Beloved Enemies

Do the fractious groups of Arabs and Israelis actually need each other? Will the Pentagon find new enemies to replace the USSR? Are married couples held together by a shared sense of enmity toward outside parties and even each other? Who is more likely to cultivate enemies, men or women? Is the "devil" a created enemy? Is the need for enemies psychological, sociological, or biological? These and other fascinating and controversial questions are explored by David P. Barash, who skillfully combines findings from biology, psychology, sociology, politics, history, and even literature to shed new and unexpected light on the human condition. Barash also offers startling and controversial observations about who we are as human beings and why we seem to thrive on adversarial relationships. Beloved Enemies concludes with a hopeful message: We can overcome, not simply our enemies, but our need to have enemies, and our penchant for creating them.