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Starting with psychology as a frame of reference, Oakley uses cutting-edge images of the working brain to provide startling support for the idea that "evil" people act the way they do mainly as the result of a dysfunction. In fact, some deceitful, manipulative, and even sadistic behavior appears to be programmed genetically--suggesting that some people really are born to be bad. But there are unexpected fringe benefits to "evil genes." We may not like them--but we literally can't live without them.

Oakley deftly ties together the big picture implications of revolutionary neuroscientific and genetic discoveries, showing the eerily similar behavioral tics of Mao, Stalin, Hitler, and Slobodan Milosevic. The dramatic recent scientific findings presented in Evil Genes shed light not only on dictators far afield, but on politics at home, as well as business, religion, and everyday life. In fact, history itself has been shaped by the strange confluence of genes and environment that science is just now beginning to understand.

Oakley links the latest findings of molecular research to a wide array of seemingly unrelated historical and current phenomena, from the harems of the Ottomans and the chummy jokes of "Uncle Joe" Stalin, to the remarkable memory of investor Warren Buffet. Throughout, she never loses sight of the personal cost of evil genes as she unravels the mystery surrounding her sister's enigmatic life--and death.

Evil Genes is a tour-de-force of popular science writing that brilliantly melds scientific research with intriguing family history and puts both a human and scientific face to evil.

Average Customer Rating:

Understanding Mean People

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This is a good book, and it is based on abundant scientific studies. While I don't buy into the "strong programme" of sociobiology -- whereby behavior is 100% genetically determined -- this book helped me understand a family member and various colleagues with deep psychological problems. Note that Machiavellianism is not equivalent to Machiavelli as a historic character. The "-ism" as acquired cultural meaning that transcends M's intentions. That's how it is: ideas are like babies we raise and turn loose into the world: they grow & take on a life of their own. For years, I tried to fathom how so many borderline sociopaths can become so professionally successful. Oakley provides good insights into how this occurs. Sadly, there does not seem to be any "fix." While we can understand bullies and mean people in the workplace, it would be nice to DO something about the problem. But Oakley explains, to some degree, this problem too: many people simply do not/will not join hands with others to stand up against evil. Most of us have a genetic (and environmentally reinforced) tendency to back down from conflict, fear criticizing others who might then attack us, and -- worst of all -- ally with others who are strong, bullying personality types.

Ramblings of an Amateur

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Another reviewer put this book in the same class as works by Oliver Sacks. I hardly think that this kind of "Sunday supplement" journalism -- written by an amateur with no formal training in genetics, neuroscience, or psychiatric diagnosis -- should be compared to the careful, methodical thinking of someone like Oliver Sacks. Oakley's book is motivated by her deep desire to create a narrative that explains her own personal/family history. For whatver reason, she finds a "scientific" narrative to be the most comfortable. Starting from that basis, she creates a large, shakey structure that (miraculously) ties her "evil" sister to the likes of Hitler, Machiavelli, and Slobodan Milosevic. What's appalling is that someone with legitimate engineering credentials would jump to the kinds of unfounded conclusions that Oakley reaches in this book. Finally, this probably would have been a two-star review instead of a one-star, except that the author's writing style is so abysmal.

Explains Obama's words and actions

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The author's theory explains the words and actions of Barack Obama. He is extremely narcissistic and self-righteous. When confronted with his contradictory ideas and conduct, he blames others. Apparently he has inherited "evil genes" from both his white mother and his black father. The public knows that he has thrown his white grandmother, Rev. Wright, and a Catholic priest under the bus. But the public does not know whom else he has sacrificed. There is enough evidence of psychopathic behavior and borderline personality disorder to warrant an examination by experts. But it is unlikely that the major news organizations will hire scientific experts to analyze and evaluate his conduct because they fear that his campaign will call them "racist". That fear outweighs the possibility that uninformed and well-intentioned voters may elect a psychopath as president.

Fascinating science!

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Three or four times a year I come across a book so compelling that I bubble over telling friends about it and impulsively read passages aloud to my long-suffering husband. Evil Genes is such a book. As the book description says, Barbara Oakley began getting really interested in what makes people evil when she read her dead sister's diaries. For many people this would be the end of the story, but, being an engineer, and therefore analytically inclined, and a linguist, and therefore verbally inclined, Ms. Oakley delved into what the latest in psychology and brain science can tell us about what goes on in the brains of really evil people. And then she wrote about it in a way that laymen like me can understand. I probably learned more about brains and mental pathology in this book than in any single other book I have read. I can now impress my friends with terms like "polygeny" and "gaslighting." The information provided is sufficiently advanced that I even told a psychiatrist friend things he didn't know! In addition to the pure science, however, the book contains fascinating analyses of the minds of leaders like Chairman Mao and Winston Churchill (not that she implies Sir Winston was evil) and concludes that a touch of deviance might be helpful for personal success. Anyone with an interest in science or history is likely to find Evil Genes an unusual and fascinating read. Let me warn, however, that this IS a book of science and presents what is known at the present level of the science; it does not offer uninformed speculation. Some other reviewers seem disappointed at the lack of conclusions; they will just have to wait until science catches up with our desire for answers.

Why genes?

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This book offers not a shred of evidence for its thesis, which is that extremely immoral behavior must be caused by "evil genes." She creates an imaginary personality type she calls "Machiavellianism," associates it with certain emotions, and claims that we can now see pictures of these in brain scans, so they must be genetic. None of this follows, and there is plenty of evidence that all of us have all the genes we need to be Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde or anything in between. "I could never do that," we think, reading about the Virginia Tech shooter. Oh yes, we could.