Official Review: The Man Who Murdered a Quarter of the Wo...

[ayoomisope]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Man Who Murdered a Quarter of the World's Population" by Ira John (pen name: Ira J-Ira).]

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2 out of 4 stars

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The Man Who Murdered a Quarter of the World’s Population by Ira John is a religious nonfiction book that delves into religious accounts and their historical connotations.

The book begins by describing the attributes of the man the title refers to and his family history. His parents live on a farm in a vast estate owned by a benevolent rich man. The rich man is titled ‘the authority.’ His parents contravene the authority’s instructions, and they are driven out of the farm. Their singular action influences the man, and this inclines him to perpetrate the infamous crime. Later, the identity of the man is revealed. His motives and the repercussions of his action are discussed. In addition, the book describes how the man set the course for humanity to follow.

Despite the many positive accomplishments humans have been able to realize, the failings of mankind are undeniable. The book reflects on the atrocities committed by single individuals and governments. These include the World Wars, genocides, and tyranny. ‘It is as if love, peace, harmony, and life itself are totally foreign to the human nature, and hate, jealousy, strife, and evils of every kind are preferable qualities…’ The man, and his parents, did not recognize actions could quickly escalate. It is interesting to note that there have been men in history who have tried to correct these wrongs. People like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi strived to create a better world.

I appreciate the fine portrayal of the historical and religious accounts. Furthermore, the biblical verses are beautifully woven into the narrative.

Nevertheless, there are several problems with the book. Firstly, it begins with neither a cover page nor table of contents section. The chapters are not formatted to begin on new pages. The book provided is presumably a review copy, but it is not stated as such. Secondly, I do not agree with some of the author’s assertions. He writes that the earth is reacting to the tragic events (such as wars) created by men. He attributes natural disasters to the actions of men. Thirdly, some of his notions are repeated too often in the book. Fourthly, the narrative is sometimes interrupted by a totally different topic while considering a particular point. Fifthly, ‘the authority’ is referred to as both one individual and multiple persons (at different times) in the book. This leads to confusion while reading the book.

I give this book a rating of 2 out of 4 stars. The message of the book and its delivery do not resonate with me. Nonetheless, some salient points concerning the human psyche are raised. In addition, there are just a few grammatical errors in the book. I recommend this book to anyone who loves religious books.

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The Man Who Murdered a Quarter of the World's Population
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Like ayoomisope's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Kibet Hillary]

This could have been made a wonderful book for reading were it not for the errors stated above. It confuses a lot indeed when there are no clear demarcations between chapters. The repetitions also normally bore a lot especially if there are in proximity. Thanks for the review.

[kandscreeley]

It definitely sounds like there needs to be some formatting done. That would be annoying. Mankind is definitely capable of horrible atrocities; I'm just not sure I want to read about them all in one book. On the other hand, mankind is capable of great good too. Thanks for the review.

[chiefsimplex]

'The man who killed a quarter of the world population' When i first read the title of this book i expected the story to be a crime thriller and was disappointed upon realising that the author intended make his narrative religious.The problem is when one attempts to write as a religious authority on highly controversial historical matters ,then they are bound to make several less agreeable assertions as the reviewer just noted.Thanks for the review.