Our conventional view of history and human progress is wrong. It is founded on a pernicious myth of an achievable utopia that in the last century alone caused the murder of tens of millions. In "Black Mass" John Gray tears down the religious, political and secular beliefs that we insist are fundamental to the human project and shows us how a misplaced faith in our ability to improve the world has actually made it far worse.

About the Author

John Gray's most recent books are Straw Dogs ('That rarest of things, a contemporary work of philosophy, wholly accessible and profoundly relevant to the rapidly evolving world' - Will Self), Al-Qaeda and What It Means To Be Modern ('The most arresting account I have read of our current crisis', Ian McEwan) and Heresies.