Customer Reviews

People of the Lie

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Dr. Peck's concern with the reality of evil remains unheard in the mental health community a decade and a half after this book was published. He makes a strong case for the reality of evil, but undercuts it in two ways: His belief in evil spirits, and his confining evil to character pathology, and a specific one--narcissism--at that.

Why belief in evil spirits discredits him in the mental health community is obvious. This sort of superstition, which is not open to objective verification or experimental falsification, cannot be taken seriously by people committed (however fecklessly) to an ideal of scientific knowledge.

Confining evil to narcissism is problematic in a different way: It makes evil a sign of sickness, and historically one is not held responsible for what one does as a result of illness. Within the mental health community, pathological narcissism, which is acknowledged to be extremely destructive, is regarded as something to be cured, something for which one is no more morally culpable than one would be for blindness.

One need not be clinically narcissistic to objectify and use others. Perfectly healthy people can be evil. Failures of empathy, envy, and exploitation do not confine themselves to the psychiatrically challenged. Egoism, a moral failing, is not the same thing as narcissism, a pathlogical condition. By conflating the two, Peck made sure that the mental health community would fail to recognize the reality and horror of the former--and its role in fostering it--and also dismiss his contention that narcissism is a moral problem.

I believe this book ought to be required reading for anyone who's considering becoming a parent, considering being born to a parent or a pair of them, contemplating being a brother, sister aunt or uncle or maybe having a wife, husband or friend.

The book is about power, manipulation, boundaries, lies and evil as they exist within ourselves and the people around us. They don't require that we believe in them to exist, but if we're able to recognize them for what they are it helps. Recognizing it doesn't make it easy, but it makes it possible.

Peck's premises mightn't be entirely correct, as some suggest. But whether it's 'evil' or merely something not evil that could get a job being evil if there was such an occupation, Peck's approach works.

I recommend this book for anyone who knows, loves, cares about and lives with the agonies of the phenomenon Peck calls 'evil'.

I read and enjoyed The Road Less Traveled, but I think Peck went off the deep end with this one.

I'm assuming that this book was published before the widespread acceptance of biological causes of mental illness, since Peck's "case studies" that appear to be primarily cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder, major depression, borderline personality disorder or some form of psychosis, all of which are now treatable with drugs. (I'm betting that Haldol, Seroquel and Prozac, as well as behavioral therapy, all have better treatment rates than exorcism). But even in the late 80's, these theories were gaining credence and psychiatrists were willing to experiment with treatment options other than the "talking cure." I find Peck's willingness to ascribe his patients' difficulties to "evil" or demonic possession not only ludicrous, but irresponsible. I hope he didn't write that on their charts.

The case studies he cites certainly illustrate that people are capable of evil--no secret to anyone who watches Court TV. But Peck seems curiously limited in his view. For example, there's Sarah, a woman who abuses her milquetoast husband. Sarah is evil, Peck maintains, but he's not really interested in how or why. If he's explored the dynamics of the relationship, he doesn't share it with us. Treatment appears to be the furthest thing from his mind. He insists that one can't "treat" evil. All right, but how did Sarah get to be this way? Original sin? Youthful experimentation with a Ouija board? Playing Dungeons & Dragons? It's more likely that she (and her spoouse) were abused or otherwise had traumatic events that caused them to accept their miserable existence as the norm and their due. But Peck doesn't deal with this possibility at all.

"Charlene," the patient who attempts to seduce Peck and (horror of horrors!) takes him away from his martinis, is clearly a messed-up young lady. Given her deteriorated (at times, seemingly delusional) condition, would it not have been more responsible for Peck to refer her to some kind of inpatient care? Or at least, since he had such difficulty dealing with her, find her another shrink?

Most of his other examples appear to be garden-variety abusive/dysfunctional families. Yes, I am aware that it is an uphill battle to get such adults or their children into treatment. But their illness is probably the result of childhood abuse or other factors, not evil. It's possible to use mental illness to explain too much. Some people probably are "just plain evil" but they are, thank God, relatively few in number.

As another reviewer stated, this book is dangerous--more because it is the modern version of burning epileptics at the stake as witches. Mental illness is biological, not moral. I hope his patients eventually got the treatment they so desperately needed.

So here we have yet again , another medical professional recounting tales of his encounters with patients , anything to make a quick buck. Peck himself says that he should have entitled the book" ...... good and evil" but somehow the evil standing alone is a little bit more exciting. Peck is another dysfunctional professuinal theorist who knows it all intellectually, who knows what applys to everybody else but he himself is somehow above it all. He would like us to believe that the patients he has failed to heal are somehow evil , even more proposperous he would like us to do so in the name of progress. I became angry and sad with this book. It's language is devoid of compassion, reeks of melodrama and in the end doesn't offer anything new about anything. I suspect Dr. Peck to be one of the very people he would like us to be more aware of. The book is certainly a lie

When I read this 25 years ago it made an impact on me. Now, however I wonder why Dr Peck didn't recognize the psychopathic behaviour disorder in Charlene. When 4% of our population exhibit this it should have been a no brainer for him. Further, he states had he known now, etc. he could have helped her. But anyone familiar at all with psychopaths know that there is no psychological cure. They just enjoy playing and manipulating the psychologist (what she was totally doing the entire time). For Dr Peck to have extracted so much money from her in the 4 years of their intense counseling was extrememly unethical and unskilled.

Although the book is full of disclaimers that attempt to let the author off the hook, the overall tone of Peck's writing lends itself well to paranoia and witch-hunting. You are apt to see evil people of the lie hiding under every rock after reading this book, and might even conclude yourself as one.

There are sound books available on the subject of narcissism (a psychological concept) and there are religion-based books which deal well with the concept of human evil. This book tries to be both, but is neither.

Sensationalistic books are usually fondly received at first and then later become dated because they are not sound enough to stand up to the test of time. May it be mercifully so with this one.

The author writes from a mainstream Christian perspective, which is certainly legitimate. He describes certain case studies where the patients suffered from extreme narcissism. I am not convinced that all the cases represent the narcissistic form of evil that Peck tries to define; some may instead be exhibiting psychopathy or types of schizophrenia. In one case, for example, the pathology exhibited itself as victimless if one exempts the patient herself from victim status.

Peck sets forth a case for a scientific study of evil and writes engagingly about mental illness and the naming of evil. He also investigates the phenomena of possession and exorcism. It becomes quite interesting when he looks at the fiction of J R R Tolkien and the work of Erich Fromm and Martin Buber and when he discusses the three major theological models of evil, i.e. the nondualism of certain Eastern faiths, the integrated dualism espoused by Buber and the traditional Christian one of diabolic dualism as he terms it.

Where the author goes wrong in a big way, is in his study of the My Lai atrocity or rather the conclusions he draws from it: his suggestion for a military draft (involuntary service) and his criticism of specialisation. Here he reveals some utopian notions that I find very questionable. A compulsory draft goes against the principles of individual freedom and besides, utopian schemes invariably turns out evil. The good doctor should know that by now. The coercion involved in society laying that sort of claim on the individual is a totalitarian concept that is by definition evil.

Another misconception that I noticed is that Dr Peck still thinks that psychotherapy is a universally good idea, notwithstanding all evidence to the contrary. In addition, he claims that most psychologists are kind, gentle people. That has not been the case in my personal experience or in the literature. It would not surprise me if narcissism were as prevalent amongst psychotherapists as it is in the general population.

In this way Dr Peck acts as an apologist for psychotherapy as he also did with his mega selling book The Road Less Travelled. No doubt this therapy has helped some people but it is not the panacea Dr Peck would like to make it. With all of the above provisos, I still recommend this book. People Of The Lie contains enough that is thought provoking and does provide some original insights while asking some provocative questions.

Anyone and everyone who has issues with controlling or nasty people including parents, loved ones, friends or whomever, should read this book. It helps you identify them and how they are affecting your life today and why. It has helped me to understand people better in general, to have patience with them, learn to avoid them when they are acting horrible or causing turmoil. There is a reason. They are acting out against how they were treated or what they have seen in their childhood. I genuinely loved this book!!

I remember picking this book up about 5 years ago and scanning through the first couple of chapters thinking to myself, "What is this guy talking about? I can't even fathom people that act like this." It just didn't ring true because my experience had not seen the likes of what he was trying to explain.

Fast forward 5 years later, and after going through a harrowing job experience with two people who could star in a movie representation of this book (which, come to think of it, has already been done in a film called SWIMMING WITH SHARKS in the character played by Kevin Spacey), I read it through in a single sitting. Peck so accurately diagnoses the "people of the lie" as being so self-absorbed and narcisistic that they continually make excuses about the abuse they heap upon other people, somehow turning every story 180 degrees in the opposite direction and always claiming victimization when the situation so clearly points to them as the perpetrator. It is a sad indictment of what must be a pandemic within institutions, as these folks clamor and cling to power, money and title oblivious to the human carnage left in the wake of their passing.

But even still, where our hearts are naturally inclined toward revenge, Peck cautions us, coaxing us toward pity for these wretched creatures. He suggests that whatever vile hellaciousness we could dream up as pay back should be tempered with the notion that these folks have consigned themselves to live in a hell of their own making (kind of like Annabella Sciorra in the movie, WHAT DREAMS MAY COME). The dark night of the soul sees their hearts scream out, "I hate you, you're nothing" when the worst some of us deal with is, "Ack... dumb mistake... oh well... keep going."

Bravo... this book rings true, even if it took a second reading. Context is everything!

I read this book many years ago, along with a few of Peck's other books. I was obviously searching for something... I really didn't know exactly what I was searching for but I knew that it had something to do with understanding myself and who I was.

I now realize that I do not agree with Peck's theory about why people are "evil". I believe that he has a tendency to oversimplify and miss some pretty key points as to why some people are "bad".

It is my assertion that this so called "human evil" is part of a vicious cycle that goes back many thousands of years--even before the time of Christ. It is linked to many western cultures and we can see much of this behavior even in the pages of the Bible.

I believe that we need to rethink our cultural and religious beliefs and how they shape whole groups of people. A good place to begin this search is a book called "The New Dance Of Christ" by Anthony T. Massimini.

Massimini hits on some very pertinent reasons as to why people are the way that they are. He delves deeply into the psychological brain of Christian Culture... Even if you are not a Christian, you will be amazed, and something will happen to you when you read it-something very enlightening and even shocking...

I don't want to give away anything about this book because each page should be read and absorbed by the reader. The only thing that I will say is that if you are searching and looking to understand yourself and the world around you, BUY "THE NEW DANCE OF CHRIST"! It very well may change your life just as it did mine...