First published 2025
O'Reilly tackles the nature of evil through history's most destructive figures. He traces malevolence from its biblical origins in Cain's murder of Abel through centuries of human cruelty. The book profiles notorious tyrants including Genghis Khan, Caligula, Henry VIII, Stalin, Hitler, and Mao alongside the collective brutality of slave traders. O'Reilly extends his analysis to contemporary threats like the Ayatollah Khomeini, Putin, and Mexican drug cartels. He argues that evil persists because good people choose inaction over confrontation. Drawing from the Judeo-Christian framework, O'Reilly presents the battle between good and evil as a fundamental choice facing every individual. The book challenges readers to stop looking away from moral decisions and understand the historical consequences of passivity. O'Reilly invokes John Stuart Mill's warning that evil triumphs when good people remain silent bystanders.
Genres: history, 20th-century, political-science, social-issues, non-fiction, 21st-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: good-vs-evil, moral-dilemma
Setting: Cain, Judeo-Christian, Mexico
Period: Biblical, Contemporary, Medieval, Modern
304 pages · Hardcover · St. Martin's Press
Content warnings: violence