Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
27 used & new from £6.79
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History (Paperback)

by Howard K. Bloom (Author) "In 1580, Michel de Montaigne, inspired by the discovery of New World tribes untouched by Europe's latest complexities, initiated the idea of the "noble savage..." (more)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
Price: £11.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 2 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Saturday, July 11? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
14 new from £6.79 13 used from £8.10
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 5 used & new from £17.64
Paperback (Re-issue) Order it used

Frequently Bought Together

The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History + Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century + The Meme Machine
Price For All Three: £26.59

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century

Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big Bang to the 21st Century

by Howard Bloom
3.8 out of 5 stars (4)  £8.21
The Meme Machine

The Meme Machine

by Susan Blackmore
4.1 out of 5 stars (24)  £6.39
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
3.3 out of 5 stars (111)  £6.16
Prometheus Rising

Prometheus Rising

by Robert Anton Wilson
4.4 out of 5 stars (18)  £7.99
The Moral Animal

The Moral Animal

by Robert Wright
4.8 out of 5 stars (5)  £8.44
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 466 pages
  • Publisher: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press; 1st Pbk. Ed edition (13 Mar 1997)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0871136643
  • ISBN-13: 978-0871136640
  • Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.5 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 85,942 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #54 in  Books > Health, Family & Lifestyle > Psychology & Psychiatry > Schools of Thought > Behavioural Theory
    #88 in  Books > Science & Nature > Popular Science > Human Biology > The Brain

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

  • See Complete Table of Contents

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

  (What is this?)
Buried Secret about Hell
   www.TheJeromeConspiracy.com    Dead Sea Scrolls from cave four reveal surprise about hell in Bible 
Satan Never Was Lucifer
   bible-truths.com    Satan was never good. Get the facts The Lucifer lie - See for yourself 
  
 

Product Description

Synopsis
Explores the relationships among genetics, human behavior, and culture and argues that evil is a by-product of nature's strategies for creation.

From the Publisher
Covering the entire span of the Earth's as well as mankind's history, this ambitious and revolutionary book explores the intricate relationship between evolution, emotion, genes, and culture to put forth the thesis that "evil" is a by-product of nature's strategies for creation. The Lucifer Principle probes depression and elation, idealism and greed, revealing the surprising ways in which evolution has implanted her tactics in our bodies, minds, and in our mass psychology.

See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
In 1580, Michel de Montaigne, inspired by the discovery of New World tribes untouched by Europe's latest complexities, initiated the idea of the "noble savage " Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below
history
lucifer
politics
globalization
religion
eddie
donovan
study
stoner speculation
soical
sociology

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, 23 Aug 2003
I can't think of a great many books that have truly changed the way I view and think about the world (Culture Jam by Kalle Lasn being the only other one that springs to mind right now), but this is certainly one of them. In it, Bloom theorises that we all compose the individual components of national social superorganisms, and uses historic examples and scientific evidence to show how these superorganisms are knitted together by a combination of in-built, animalistic, biological urges and the influence of over-riding, virulent ideologies (or 'memes'). He goes on to explain how and why Mother Nature pits us against ourselves and forces us to abide by a 'pecking order', and what happens to those on the various strata. But, he postulates, just as the human body kills over 200 billion red blood cells per day in order to live and progress, so violence, war and evil has been built into each of us as a means by which the indivudual superorganisms can shed the components that no longer serve a purpose within it, so that it may evolve and live better in the future. Bloom ends the book on a positive note by theorising that (though it often seems otherwise) we are today as a race, through the sacrifices of the past, moving closer together and progressing towards a place in which the human race will come together as one superorganism. He also stresses that, if we are to survive as a species, we must learn to overcome, circumnavigate, or maybe 'cure' the animalistic part of our brain that drives us towards violence against one another.

That said, the above explanation really doesn't do the book justice; there is much more to it than that which I've attempted to lay out above, and I found the whole thing to be a completely fascinating read. It is written in a frank, easy-to-understand style, and the frequent historical and scientific references really help you to understand and contextualize the ideas that Bloom is trying to get across.

I would thoroughly recommend the book to anyone who thinks that, from what they've heard about it, they might be even remotely interested in it.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential and provoking, 10 Dec 2002
12 years in the making this book thoroughly and authoritatively examines human nature from a number of perspectives and fuses them with history, psychology and behaviour, providing insight into the very mechanisms that drive humans to exhibit such brutal yet constructive behaviours throughout history upto the present. Bloom cleverly illustrates that the fundamental concepts of the superorganism, ideas and the pecking order which constitute his 'lucifer principle' dynamically interact to produce the contrasting extremes of violent and creative behaviours of humans which have characterised our bloody rise to civilisation.
A book that at moments makes you resent mother nature for imbuing us with such a necessary capacity for destruction, Bloom finally delivers with an optimistic outlook for the future of the human race.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
11 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely brilliant, Bloom changed the way i view the world, 10 Jan 2002
By A Customer
i am only writing this because nobody else had done one, and if there is a book more deserving of 5 stars i have not read it. Richard Metzgar of Disinfo fame puts Bloom on a list of Einstein, Darwin, Freud, Buckminster-Fuller and maybe some more.
All i can say is BUY THIS BOOK, BUY IT NOW, it'll change the way you view the world completely.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't be put off by the weird title
Don't let the weird title "The Lucifer Principle" put you off. This book is full of fascinating facts, covering many eras of human history, anthropology and (even more... Read more
Published 15 months ago by David Wood

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as critical as i hoped but a great read
This book promises to be a groundbreaking exploration into gestalts and the nature of the 'superorganism'. Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2007 by Oliver Wood

4.0 out of 5 stars Into the Future
A great deal of meticulous research has gone into writing this book ( about 1/5th of the total number of pages is bibliography and notes! ). Read more
Published on 28 Dec 2005 by drshahbaznoor

5.0 out of 5 stars Get ready to have many assumptions challenged
Approach this book with an open mind and you will find that the filters you view the world through will have changed shape once you have completed it.

Next to Illuminatus! Read more

Published on 7 May 2004 by JamesG01

5.0 out of 5 stars Very heavy reading for very intellegent minds.
This books describes why we humans do what we do, where as humans we are headed and why.

A great book by a genius mind. Worth every penny. Read more

Published on 6 Sep 2003

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Elemis Resurface and Renew Skin Care Gift Set of 4 Products
From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

›Discover Health & Beauty

  

More From Howard Bloom

Global Brain: The...

Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass...

When did big-picture optimism become cool again? While not blind to... Read more
£11.99 £8.21

 

We've Got Converse

Converse
Stock up on your favourite styles with great deals on Converse shoes.

›Shop Converse

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
4.5 out of 5 stars (72)£3.86
 Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga)
Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer
4.1 out of 5 stars (458)£6.49
 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
4.1 out of 5 stars (161)£3.99
 The Host
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
4.2 out of 5 stars (80)£3.86

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates