Title: Terrible Humans

Author: Patrick Alley

Genre: Nonfiction

Publisher: Monoray

Publication Date: 23rd May 2024

Rating: 4/5

Cover:

Summary:

A small number of people, motivated by an insatiable greed for power and wealth, and backed by a pinstripe army of enablers (and sometimes real armies too), have driven the world to the brink of destruction. They are the super-villains of corruption and war, some with a power greater than nation state and the capacity to derail the world order. Propping up their opulent lifestyles is a mess of crime, violence and deception on a monumental scale. But there is a fightback: small but fearless groups of brilliant undercover sleuths closing in on them, one step at a time.

In Terrible Humans, Patrick Alley, co-founder of Global Witness and the author of Very Bad People, introduces us to some of the world’s worst warlords, grifters and kleptocrats who can be found everywhere from presidential palaces to the board rooms of some of the world’s best known companies. Pitted against them, the book also follows the people unravelling the deals, tracking the money and going undercover at great risk. From the oligarch charged with ordering the killing of an investigative journalist to the mercenary army seizing the natural resources of an entire African country, this is a whirlwind tour of the dark underbelly of the world’s super powerful and wickedly wealthy, and the daring investigators dragging them into the light.

Review:

I don’t think it will be a surprise to anyone that we live in a world where corruption is often rife and that there are some truly terrible human beings kicking about. However, Terrible Humans takes its readers deeper into the webs of lies and deception that are formed across the globe – and furthermore, introduces some of the people that are fighting back. Patrick Alley looks to his own organisation, Global Witness but also to other individuals and organisations that are working diligently and sometimes risking their own safety to expose these awful people and the havoc and pain they have wrought.

Each chapter in Terrible Humans focuses on a different case and whilst I was familiar with some, it was fascinating, and deeply troubling, to delve deeper into the details. This is a rather disturbing read, it can’t be anything but, however the bravery and determination of the people trying to uncover and expose these people for what they are does offer a modicum of hope and optimism. Terrible Humans is an intelligent, shocking and crucial book that I would absolutely recommend to anyone who cares about the kind of world we live in.

★★★★

Thank you so much to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for inviting me on this tour and organising it. I kindly received a copy of the book from the publisher. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.

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