The only good thing about this book is that it sums up previous ideas regarding genocide in ancient texts. But whenever John Docker starts talking about his own ideas or conclusions, you can see straight off that the guy is aiming to be provocative and demagogical in that he always gives them to you in the same breath that he feeds you his political views. I'm sorry, but thats just not the way academic books are supposed to be written, most of the time it seems like he's running for a political office instead of researching the subject objectively. I am a grad student in Postmodern Literature with a BA in Ancient Literature, have read many books and articles about violence and religion, and can safely say by any standard that John Docker's book is in REALLY bad taste. He himself adds nothing to the research being done in this subject and only tries to use it as a platform to promote his own political views. If you want to read about violence in the bible, you might want to check out Regina Schwartz "The Curse of Cain". She writes about the same subject Docker claims to write about only she actually gives unique insights on the biblical texts and analyzes them in a thorough and scientific way that produces an exciting new interpretation of the texts and contributes to the on going research of preventing genocide and group violence in the modern day world.

To sum it up: Do yourself a favor and DONT spend your money on this book. The topic sounds tempting, but there are other,more informative and relevant books out there on this subject that are much more worth the time and money.

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