The Lucifer Principle

The Lucifer Principle is definitely worth your attention if you are interested in human behavior, evolution, superorganisms, genes, memes, and the concept of evil.

The book, however, tends to get lost in a series of tangential points loosely tied together by the main thesis: "Violence as central to the creation of the 'superorganism' of society and the inevitable 'pecking orders' and hierarchies inherent in human social groups"

In short, Bloom's work is all over the place, and while at first this nebulous structure is entertaining, toward the end becomes tiresome.

With a strong introduction and solid body, I found myself intrigued and highlighting much of the text. However, the end of the book gets lost in self-righteous patriotism and absurd xenophobic ideas.

The person who reviewed the book right before me said it best, "he veers off into screeds against organized religion, foreign aid and welfare," that I felt were absurd.

All together a thought provoking book and worth your time.