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Why They Kill by Richard Rhodes
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Why They Kill

The Discoveries of a Maverick Criminologist

$26.24

Available for pre-order
July 16, 2024

Narrator Charles Constant

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Length TBA
Language English
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Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb, brings his inimitable vision, exhaustive research, and mesmerizing prose to this timely book that dissects violence and offers new solutions to the age-old problem of why people kill.

Lonnie Athens was raised by a brutally domineering father. Defying all odds, Athens became a groundbreaking criminologist who turned his scholar's eye to the problem of why people become violent. After a decade of interviewing several hundred violent convicts—men and women of varied background and ethnicity, he discovered "violentization," the four-stage process by which almost any human being can evolve into someone who will assault, rape, or murder another human being. Why They Kill is a riveting biography of Athens and a judicious critique of his seminal work, as well as an unflinching investigation into the history of violence.

Contains mature themes.

Richard Rhodes is the author of many works of history, fiction, and letters. His book The Making of the Atomic Bomb won a Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction, a National Book Award, and a National Book Critics Circle Award. Richard lectures widely on subjects related to his books, which run the gamut from nuclear history to the story of mad cow disease to a study of how people become violent to a biography of the 19th-century artist John James Audubon.

Actor Charles Constant's professional storytelling career began at the age of thirteen, when he became an Actors' Equity Association apprentice. After training in Chicago and London, he went on to appear onstage in theaters across the country. Charles was chosen by Mark Cuban to narrate his book How to Win at the Sport of Business, and his work on Into the Crossfire became an Audible Listener Favorite in February 2014. Publishers Weekly says that he provides "strong" narration and finds his voice to be "deep and assertive."

Buy one get one free

This month only!

Become a member and shop our members-only, 10th anniversary buy-one-get-one sale in support of local bookstores.

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Celebrate our 10th Anniversary with giveaways, merch, and more! Learn more