The Science of Revenge - by James Kimmel (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

In this definitive book on revenge, psychiatry researcher James Kimmel, Jr. exposes the unseen neurobiological cause of violence--a compulsive desire for retribution--and offers a profound new understanding of human behavior and breakthrough framework for making our lives and communities safer.

"This riveting, science-based exploration of why we feel pleasure from other people's pain is a must-read."--Anna Lembke, MD, author of Dopamine Nation

A Next Big Idea Club Must-Read

There is a hidden addiction plaguing humanity right now: revenge. Researchers have identified retaliation in response to real and imagined grievances as the root cause of most forms of human aggression and violence. From vicious tweets to road rage, murder-suicide, and armed insurrection, perpetrators almost always see themselves as victims seeking justice. Chillingly, recent behavioral and neuroimaging studies of the human brain show that harboring a personal grievance triggers revenge desires and activates the neural pleasure and reward circuitry of addiction.

Although this behavior is ancient and seems inevitable, by understanding retaliation and violence as an addictive brain-biological process, we can control deadly revenge cravings and save lives. In The Science of Revenge, Yale violence researcher and psychiatry lecturer James Kimmel, Jr., JD, uncovers the truth behind why we want to hurt the people who hurt us, what happens when it gets out of hand, and how to stop it.

Weaving neuroscience, psychology, sociology, law, and human history with captivating storytelling, Dr. Kimmel reveals the neurological mechanisms and prevalence of revenge addiction. He shines an unsparing light on humanity's pathological obsession with revenge throughout history; his own struggle with revenge addiction that almost led him to commit a mass shooting; America's growing addiction to revenge as a special brand of justice; and the startlingly similar addictive behaviors and motivations of childhood bullies, abusive partners, aggrieved employees, sparring politicians, street gang members, violent extremists, mass killers, and tyrannical dictators. He also reveals the amazing, healing changes that take place inside your brain and body when you practice forgiveness. Emphasizing the necessity of proven public health approaches and personal solutions for every level of revenge addiction, he offers urgent, actionable information and novel methods for preventing and treating violence.

Review Quotes

"Poignant and accessible . . . James Kimmel, Jr., makes a compelling argument about the risks of revenge cravings and how we can address them. Those who avail themselves of this gift will begin to understand world eventsand even their daily experiencesin a new light and will be the better for it."--Michael A. Norko, MD, professor of psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine

"From Captain Ahab to present-day mass murderers--revenge begins with feeling persecuted and then resentful. It ends in a spiraling pit of nihilism and destructive envy. Professor Kimmel has endeavored to produce what Lifton would call a profound act of 'species consciousness.' He has laid a practical foundation for using our minds to overcome one of our many self-destructive tendencies."--James L. Knoll, IV, MD, past president of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law

"An enlightening, promising, and testable approach to better understand and prevent violence."--William R. Miller, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of New Mexico

"This work, which serves as both a warning and a spiritual journey, challenges readers to examine their own capacity for vengeance as well as their potential to forgive themselves and those who have wronged them."--Jessica Stern, PhD, research professor at Boston University, author, and leading expert on terrorism

"As someone who has worked on some three hundred murder cases over the last thirty years, I found Kimmel's book extraordinary in its scope and depth."--James Garbarino, PhD, emeritus professor of psychology at Cornell University and Loyola University Chicago

"James Kimmel, Jr., has made an invaluable discovery that addiction to revenge functions as a preventable and treatable cause of human violence. . . . He offers creative and practical solutions for reducing human suffering and making individuals, families, communities, and even nations safer and more secure."--Bandy X. Lee, MD, MDiv, author of Violence and editor of the New York Times bestseller The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump

"The Science of Revenge should be mandatory reading for every American. Dr. Kimmel's landmark discovery can actually save your life and the lives of those you love."--Phillip C. "Dr. Phil" McGraw, PhD, TV host and author of eleven New York Times bestselling books

"This riveting, science-based exploration of why we feel pleasure from other people's pain is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand why we hurt one another and what we can do to end the need for revenge."--Anna Lembke, MD, Professor of Addiction Medicine, Stanford University, and author of the New York Times bestselling book Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence

About the Author

James Kimmel, Jr., JD, is a lecturer in psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, a lawyer, and the founder and co-director of the Yale Collaborative for Motive Control Studies. A breakthrough scholar and expert on revenge, he first identified compulsive revenge seeking as an addiction and developed the behavioral addiction model of revenge as a public health approach for preventing and treating violence. He is the creator of The Nonjustice System, the Miracle Court app, and Saving Cain for recovering from grievances and revenge desires and preventing mass violence. He maintains an active legal practice and speaking calendar and is the author of two other books on revenge: Suing for Peace: A Guide for Resolving Life's Conflicts and The Trial of Fallen Angels, a novel.