People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil [B1904]

1998 PB second edition of the 1983 original, in nice clean condition. In this absorbing and equally inspiring companion volume to his classic The Road Less Traveled trilogy, Dr. M. Scott Peck brilliantly probes into the essence of human evil. People who are evil attack others instead of facing their own failures. Peck demonstrates the havoc these people of the lie work in the lives of those around them. He presents, from vivid incidents encountered in his psychiatric practice, examples of evil in everyday life. This book is by turns disturbing, fascinating, and altogether impossible to put down as it offers a strikingly original approach to the age-old problem of human evil.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Healing evil through science. Fascinating read. Mr. Peck offers the first step in the long process of having the science of psychology analyze and take on healing evil. He presents example case studies. Much of his theology seems accurate with a few exceptions. Book lags a bit in the 3rd quarter while discussing group evil, then ends strong."; "Thought provoking and informative. I felt a bit uneasy when he talked about interactions with evil people. A quote that I will take with me: --Mental health is a commitment to reality at all costs."; "I love how he talks about how evil runs in families but everyone has a choice. They can choose to change or get more and more evil. They have their own free will. Quotes from this book that I love: --those who are evil are masters of disguise. --Evil can be defeated by goodness."; "At first, I didn't understand the point of this book. It just seemed to be a psychiatrists theory on evil. But he tied it up nicely at the end and gave me a lot of things to think about!"; "Interesting book, a little too heavily invested in the religious side of things, but interesting nonetheless."; "Interesting. Very clinical. The cases Peck describes are fascinating to read, and the evil he diagnoses is refreshing to hear in a world awash with moral ambiguity and relativism. There's a little gospel in this book, which comes through slightly at the end with his call to love."