Rarely does a book emerge that is a wake-up call to the world. Mass Hate is such a masterpiece. It explores why the brutality of humankind has erupted and flowed more expansively in the twentieth century than ever before. More importantly, this monumental work offers specific recommendations on how to stem this bloody global tide of slaughter, terror, and genocide—so that the twenty-first century does not bring more of the same, or worse.Neil Kressel—a respected authority on the psychology of international affairs, genocide, and terrorism—meticulously investigates why in the past eight decades mass hatred has reached genocidal proportions throughout the world. Genocide has occurred so often and blood has gushed so freely that one might consider the urge to kill one’s neighbor an inborn characteristic of our species. Furthermore, the power to wreak bloody havoc on innocent civilians has become not only the sport of ”soldiers,” but of terrorists as well. In light of this, Kressel examines the motives for terrorist acts, specifically those of ultraextremist Muslims. Given the possibility of nuclear devices falling into the hands of terrorists in the next century, we must now come to grips with the epidemic spread of hatred and violence. Our only hope lies in understanding the human impulse to hate and the forces that transform that impulse into brutish action. In his quest for a thorough understanding of what ignites mass slaughter, Kressel probes beyond the facile, stock answers that traditionally explain such horrors. He plumbs the depths of history, psychology, and political science to derive his own theories of what propels an average citizen to raise the machete to groups of innocent women and children and slash them to death, or to pull the lever to release pernicious gases upon defenseless people, and to do it again and again.The time has come for us all to join Dr. Kressel in investigating the mind of the hater and to learn to identify the circumstances that foment genocide and terrorism. By recognizing their antecedents, Dr. Kressel proposes ways to control, if not defeat, these twin forces of evil. The breathtaking sweep and depth of this trenchant work promises to make it a classic.In his investigation, he focuses on:
Neil J. Kressel, Ph.D., a social psychologist at William Paterson University of New Jersey, has taught at Harvard, New York University, and elsewhere. He is also the author of Mass Hate: The Global Rise of Genocide and Terror (Westview Press). Dorit F. Kressel, J.D., is a practicing attorney in New Jersey. Prior to entering private practice, Ms. Kressel served as a law clerk to the New Jersey Supreme Court.The authors reside in Wayne, New Jersey with their children, Sam and Hannah.
Neil J. Kressel currently Chairperson of the Department of Psychology at William Paterson College of New Jersey.
