"Wolfgang Müller-Funk's stunningly comprehensive and lucidly written book sheds much-needed light on the darker regions of human nature. It analyses cruelty in its profoundly disturbing dimensions, recognizing its place in different cultural formations from antiquity to modern times. It focuses on the manifestations of cruelty in modern literature from Ernst Jünger to Mario Vargas Llosa and in cultural theory from Nietzsche to Arthur Koestler and René Girard. Moreover, it examines the performativity of cruelty as an enactment of evil, from the lustful cruelty of de Sade's proverbial exploitation of this sinister drive to Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty and Jean Améry's reflections on torture in the concentration camp. The book is an indispensable read for anyone wanting to understand the weird fascination with this anthropological phenomenon." Rüdiger Görner, Queen Mary University of London "In spite of the sad content of its title, this book brought me much joy, both because it is so rich, diverse and carefully argued, and because of its explicit affiliation with the field of 'cultural analysis', as distinct from 'cultural studies'. Müller-Funk presents, defines and distinguishes the great variety of usages and connotations of cruelty, in readings that are close, detailed, sensitive and true to the sources. And the sources are many, drawn from different historical and geographical backgrounds.

He thereby demonstrates brilliantly and insightfully the advantages of the cultural analysis approach." Mieke Bal, University of Amsterdam.