Table of Contents
This is not an Introduction… 1
Picture this! How a communist painters love affair with fruit inspired the most valuable brand in the history of capitalism.
Piggies 23
Step into the dark world of dehumanisation and death: from Christian rhetoric to Charles Manson.
Troll 41
Can you summon the devil? From Russian dolls to Russian trolls.
Vegetable 61
How clinicians and scientists plant the idea that our loved ones would be better off dead.
Scum 81
The dirty truth about why there are some communities that politicians won't touch with a bargepole.
Vermin 103
The trigger words that make good people kill.
Bitch 131
#MeToo, #TimesUp and the generation of Hollywood producers who depicted women as bitches.
Grooming 149
What we can learn from the way a boa constrictor kills a mouse.
Gorilla 167
Why black men are more likely to die in police custody than white men.
Spin 181
Meet the nineteenth-century physicist who demonstrated the real meaning of political spin.
Alexa 191
The magical arts that make new technologies irresistible.
Family 211
Dulce et Decorum Est. Why debates about nationalism can split families in two.
Star 233
Amy Winehouse, David Bowie and illusions of immortality.
Angel 247
The secret alliance of evangelists and angels who are called upon to bless aspiring US Presidents.
Titans 265
Adventures in cyberspace: the amazing story of how the geeks came to inherit the earth.
God 281
Forget turning water into wine: meet the forces that can create a new universe in seconds.
This Is Not The End… 295
Why did the Beatles really stop recording together?
Acknowledgements 299
About the author 301
Endnotes 303
Index 321
