Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country

Patricia Evangelista

Oct 2023 · Sold by Random House

About this ebook

TIME’S #1 NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR • A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW TOP 10 BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

“Patricia Evangelista’s searing account is not only the definitive chronicle of a reign of terror in the Philippines, but a warning to the rest of the world about the true dangers of despotism—its nightmarish consequences and its terrible human cost.”—Patrick Radden Keefe, New York Times bestselling author of Empire of Pain

“Tragic, elegant, vital . . . Evangelista risked her life to tell this story.”—Tara Westover, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Educated
 
“A journalistic masterpiece”—David Remnick, The New Yorker
 
For six years, journalist Patricia Evangelista documented killings carried out by police and vigilantes in the name of then president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs—a crusade that led to the slaughter of thousands—immersing herself in the world of killers and survivors and capturing the atmosphere of terror created when an elected president decides that some lives are worth less than others.
 
The book takes its title from the words of a vigilante, which demonstrated the psychological accommodation many across the country had made: “I’m really not a bad guy,” he said. “I’m not all bad. Some people need killing.”
 
A profound act of witness and a tour de force of literary journalism, Some People Need Killing is a brilliant dissection of the grammar of violence and an investigation into the human impulses to dominate and resist.
 
WINNER OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY’S HELEN BERNSTEIN BOOK AWARD • FINALIST FOR THE CHAUTAUQUA PRIZE • LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE AND THE MOORE PRIZE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WRITING • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Economist, Chicago Public Library, CrimeReads, The Mary Sue

Ratings and reviews

Too many omitted information. Almost one sided stories, like a compilation of opinions from people who are not informed about the Oplan Tokhang and just known the plan through propaganda and mainstream social media. And it's also filled with political agenda of the left wing. And yep, it's author is a journalist from rappler, definitely an obvious red flag. Not recommended to read.

read the free sample, i will buy it and be back for more. the author has a way with words. the book's style of narration is addicting. what a way to tell the story that would've caused the genarations past to rise up against the tyranny of their government. this is a 400+ page story of how the Filipino lost his spine.

Interesting but there's something that it lacks that I can't put my tongue on

About the author

Patricia Evangelista is a trauma journalist and former investigative reporter for the Philippine news company Rappler. Her reporting on armed conflict and disaster was awarded the Kate Webb Prize for exceptional journalism in dangerous conditions. She was a Headlands Artist in Residence, a New America ASU Future Security Fellow, and a fellow of the Logan Nonfiction Program, the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. Her work has earned local and international acclaim. She lives in Manila.