Annette C. Boehm reviewed Prisoners of hate by Aaron T. Beck
Review of 'Prisoners of hate' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Aaron T. Beck is an authority in the field of cognitive psychology, and in this book he shares his observations / thoughts regarding anger, hate, and violence on both an individual and a national / international level. He argues that the same cognitive mechanisms underlie both individual violence and war. The book itself, while interesting, was a dry read for me because he keeps circling back and rephrasing himself. He also spends a good deal of the middle of the book with a long history lesson on certain wars and cases of genocide, obviously writing from an American perspective (in 1999). I would have been interested to hear his thoughts on the near-genocide of Native Americans in addition to the other examples he offers. Still, in all, this is an interesting book that introduces the relevant concepts of cognitive psychology, illustrated with brief case stories, and offers some suggestions for …
Aaron T. Beck is an authority in the field of cognitive psychology, and in this book he shares his observations / thoughts regarding anger, hate, and violence on both an individual and a national / international level. He argues that the same cognitive mechanisms underlie both individual violence and war. The book itself, while interesting, was a dry read for me because he keeps circling back and rephrasing himself. He also spends a good deal of the middle of the book with a long history lesson on certain wars and cases of genocide, obviously writing from an American perspective (in 1999). I would have been interested to hear his thoughts on the near-genocide of Native Americans in addition to the other examples he offers. Still, in all, this is an interesting book that introduces the relevant concepts of cognitive psychology, illustrated with brief case stories, and offers some suggestions for treatment (last chapter in particular).