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On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears Reprint Edition

by Stephen T. Asma (Author)

4.5 204 ratings

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Hailed as "a feast" (Washington Post) and "a modern-day bestiary" (The New Yorker), Stephen Asma's On Monsters is a wide-ranging cultural and conceptual history of monsters--how they have evolved over time, what functions they have served for us, and what shapes they are likely to take in the future. Beginning at the time of Alexander the Great, the monsters come fast and furious--Behemoth and Leviathan, Gog and Magog, Satan and his demons, Grendel and Frankenstein, circus freaks and headless children, right up to the serial killers and terrorists of today and the post-human cyborgs of tomorrow. Monsters embody our deepest anxieties and vulnerabilities, Asma argues, but they also symbolize the mysterious and incoherent territory beyond the safe enclosures of rational thought. Exploring sources as diverse as philosophical treatises, scientific notebooks, and novels, Asma unravels traditional monster stories for the clues they offer about the inner logic of an era's fears and fascinations. In doing so, he illuminates the many ways monsters have become repositories for those human qualities that must be repudiated, externalized, and defeated.

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Editorial Reviews

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"Monsters literal and metaphorical are dissected with skill and discernment in philosopher and scholar Asma's penetrating "unnatural history." Erudite, funny, and deeply attuned to the profound psychological and moral implications of monstrousness, Asma encompasses the mystical and the scientific as he ponders the simultaneous repulsion and attraction monsters arouse... Asma is insightful and entertaining in his discussion of monsters of the deep, supernatural doppelgangers, zombies, and vampires, and intense in his discussion of Freud and the 'science of monstrous feelings...' Asma's far-reaching book of monsterology is original, captivating, and profoundly elucidating."--Booklist starred review

"With insight, erudition, and humor, Asma's compendium of monsterology traces the evolving meanings and manifestations of monsters since antiquity, in religion, philosophy, science, literature, popular culture, and the human psyche. To explain the eternal attraction and repulsion of the monstrous, Asma draws on material from Aristotle to nanotechnology, revealing myriad, surprising ways that supernatural, natural, and metaphorical monsters inhabit the landscape of our imagination."--Adrienne Mayor, author of The First Fossil Hunters and The Poison King

"On Monsters is a humorously omnivorous consideration of the monstrous. It's a delightful book, a terrific balance of scholarship and wonder."--Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife

"A wide-ranging exploration of fear and evil, Asma's presentation and theories are original and practical, depicting those dark, repulsive notions of an unstable, turbulent world in which everybody must struggle to remain human and civilized." --Publishers Weekly

"A comprehensive modern-day bestiary."--New Yorker

"Cleverly conceived and slyly written...I have seldom read a book that so satisfyingly achieves such an ambitious goal... His new book is a feast." --Washington Post

"Spelunking adventure through the caverns of world history, culture and thought." --Chicago Sun-Times

"Asma has a lucid, engaging style, and he uses it to provide a thoughtfully breezy survey of the bizarre and the lurking." --Chicago Reader

In his new book, On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears, Columbia College lecturer Stephen Asma lays out a frightful and compelling bestiary." --Time Out Chicago

"This highly readable, often humorous book is suitable for anyone interested in the history of ideas, culture, and the imagination." --Choice

"Asma's book is a thoroughly entertaining and informative discussion of human fear and monsters. It consistently takes the reader in unexpected directions and makes complex connections that are not readily apparent. The mixture of history, religion, psychology, and philosophy, infused with periodic doses of popular culture references, makes this book much more than simply a bestiary of monsters."--Journal of Folklore Research

"A thoroughly entertaining and informative discussion of human fear and monsters. It consistently takes the reader in unexpected directions and makes complex connections that are not readily apparent. The mixture of history, religion, psychology, and philosophy, infused with periodic doses of popular culture references, makes this book much more than simply a bestiary of monsters." --Journal of Folklore Research

Book Description

A wide-ranging cultural and conceptual history of monsters--how they have evolved over time, what functions they have served for us, and what shapes they are likely to take in the future

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; Reprint edition (September 1, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 351 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0199798095
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199798094
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.11 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #644,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #490 in Natural History (Books)
- #1,021 in Philosophy Metaphysics
- #1,427 in Folklore & Mythology Studies

Customer Reviews:
4.5 204 ratings

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Stephen T. Asma

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Stephen T. Asma is Professor of Philosophy at Columbia College Chicago, where he holds the title of Distinguished Scholar.

Asma is the author of ten books, including "The Evolution of Imagination" (Univ. of Chicago Press), "On Monsters: an Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears" (Oxford Univ. Press), "Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads" (Oxford Univ. Press), "The Gods Drink Whiskey" (HarperOne), and the best selling "Buddha for Beginners" (originally published in 1996 and reissued in 2008). His writing has been translated into German, Spanish, Hebrew, Czech, Romanian, Hindi, Portuguese, Arabic, and Chinese.

Together with actor Paul Giamatti, Stephen Asma is host of the Chinwag Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. At Chinwag he has hosted scholars, writers, and celebs including Stephen Colbert, Tom Hanks, Amy Sedaris, Don Cheadle, and Ken Burns.

Asma has written for the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Sunday Times, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Chicago Tribune, Aeon magazine, Skeptic magazine, and more.

Dr. Asma is a founding Fellow of the "Research Group in Mind, Science and Culture" at Columbia College Chicago. The Research Group is actively working on a philosophical and scientific understanding of the mind/brain that properly incorporates the emotional dimensions of mammalian consciousness.

In addition to Western philosophy, Asma has an abiding interest in Buddhism and Confucianism. In 2003, he was Visiting Professor at the Buddhist Institute in Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia, teaching a "Buddhist Philosophy" seminar course as part of their Graduate Program in Buddhist Studies. In addition to Cambodia, he has also researched Asian philosophies in Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Laos. He has also lived and studied in Shanghai China. Asma was a Fulbright scholar in Beijing in 2014.

Asma has lectured at Harvard, Brown University, Oxford, the Field Museum, Fudan University, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and many more.

His website is: www.stephenasma.com

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Gabrielle Sutherland

Great research and an entertaining read

Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2022

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What an excellent book! Every chapter was filled with excellent research. The author writes with humor and keeps the reader engaged. Lots of details, anecdotes, facts, history. A wide variety of topics. Surely everyone will find what they are looking for within these pages. I highly recommend this fantastic book!

3 people found this helpful

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Jon the Librarian

Somewhat academically written...

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2021

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...but interesting just the same

Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2010

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"On Monsters" is written in a conversational style that is easy and pleasant to follow. Facts and ideas are arranged in logical ways that build on each other so as the reader accumulates the information, he or she is also zooming along with that unique pleasure that comes from reading a book that truly engages one's mind. I never felt I was reading a textbook, but each paragraph made me hungry for the next in such a way that I consumed the book and finished with a great sigh of satisfaction. I have read other books on "monsters", but this one, while building from a familiar starting place, added insights and new information peppered throughout enough to add to my knowledge and entertain me for a couple of nights. I enjoyed it so much I am going to read the Author's other books. Who can resist the title, "The Gods Drink Whiskey: Stumbling Toward Enlightenment in the Land of the Tattered Buddha"? That's the next one for me.

6 people found this helpful

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Hannah

A new favorite

Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2015

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In a world of Cryptozoology, Asma very practically looks at the nature and categories of monstrosity, not just monsters. His intro lets you know this isn't a book about bigfoot or chimeras alone, but he doesn't shy away from them. He goes piece by piece through history, starting with the classicists and moving up. It's a very accessable entrance into the academic pursuit of what can be attached to otherness theory, Asma himself is an excellent writer and evokes an energy of excitedly sitting down with you to talk about all these connections he's made. What is a monster? Why are they a monster? How are they a monster? What do we do about monsters? Read the book, find out.

7 people found this helpful

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GILES Norrington

A book that makes sense of the "monsters" in our lives.

Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2015

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A scholar's book (I refer to the writer, not the reader). Asma digs deep into the factors that manifested themselves as "monsters" both in the distant past and now. Far from being a "creepy, crawly" tome, this book makes one think about the creatures that inhabit our conscious and unconscious minds and, by so doing, helps clear away the mists that often keep us from seeing clearly what it is, or might be, that makes us declare a thing -- or a person -- to be "a monster". Asma adds to the mix a number of drawings, many of which are his own, and photos to provide visual reference points for many of his written descriptions. This is a book that will hold your interest.

5 people found this helpful

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BruceB33

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Real Monsters

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2013

I originally picked up this book because I thought the title was interesting and the summary sealed the deal. This was an amazing book and the content shocked and blew me away. This is a must have for fans of horror and the unknown. The beautiful thing I found was how great Mr. Asma researched and presented his findings. I also really enjoyed the art that Mr. Asma created when there are no exact pictures of said "Monster" to be found. This book dives in monsters from the past to possible monsters of the future. I thoroughly enjoyed the books break down into different sections. I also enjoyed the quotes found in the beginning of each chapter. It is very thought provoking and led to several discussions between friends and colleagues. If you are excited about venturing into the unknown, id highly recommend this book. Enjoy!

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2012

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Just finished this book. A very good study. I've been interested in monster since I was a child and this is the first nonfiction book on the subject I've read. For anyone who seriously wants to study the subject this is an excellent book. It's easy to understand, it looks at the subject from many different vantage points. An enjoyable read and it opened my eyes to aspects about the subject I wasn't aware of. Since getting into eBooks I've been reading a lot of monster fiction. Most of it as bad as bad as most of the monster movies. This book shows there is no reason why monster fiction/movies can't be intelligent.

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C. Derick Varn

Almost a hybrid itself

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2016

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Asma's history is fascinating in the first section of the book, which is more of a literal history of the development and conception of the predominant idea of "monsters" in the (mostly) European world. This portion of the book is strong and the sociological information Asma lays out matches the history. Sadly, the second section, loses focus. It dwells in the moment world and mostly a series of reflections on the ideas of monster with various (some-what meandering) theories for the different aspects discussed. However, all sorts of things bubble up in the contemporary miasmas, including half-baked straw man about "post-modern" relativism, long contemplations of Freud, essay like reflections on ethics, etc. This actually causes the book to loss any sense of focus and starts to feel like reading semi-related essays than a history. It really does feel like two very different and only tangentially connected books attached by breaking it down into two sections.

10 people found this helpful

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