A History of Sin

by Oliver Thomson

Illustrated with photographs, woodcuts and line-drawings, this study is an insight into the complex relationship between what a society believes and how it behaves. Driven by envy, idolatry, greed, racism, megalomania or lust, there is no end to the creativity of sinners and no greater challenge than to understand sin. Oliver Thomson's provocative theme is that morality is as subject to fashion and the whims of the rich and powerful in society as any other aspect of human life. What else links the Victorians' disdain for communal swimming to the stoning of grey-haired Zulu kings? What made it a capital offence to see the King of Dahomey eating his meals? How can one account for the Inquisition and the Holocaust, or the brutality of totalitarian regimes or the mass suicide of Jonestown? The common thread is the existence at certain times of moral codes which allow, and often encourage such actions and beliefs. The author's analysis encompasses an amazing breadth of information. Taking examples from virtually every culture and through every historical era. It is, in places, a catalogue of unrestrained evil, touching upon the careers of Attila the Hun, Gengh is Khan, Caligula, the early Popes, the Marquis de Sade, King Henry VIII, Adolf Hitler and Idi Amin, among many others.

Genres: History

278 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Oliver Thomson read history at Cambridge and later added a PhD at Glasgow University where he has been a part-time lecturer for many years. Though his main career was in advertising he has written twelve books, one of which was also published in Japanese and two in Portuguese. His books include The Great Feud: The Campbells and the MacDonalds, The Impossible Bourbons and The Other Kaisers.

Reviews

[Stephen Journeay · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read revealing the pendulum of human morality, so focused on sex--promiscuity, prostitution, and homosexuality--and violence--mutilation, torture, death--and how tied to religions these practices were. The more advance society becomes, the worse it acts towards people.