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10 Books That Screwed Up the World: And 5 Others That Didn't Help | 
 enlarge | Author: Benjamin Wiker
Publisher: Regnery Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
Buy New: $17.16
You Save: $10.79 (39%)
New (27) Used (10) Collectible (1) from $14.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  41 reviews
Sales Rank: 10896
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 260
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 1.1
ISBN: 1596980559
Dewey Decimal Number: 909.09821
EAN: 9781596980556
ASIN: 1596980559
Publication Date: May 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 4 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Few left in stock - order soon. Code: P20081117114142S
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Product Description
From Machiavelli to Marx, Nietzsche to Hitler, this volume offers a provocative look at some of Western civilization's most infamous authors and their literary works and shows how these works have inflicted great evil in the world--and still cause suffering.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 36 more reviews...
 Religious Zealot Pretending To Be A Philosopher November 29, 2008
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
From the first words of this book it is blatantly obvious that this book has one purpose -- to argue that Christians have the only correct view of the world, that all free thinkers that reveal how pathetic religion is are "sinners", and that abortion is sin, homosexuality is sin, not believing Christ will save your soul from that big fiery pit in the ground that we're all going to (anyone ever ask a Muslim, or a Hindu, or a Jew what they think of those issues) is sin -- so this book would be a perfect fit for the tribunal at the Spanish Inquisition. Thankfully, that absurdity did not propagate and all the great thinkers were allowed to spread their ideas.
Obviously there I don't think that Hitler or Marx or Machiavelli were "good" people -- but they did exist and it is certainly interesting to analyze their works -- but analysis and philosophy require an open mind -- not the blinded ravings of a religious zealot...
Are we surprised that Wiker is/has been a professor at all devout Christian Academies???
In summary, it is a fun intellectual exercise to see how poorly Wiker's arguments are against the thinkers he professes to tear down -- since all his "philosophy" is the same -- blah, blah blah, Christ is great, "He" will save us from "sin", and Wiker is really not that intelligent -- so I would say that any good philosophy student would really enjoy using this book to make sure that they could take a poor argument and rip it to shreds...
 Flawed Premise November 26, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
While Dr. Wiker (Ph.D. in Theological Ethics) does a fair job in detailing why these ten books had some bad ideas, he is more interested in demonizing all things that have been influenced by these books. Now, many of them are based on non- and pseudo-science and deserve a good thrashing, but he is really launching his judgments from a traditional Judeo-Christian platform, which is also based on a non-science book (albeit one with a richer and thicker sheen of cultural strength).
This is far more an attack on liberal ideas (some of which deserve attacking), than a serious intellectual treatise. And while I agree with many of the concepts, the premise is flawed and I feel disappointed by what I thought was going to be some serious logical thinking and all I kept hearing was, "this is bad because God says so".
This book should be moved to the Religious section.
From a Devout Christian - a biased book! November 19, 2008
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
I'm a devout Christian in a traditional Evangelical church.
The first question to ask is, "Why should anyone read this book?" I see absolutely no constructive purpose in making commentary about these influential books of history in this condescending manner. This book is no different than Richard Dawkins writing a book about atheism to an audience that is already decidedly atheist. It is precisely books like this that widen the divide between believers and non-believers. It is a "pep-rally" book, and nothing more. If you don't like Darwin, just don't read him. If you're worried about Darwin's effects on the world, or if you think you know better than those who read his work, then your're sinning by worrying about it, exhibiting pride, and not believing that God is in control. Save the money for your offering trays!
Brian Stone November 19, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
It is interesting that my thoughts throughout the reading of this book echoed the words written by the other low-raters. I would hope that this book is never used as an intellectually honest appraisal of the books cited in this commentary. I would add, as others have, that there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of philosophers and political thinkers who have written and espoused contrarian or revolutionary concepts that have influenced world civilizations. Mao's "Little Red Book" comes easily to mind. Espousing right-wing Christian orthodoxy is a legitimate activity for any person of Dr. Wiker's background. Couching this orthodoxy in an attempted intellectual trashing of a short list of books, some which I would not consider worthy of the time spent(i.e. Feminine Mystique, Coming of Age in Samoa and the Kinsey Report)leads me to put this book on the shelf with my collection of books about books and hope it slowly recedes from memory.
 a must read for anyone wondering how things got to be this way November 16, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is a must read for any of us who wonders how we got to this place we are in. It is easily readable and very insightful. I have bought 5 copies to give to friends.
pat wier
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