at Yale; they were all variations on a theme: a unknowing participant (the subject-teacher) was brought to believe that s/he was participating in a learning study. The other two main participants were a man who posed as the student (the learner) and one who posed as the principal investigator (the authority figure). The subject-teacher was told that the learning would occur in this way: the student would be hooked up to an electric shock generator while the teacher would read a set of word pairs, which the student would repeat back. When the student missed one of the word pairs, he would be shocked by the "teacher" in increasingly higher shocks (the shocks increased in 15 volt increments), up to 450 volts (which was marked, along with the 435 volt mark, with XXX). The basic goal of the study was to find out how far the "teachers" would go despite the cries, pounding and eventual silence on the part of the students. The frightening finding was that more often than not, the vast majority of teachers followed through with the command to continue the experiment, which was given by the man acting as the principal investigator every time one of the "teachers" wanted to quit. [It should be noted, however, that the experiment was designed such that the "student" was never shocked, as the student was an actor, typically in a connected room and could only be heard via microphone.] One of the things that makes reading Milgram's studies so chilling is the scientific exactness of Milgram's own writing style as he describes the studies. The moral and ethical issues raised in these studies, although addressed by Milgram in his narrating the book, are also expressed in this same mathematically cold style. It's almost like a bad science fiction movie where our whole human story is narrated - moral failures and all - with robotic precision. It's unsettling. Of course, it *should* be: any experiment that deals with human interaction on such a violent and perversely authoritarian level ought to get us a bit uncomfortable. Of course, Milgram also notes that when the subjects were confronted with their own complicitness, they often blamed others or excused themselves in some way. It really does give a tremendous insight into the psychology of human beings: when faced with our own evil, we try to excuse it rather than deal with it. If, at the end of reading Milgram's book, we aren't questioning ourselves and our ability to be violent and to promote the spread of violence by being passive, we have missed the entire point of the book. Milgram's goal is to not simply report the collection and analysis of data, but to engage the reader on a fundamentally moral level. He cites Hannah Arendt's work Eichman in Jerusalem and notes that evil is not necessarily expressed in a pro-active way; indeed, it can be far more subtle but no less dangerous. Milgram's book is one well worth the effort. It reveals an element of human being that is so easy to forget, especially given that our culture is so bent on *denying* any element of - or at least any potential for - evil within ourselves. Of course, such blindness to the reality of evil and tragedy is what makes *letting it happen* so easy.
Rating:
Summary: BROKE NEW GROUND
Review: MILGRAM SET OUT TO TEST IF A CROSS-SECTION OF AMERICANS WOULD TORTURE AND KILL INNOCENT & UNKNOWN STRANGERS WITHOUT MUCH HESITATION, PROVIDED THEY WERE BEING 'OBEDIENT TO AUTHORITY'. HENCE THE TITLE. IN A NUTSHELL, THE OVERWHELMING ANSWER IS 'YES'. A MAJORITY WILL TORTURE & KILL PEOPLE THEY DO NOT KNOW AND WHO THEY HAVE NO PERSONAL FEAR FROM OR GRUDGE TOWARDS. ESSENTIALLY MILGRAM'S CROSS-SECTION OF MAIN STREET AMERICANS WERE CONSCIENCE-FREE. THEY DID WHAT THEY WERE TOLD TO DO BY 'AUTHORITY' EVEN IF BLATANTLY EVIL. THEY WERE SPINELESS WHEN IT CAME TO PERSONALLY HOLDING AND DEFENDING CIVILISED VALUES. THESE PEOPLE ARE OUR NEIGHBOURS AND COLLEAGUES IN THE US. IN EUROPE THERE IS A WELL-WORN JOKE: THE US IS THE ONLY GREAT POWER TO RISE AND FALL WITHOUT A PERIOD OF CIVILISATION IN BETWEEN. MILGRAM'S RESEARCH SHOWS WHY. THE AVERAGE AMERICAN AS REPRESENTED IN HIS RESEARCH, HAS NO BEDROCK VALUES. FOR ALL HIS MONEY AND MATERIAL POSSESSIONS AND LAWYERS, TAX ACCOUNTANTS AND GUNS, HE IS A CULTURAL ... AND A MORAL SAVAGE. HE IS OBEDIENT ONLY TO EXTERNAL! AUTHORITY : INTERNAL CONTROLS ARE LACKING. START BY READING THE DOZEN OR SO PAGES OF THE EPILOGUE, WHICH MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THIS STUDY IS ABOUT EVERYDAY AMERICANS, NOT WESTERNERS IN GENERAL. THESE AMERICANS ARE AS BAD AS FRANCO,THE GESTAPO, THE KGB, POL POT, IDI AMIN, SADDAM HUSSEIN AND OTHER TYRANTS OF RECENT HISTORY. RELIVE THE MAI LAI MASSACRE THROUGH THE NYT TRANSCRIPT IN THIS EPILOGUE, OF THE FAMOUS WALLACE INTERVIEW ON CBS. LT.CALLEY OF THE US FORCES IN VIETNAM CHEERFULLY PROVED NO DIFFERENT FROM THE SS DEATH SQUADS IN EUROPE. THE SCENE DESCRIBED IS IDENTICAL - SADISTIC, RUTHLESS, MURDUROUS, BESTIAL. MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, MILGRAM EXPLAINS THAT CONTEMPORARY POLLS SHOWED THAT THE MAJORITY OF CALLEY'S FELLOW CITIZENS IN THE US SUPPORTED HIS ATROCITY. THEY RECKONED HE DID THE RIGHT THING & HE WAS NEVER BROUGHT TO JUSTICE; ANY MORE THAN SENATOR KERRY HAS BEEN. A REVIEWER FROM THE NETHERLANDS TRIES TO IMPLY THAT MILGRAM HAD AN OPTIMISTIC VIEW OF HIS FELLOW AMERICANS AFTER THIS RESEARCH. A CAREFUL EXAMINATION OF THE BOOK PROVES THAT HE WAS PROFOUNDLY PESSIMISTIC, EVEN DESPAIRING. HE CONCLUDED THEY HARBOUR A FATAL MORAL FLAW THAT WILL BRING ABOUT THEIR DOWNFALL. IF YOU ARE UPBEAT, AS MANY AMERICANS PROFESS TO BE, ABOUT THE GREAT 'AMERICAN WAY' AND WISH TO BELIEVE THAT AMERICANS ARE SOME KIND OF 'CHOSEN PEOPLE' BELOVED BY GOD, THIS RESEARCH WILL BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR BELIEFS.
Rating:
Summary: BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ IN MY LIFE
Review: My title is NOT hyperbole. This book sticks in my mind like water filling an oddly shaped vase. That vase is my mind... and once filled, it is impossible to discharge. The subject matter is totally fascinating. The types of experiments allowed in 'those days' are outlawed today so the insight gained is even more valuable. The reader will be awe struck at the outcome of these experiments related to the "common man's" ability to inflict pain on other humans given certain conditions. There is applicability to many human rights atrocities. The insight these experiments reveals is simply the most fascinating read you will ever experience.
Rating:
Summary: BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ IN MY LIFE
Review: My title is NOT hyperbole. This book sticks in my mind like water filling an oddly shaped vase. That vase is my mind... and once filled, it is impossible to discharge. The subject matter is totally fascinating. The types of experiments allowed in 'those days' are outlawed today so the insight gained is even more valuable. The reader will be awe struck at the outcome of these experiments related to the "common man's" ability to inflict pain on other humans given certain conditions. There is applicability to many human rights atrocities. The insight these experiments reveals is simply the most fascinating read you will ever experience.
Rating:
Summary: Guaranteed to add to your understanding - site address below
Review: Stanley Milgram's book is a mind-blower. Not so much in its insights into everyday life but, in its insights into what normal people are truly capable of doing - no room for argument. To check out the nature of his work go to w3 dot stanleymilgram dot com and see the Stanley Milgram Basics section of the site. (reason for cryptic site address above is because this here online retailer seems to frown on such data) Here's some quote's from Milgram (who sadly, died at age 51yrs) (- see the above mentined site for more quotes) "...The social psychology of this century reveals a major lesson: often it is not so much the kind of person a man is as the kind of situation in which he finds himself that determines how he will act." (1974) [From Milgram's reply to Baumrind's ethical critique of the obedience experiments] "I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority. This view sustains a conception of human dignity insofar as it sees in each man a capacity for choosing his own behavior. And as it turned out, many subjects did, indeed, choose to reject the experimenter's commands, providing a powerful affirmation of human ideals." (1964) I wonder if other books that deal with issues relating to mass actions of evil, allow for the truly scientific insights given to us by Stanley Milgram?
Rating:
Summary: An intense, haunting, and enlightening illumination.
Review: Stanley Milgram's experiments in human response to authority in the 1970's offer as much insight today as when they were originally conducted. The experiemnts are best known as a series of tests performed through Yale University, where a subject was told to administer an increasingly high level of electrical shock to a victim attempting to learn a series of word relationships. The frightening results showed the majority of subjects, at the bequest of the authority involved, applied maximum voltage despite the begging and pleading of the victim to stop the test (the victim being an actor pretending to be shocked). We still have a lot to learn from the evidence gathered by Milgram. His book presents scientific and psychological studies in lay terms that are accessible to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant discussion of social theory
Review: The book was an excellent exposition on the social reaction to persons in authority. I would like to say to a previous, and appropriately anonymous, reviewer known as, "A reader from Framingham, MA United States": The holocaust happened in Germany dummy. Just sign your name "American Basher" and leave our unholy shores ASAP.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant discussion of social theory
Review: The book was an excellent exposition on the social reaction to persons in authority. I would like to say to a previous, and appropriately anonymous, reviewer known as, "A reader from Framingham, MA United States": The holocaust happened in Germany dummy. Just sign your name "American Basher" and leave our unholy shores ASAP.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant discussion of social theory
Review: The book was an excellent exposition on the social reaction to persons in authority. I would like to say to a previous, and appropriately anonymous, reviewer known as, "A reader from Framingham, MA United States": The holocaust happened in Germany dummy. Just sign your name "American Basher" and leave our unholy shores ASAP.
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