Why people recommend it
Ordinary Men by Christopher R. Browning is a historical study examining a German reserve police battalion that participated in mass killings during World War II, illustrating how ordinary individuals can be led to commit atrocities. Jordan Peterson recommended the work across multiple podcast appearances, including The Joe Rogan Experience, The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett, and his own podcast, using it to explain how people can be incrementally guided down a dark path through thousands of micro-violations of conscience. Peterson noted that the book details how the Nazis trained middle-aged reserve policemen, serving as a terrifying window into the mechanics of tyranny and human cruelty. The book has also been referenced by other commentators and interviewees, such as Tim Pool's guest caller, Lex Fridman discussing a documentary based on the text with Julia Shaw, and Joe Cassabian on Behind the Bastards, all highlighting its chilling exploration of how normal citizens voluntarily participated in horrific acts.
Who recommended it
- Jordan Peterson Recommended
- Lex Fridman Discussed
- Joe Cassabian Discussed
- Jordan B. Peterson Discussed
- Tim Pool Recommended
Jordan Peterson — 2 mentions
“There's a great book about that, it's terrifying book called Ordinary Men. And it's about the initiation of a police battalion from Germany who went to Poland after the Germans marched into Poland.”
“if you want to read about how this process works you can read a book called ordinary men by Robert Browning an ordinary man is about browning was interested in how the Nazis trained their police battalions”
Lex Fridman — 1 mention
“I was just watching this, documentary based on a book, Ordinary Men, talking about the Germans in Nazi Germany that were taking part in the execution squads in Eastern Europe...”
Joe Cassabian — 1 mention
“I mean, not to keep linking these two things together, but one of the like one of the the things that sticks out to me is in the book um ordinary men.”
Jordan B. Peterson — 1 mention
“The book does a remarkable job of detailing how your movement from normalcy to absolute perversity is a consequence of ten thousand micro violations of your conscience.”
Tim Pool — 1 mention
“just read ordinary Men by Christopher Browning”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker — 1
“and if anybody's interested in this sort of process and this is a horrifying book if you want to read about how this process works you can read a book called Ordinary Man by Robert Brown”