Stone (clinical psychiatry, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons) examines examples of violent crimes generally considered to be evil--for example, torture, murder (including serial, mass, and spree murder), and sexual sadism with murder--and categorizes each on a "gradations of evil" scale. He introduces his scale with a discussion of what is generally considered evil based on cultural differences. The scale ranges from 1 (justifiable homicide) to 22 (psychopathic torture murders, with torture, not necessarily sexual encounter, as the primary motive). The author gives examples of recent cases in each category and explains the justification for the rating he assigns. He discusses some of the perpetrators' psychiatric diagnoses and concludes with a discussion of the neurobiology behind the diagnoses and behaviors, going back to revisit the cited cases as examples. The case examples are sometimes graphic, but they serve to give the reader a greater understanding of the scale. This excellent study of evil and forensic psychiatry will be valuable to anyone interested in why people commit evil acts. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. General Readers; Lower-division Undergraduates; Upper-division Undergraduates; Graduate Students; Researchers/Faculty; Professionals/Practitioners. Reviewed by J. A. Gibson.

迈克尔·赫·斯通（Stone.M.H.），医学博士，美国哥伦比亚大学医学院教授。他出版过十部专著，最近的一本是《病态人格：可治与不可治》，还发表了两百多篇专业论文并参与若干书籍的编写。他曾是探索频道“最邪恶的人”系列节目的主持人，《纽约时报》、《纽约邮报》、《纽约日报》、《泰晤士报》、《今日心理学》以及《基督教科学箴言报》对他进行过专门报道。

晏向阳，英语文学硕士，大学教师，业余从事翻译工作，已出版译著上百万字。