Dominance and Delusion

Dominance and Delusion
M. A. Curtis
Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 978-1425778767
Non-Fiction, Human Society
Reviewed by Muhammed Hassanali

The introduction touted this book as one that asks “why...” The book does indeed ask why and tries to provide responses. While at first it points out the flaws to some common responses, the thread of careful analysis, evaluating alternative explanations, and trying to validate the preferred explanation is quickly lost. The book provides a series of similar observations, and then explains these observations by narrating life in prehistoric human societies.

While the book may present a version of prehistoric life, this version may not be generally accepted. The approach the book takes is by relating vignettes of prehistoric life, and hence sidesteps the discussion of how this model of prehistoric life emerged.

One would anticipate a book like this one to have footnotes and references, but these are curiously missing from the text. Also missing are descriptive chapter titles and sub-titles are non-existent giving the impression of a meandering narrative.

The text makes the same point several times. While repetition is sometimes necessary to get a point across, in this case the repetition detracted from my reading experience, making me feel that in some cases it was ranting. The text would have benefited from the services of an editor with a focus on eliminating typographical and grammatical errors.

The text cogently questioned commonly held beliefs, forcing readers to consider the origins of their own beliefs and cultural norms. In this sense, it provides a good critique of current human society. Unfortunately this was a small part of the narrative.