The Pinnacle of Hatred provides a comprehensive history of the blood libel allegation against the Jews. Deftly insinuated and finely honed in medieval Christianity, the charge that Jews murder children and others in order to use their blood for ritual purposes was elaborated further by 19th-century antisemitic jurists, and widely promoted in the anti-Jewish campaigns of the Nazi Party in the Third Reich. A myth that will not die, the charge continues to be made by neo-Nazis and radical Muslim preachers.

Drawing on primary sources and documents not previously available in English, Darren O’Brien takes a radical new approach in understanding the historical origins and longevity of the blood libel allegation and its tributaries—crucifixion murder, plain murder, mutilation murder, and the misnamed “ritual murder.”