A History of Sin

by Oliver Thomson

This study of ethics & what shapes them argues that morality is as subject to fashion & the whims of the rich & powerful as any other aspect of human life. Examining the relationship between what a society believes & how it behaves, the author touches upon the infamous careers of Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Caligula, the early Popes, the Marquis de Sade, King Henry VIII, Adolf Hitler, & Idi Amin, among many others. This compelling study finds a link between the Victorians' disdain for communal swimming & the stoning of grey-haired Zulu kings; and a common thread in the Inquisition, the Holocaust, & the mass suicides at Jonestown.

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.