Books are one of our greatest resources, but many times in history
books have been written which are misleading or untrue. In some cases
this has lead to widescale death and destruction and evil governmental
regimes.
This is a list of ten of the worst books of this type – books that
have done more harm than good. The common thread in all of these books
is deception – invariably not intentional, but the consequences are the
same regardless.
I have intentionally left off some of the more obvious choices – as they will almost certainly come up in the comments. This list is in no particular order.
10. Malleus Maleficarum
Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, 1486
On the list because: It inflamed witch hunts across Europe
Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witchraft) was a manual for witch
hunters and judges to catch witches and stamp them out. It came out
just prior to the protestant reformation and it was one of the most
popular books amongst the reformers who were wanting to smash “evil” out
of their countries. Between 1487 and 1520, twenty editions of the
Malleus were published, and another sixteen editions were published
between 1574 to 1669. This book single-handedly launched centuries of
witch hunts.
9. Coming of Age in Samoa
Margaret Mead, 1928
On the list because: it turned out to be a creation of her own sexual confusions and aspirations
Margaret Mead was an American cultural anthropologist who traveled to
Samoa to answer the questions on sexuality posed in America in the
1920s (particularly with reference to women). Unfortunately for Mead,
the youths she interviewed in Samoa told her wild tales of sexual
promiscuity and Mead reported it all as fact. One of the girls later
said: “She must have taken it seriously, but I was only joking. As you
know, Samoan girls are terrific liars when it comes to joking. But
Margaret accepted our trumped up stories as though they were true.” If
challenged by Mead, the girls would not have hesitated to tell the
truth, but Mead never questioned their stories. According to Wikipedia:
“The use of cross-cultural comparison to highlight issues within
Western society was highly influential, and contributed greatly to the
heightened awareness of Anthropology and Ethnographic study in the USA.”
Interestingly, Mead was a highly regarded academic and had a large
part in the formulation of the 1979 American Book of Common Prayer
(Church of England).
8. The Prince
Niccolò Machiavelli, 1532
On the list because: it was the inspiration for a long list of tyrannies (Stalin had it on his nightstand)
The Prince is a treatise meant for rulers who had shed all scruples –
to a point that they might see evil as potentially more beneficial to
society than good. Machiavelli hoped to start a revolution in the
hearts of his readers, and he certainly achieved that. He proudly
stated things that others before him had only dared to whisper, and he
whispered things that had not even been considered. According to
Machiavelli “it is not necessary for a prince to have all the
above-mentioned qualities [merciful, faithful, humane, honest, and
religious], but it is indeed necessary to appear to have them. Nay, I
dare say this, that by having them and always observing them, they are
harmful; and by appearing to have them they are useful.” Some of the
people inspired by this book are Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Napoleon
I of France.
7.Mein Kampf
Adolf Hitler, 1925
On the list because: it helped spread Hitler’s genocidal anti-Semitism
In Mein Kampf, Hitler outlined his racist plan for a new Germany
which included mass murder of Jews, and a war against France and Russia
to make living space for Germans. At the time of publication the book
was largely ignored, but once Hitler rose to power that changed. It is
believed that over 10 million copies were in circulation in 1945. The
book is largely influenced by The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind by
Gustave Le Bon (1895) which suggested propaganda as a means to
controlling the irrational behavior of crowds. In addition, Hitler drew
on the fabricated Protocols of the Elders of Zion to give support for
the need for his anti-semitic plans. Hitler speaks of “The Jewish
Peril” which he believed was a conspiracy by Jews to take over the
world. The book outlines the racial worldview in which people are
classified by race as superior or inferior. In 2003 the sequel to Mein
Kampf, Zweites Buch, was published in English for the first time.
Zweites Buch (Second Book) expands on the original ideas of Mein Kampf
and outlines further plans for a war with the United States and the
British Empire for entire world domination by Germany.
6. The Pivot of Civilization
Margaret Sanger, 1922
On the list because: it preaches eugenics
Margaret Sanger is the mother of modern contraception and the founder
of Planned Parenthood. In her 1922 book, The Pivot of Civilization,
she outlined her theories of eugenics (control of the human race by
selective breeding) and racial purity (3 years before Hitler did the
same in Mein Kampf). The basis of her support of contraception was
entirely due to her belief that inferior humans should be killed to
enable a superior race to appear over time. Sanger did not just
entertain popular ideas of her time – she was the champion of the cause.
In her book she says: “the most urgent problem of to-day is how to
limit and discourage the over-fertility of the mentally and physically
defective.” She goes on to say: “possibly drastic and Spartan methods
may be forced upon American society if it continues complacently to
encourage the chance and chaotic breeding that has resulted from our
stupid, cruel sentimentalism.” Birth control was, in her mind, “the
greatest and most truly eugenic method.” Needless to say, Planned
Parenthood today have tried very hard to distance themselves from their
founder.
5. Democracy and Education
John Dewey, 1916
On the list because: it convinced the world that education is not about facts
In Democracy and Education, Dewey disparages schooling that focuses
on traditional character development and endowing children with hard
knowledge, and encourages the teaching of thinking “skills” instead. His
views have had great influence on the direction of American
education–particularly in public schools. This book could be considered
to be the anti-classical education manifesto. And the consequence? A
generation of youths with an inferior education which lacks a founding
in solid facts and knowledge. Dewey was one of the three founders of
the philosophical school of Pragmatism – a school of thought which
proposes that “truth” is made and can change. The current curriculum in
New Zealand is one which would please Dewey immensely as it is largely
founded on his principles.
4. Baby and Childcare
Benjamin Spock, 1946
On the list because: it caused deaths through bad advice
Regardless of whether you agree with the methodology of Spock, no one
can deny that many children probably died of cot death as a result of
his advice to put babies to sleep on their stomachs. This advice was
extremely influential on health-care providers, with nearly unanimous
support through to the 1990s. Spock believed that babies on their back
can choke on their own vomit – leading to death. Scientists eventually
found that Spock’s advice actually lead to more deaths by suffocation.
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by this bad advice are as many
as 50,000. Spock also advocated a method of child raring that moved
away from discipline based methods. Previously, experts had told
parents that babies needed to learn to sleep on a regular schedule, and
that picking them up and holding them whenever they cried would only
teach them to cry more and not to sleep through the night. Spock taught
the exact opposite.
3. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
Unknown
On the list because: it was a propaganda book designed to incite racial hatred
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a booklet that purports to
describe a plot by world Jewry and Masonry to take over the world.
Despite the fact that the booklet is a hoax, it was spread wide and far
and believed by most Europeans to be true. Many people today still
consider it be factual. It was instrumental to Hitler’s anti-Jewish
efforts in Germany and it was used after the Russian Revolution to
perpetrate hatred and violence against Jews. The booklet continues to
be published and disseminated in many Middle Eastern states which are
political enemies of Israel.
2. The Manifesto of the Communist Party
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, 1848
On the list because: it could win the award for the most malicious book ever written
This book has inspired some of the most brutal regimes in man’s
history. Regardless of whether there has been a state which is a true
Marxist state, this book has inspired so many evil actions that it can
not be left off a list of this nature. Some of the principles found in
the manifesto are the abolition of private ownership of land,
confiscation of property of emigrants, heavy taxes, and the abolition of
inheritance.
1. Darwin’s Black Box
Michael Behe, 1996
On the list because: It fuels fundamentalist attacks on Science
By arguing against aspects of Darwin’s theories, this book has given
fuel to the fundamentalists who argue that a literal interpretation of
the Book of Genesis is the only possible manner in which the earth was
created. Despite much refutation from the Scientific community, many
fundamentalists still use this as a “source” for proof that evolution is
not true. The book itself was not peer reviewed as Behe claimed under
oath, and the Science community has overwhelming rejected it. It should
be noted that Behe himself is not a fundamentalist and does not believe
in a literal interpretation of the Bible.
source : http://listverse.com/2008/05/14/10-books-that-screwed-up-the-world/
Tag :
Books,
Controversial
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