{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260416T162547Z","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/0801822181?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"0801822181","authors":["René Girard"],"book_id":"9780801822186","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/violence-and-the-sacred-0801822181","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780801822186.jpg?v=20260416T162547Z%3A2026-04-16T16%3A25%3A47Z","description":"Violence and the Sacred is René Girard's landmark study of human evil. Here Girard explores violence as it is represented and occurs throughout history, literature and myth. Girard's forceful and thought-provoking analyses of Biblical narrative, Greek tragedy and the lynchings and pogroms propagated by contemporary states illustrate his central argument that violence belongs to everyone and is at the heart of the sacred.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780801822186","publication_date":"19790101","publisher":"Johns Hopkins University Press","slug":"violence-and-the-sacred","subtitle":"","title":"Violence and the Sacred"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"LIT004190","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Ancient & Classical Literary Criticism","score":0.6954,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"REL067020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"The Christian Soul","score":0.6917,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LIT004150","confidence_band":"medium","label":"French Literary Criticism","score":0.68,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"LIT004190","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Ancient & Classical Literary Criticism","score":0.6954,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"REL067020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"The Christian Soul","score":0.6917,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LIT004150","confidence_band":"medium","label":"French Literary Criticism","score":0.68,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"LIT004190","confidence_band":"high","label":"Ancient & Classical Literary Criticism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"REL006630","confidence_band":"high","label":"Biblical History & Culture","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"REL067020","confidence_band":"high","label":"The Christian Soul","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"SOC051000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Violence in Society","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Ancient & Classical Literary Criticism","score":0.6954,"slug":"ancient-classical-literary-criticism"},{"label":"The Christian Soul","score":0.6917,"slug":"the-christian-soul"},{"label":"French Literary Criticism","score":0.68,"slug":"french-literary-criticism"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Ancient & Classical Literary Criticism","Good for readers interested in literary","Good for fans of Philosophy"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Aristotle","Malcolm Heath"],"book_id":"9780140446364","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780140446364.jpg?v=20260416T162547Z%3A2026-04-16T16%3A25%3A47Z","score":10.2728,"title":"Poetics","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780140446364"},{"authors":["Stephen Fry","Chronicle Books"],"book_id":"9781797207070","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781797207070.jpg?v=20260416T162547Z%3A2026-04-16T16%3A25%3A47Z","score":10.1498,"title":"Troy","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781797207070"},{"authors":["Apostolos N. Athanassakis"],"book_id":"9781421438603","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781421438603.jpg?v=20260416T162547Z%3A2026-04-16T16%3A25%3A47Z","score":10.1446,"title":"The Homeric Hymns","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781421438603"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:literature mimesis myth mythology"],"label":"Literature","score":0.1235,"slug":"literature"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:philosophy"],"label":"Philosophy","score":0.1142,"slug":"philosophy"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:literary criticism"],"label":"Literary","score":0.0955,"slug":"literary"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:psychology"],"label":"Psychology","score":0.0909,"slug":"psychology"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:literature mimesis myth mythology"],"label":"Mythology","score":0.0456,"slug":"mythology"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: Literature, Philosophy, Literary.","Reading lane: Ancient & Classical Literary Criticism and The Christian Soul.","Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press."]},"llm_signals":null,"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":false,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":0,"goodreads_ratings_count":1438,"goodreads_reviews_count":156,"quality_score":0.9132}}