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Our selection of books and associated reviews. Each cover is an affiliate link to Amazon for purchase.
How We Know What Isn’t So
Gilovich illustrates his points with vivid examples and supports them with the latest research findings in a wise and readable guide to the fallacy of the obvious in everyday life.
In Defense of Secular Humanism
A spirited and closely reasoned defense of one of the most venerable ethical, scientific and philosophical traditions of Western civilization.
Irreligion: A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don’t Add Up
Book Description A Lifelong Unbeliever Finds No Reason to Change His Mind Are there any logical reasons to believe in God? Mathematician and bestselling author John Allen Paulos thinks not. In Irreligion he presents the case for his own worldview, organizing his book into twelve chapters that refute the twelve arguments most often put forward […]
Jihad in the West
Jihad is back, says Paul Fregosi, but this current incarnation has a long history behind it. From the start, Islamic fundamentalism has intended to expand the Muslim religion to encompass the entire world through conversion, or, in many instances, violence. Yet until now it has lacked a general historical narrative: “The jihad has been the […]
Letters of Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand’s letters were written to be read. This witty and penetrating collection of her correspondence with Hollywood luminaries, political writers, philosophers, family members, artists, businessmen, and fans offers an unparalleled look at the past 50 years of her life and career.
Maybe Yes, Maybe No: A Guide for Young Skeptics
In today’s media-flooded world, there is no way to control all of the information, claims, and enticements that reach young people. The best thing to do is arm them with the sword of critical thinking. Maybe Yes, Maybe No is a charming introduction to self-confidence and self-reliance. The book’s ten-year-old heroine, Andrea, is always asking […]
Murder in Lecture Hall B
Description Now for something different: A novel by well-known author of nonfiction, Michael Martin… Professor Louis Jordon is a man of reason, and when you’re rational there’s no place for panicky superstitions or unfounded conclusions. That made him the perfect professor of Philosophy with an emphasis in Religions and Murder. It also makes his class […]
Not by Design: The Origin of the Universe
This book makes a compelling case for the idea that the universe didn’t come about through the handywork of some magical space pixie. The naysayers will throw about their arguments from incredulity while kicking & screaming but, in the end, even they (if anything like a rational mind still inhabits their bodies) will be forced […]
Origins of Life
How did life on Earth originate? Did replication or metabolism come first in the history of life? In this updated and expanded second edition of Origins of Life, Freeman Dyson examines these questions and discusses the two main theories that try to explain how naturally occurring chemicals could organize themselves into living creatures. Dyson analyzes […]
Rational Recovery: The New Cure for Substance Addiction
When clinical social worker Jack Trimpey introduced the concepts of Rational Recovery in 1986, it marked a major breakthrough in the field of alcohol and drug addiction. More than a philosophy or therapy, and not dependent on spiritual beliefs, Rational Recovery offers an aggressive self-help program to take charge of one’s behavior immediately. Now this […]
Rendezvous With Rama
At first, only a few things are known about the celestial object that astronomers dub Rama. It is huge, weighing more than ten trillion tons. And it is hurtling through the solar system at inconceivable speed. Then a space probe confirms the unthinkable: Rama is no natural object. It is, incredible, an interstellar spacecraft. Space […]
Schrodinger’s Kittens and the Search for Reality
“If you know nothing about the scientific field of quantum mechanics, you should start with the first book of this two book set, In Search of Schrodinger’s Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality. If you understand the classical Copenhagen explanation of quantum mechanics, but not the more recent interpretations, then this is your book. Even if […]
Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age
Alan Dershowitz has been involved with so many high-profile cases, and has written persuasively about so many issues, that it is sometimes hard to remember that he is at heart a legal scholar. He was the youngest professor ever to be given tenure at Harvard Law School. For decades he has been a champion of […]
Stages of Faith : The Psychology of Human Development
Now in paperback–the classic most cited in the field of psychology of religion that explores the developmental stages of faith and the reasons we find life worth living. Dr. James Fowler has asked these questions, and others like them, of nearly six hundred people. He has talked with men, women, and children of all ages, […]
Tales of the Rational
Engaging, compelling, witty essays that put in perspective some of the most fascinating scientific and pseudo-scientific claims of the 20th century. Includes discussions of: atheism, straw-man arguments, creationism, debating creationists and theists, evolutionary biology, Christian apologetics, critiques of modern science, the search for extraterrestrial life, the search for the origins of life, chaos theory, and […]
The Art of Living Consciously
In The Art of Living Consciously, Dr. Nathaniel Branden, our foremost authority on self-esteem, takes us into new territory, exploring the actions of our minds when they are operating as our life and well-being require — and also when they are not. No other book illuminates so clearly what true mindfulness means. … Today we […]
The Book of Life: An Illustrated History of the Evolution of Life on Earth, Second Edition
A new edition of the beautifully illustrated depiction of the dramatic story of survival and extinction. The Book of Life uses an exemplary fusion of art and science to tell the story of life on earth. The text, under the editorship of Stephen Jay Gould, provides a thorough understanding of the latest research and is […]
The Christ Myth
Book Description Reacting against the “romantic cult of Jesus,” which, he argued, was undermining intellectual truthfulness, eminent German philosopher Arthur Drews (1865-1935) exposes the Jesus of the Gospels as a mythical character. When first published in 1910, this classic work drew violent criticism from theologians, the press, and the public, and even led to mass […]
The Doom That Came to Sarnath
Calm yourself. There are 20 terrorizing short tales of mirth and murder awaiting your inspection, created by the master of horror, H.P. Lovecraft. Prepare for the fright of your life–it’s within these pages….
The Essential Ellison : A 50 Year Retrospective
Updated from the popular 35-year retrospective collection, this book surveys an extra 15 years of his work. Included here are more than 75 unabridged stories, essays, personal reminiscences, and reviews, a complete teleplay and novella, and 16 previously uncollected stories. The Essential Ellison presents such classics as “A Boy and His Dog,” “The Deathbird,” and […]
The First Messiah : Investigating the Savior Before Jesus (Hardcover)
In The First Messiah renowned Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Michael O. Wise brings to light the life of Judah, a forgotten prophet who predated Jesus as a messianic figure by a century and has had a profound impact on the course of Christianity and Western civilization. Unlike Jesus, Judah left behind a personal testament, in […]
The Hallelujah Revolution
A new Christian religious revival is sweeping the world. It is a conservative, politically motivated fundamentalism that is challenging (and be challenged by) traditional Christian concern for the poor, the needy, and the underprivileged in an age of uncertainty. The Hallelujah Revolution examines and explains this new evangelical/charismatic movement that is revolutionizing what it means […]
The Improbability of God
Book Description A growing number of powerful arguments have been formulated by philosophers and logicians in recent years demonstrating that the existence of God is improbable. These arguments assume that God’s existence is possible but argue that the weight of the empirical evidence is against God’s actual existence. This unique anthology collects most of the […]
The Legend of Saint Peter
THE LEGEND OF SAINT PETER contains a foreword by the translator, Frank R. Zindler; a foreword by the author, Arthur Drews; and 5 chapters: Peter in the New Testament, The mythical background of the Peter figure, Peter and Mithra, Peter in Rome, and Peter, Prince of Apostles. “The Peter of the Acts and of the […]
The Memory Wars: Freud’s Legacy in Dispute
In November of 1993, the New York Review published the first of two tenaciously argued essays by Frederick Crews, author of Out of My System: Psychoanalysis, Ideology, and Critical Method. This is Crews’ resounding critique of Freudian theory and the recovered memory movement, with the spirited exchange of letters it provoked and a new introduction […]
The Myth of the Lord Jesus Christ and How It Grew
Dr. Forbes argues that “The Lord Jesus Christ is a totally imaginary figure that evolved from a real man named Jesus. The myth evolved by steps, each step a logical attempt to cope with circumstances in its time.” This book is a great introductory text for those who are unaware of how the Bible evolved […]
The Origins of the Koran
For more than a century linguists and historians have been examining the ancient scriptures of the world’s major religions. Although a great deal is now known about the historical and cultural development of such well-known sacred texts as the Hebrew Torah, the Christian New Testament, the Hindu Bhagavad Gita, and the Chinese I Ching, relatively […]
The Problems of Philosophy
Synopsis Unavailable
The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-By-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege
Based on over twenty years of original archival research, this history unfolds a nearly day-by-day narrative of the Salem Witch Trials as the citizens of Salem experienced the outbreak of hysteria.
The Stork and the Plow : The Equity Answer to the Human Dilemma
In this provocative book, the authors look at the interaction between population and food supply and offer a powerful and radical strategy for balancing human numbers with nutritional needs. Their proposals include improving the status of women, reducing racism and religious prejudice, reforming the agricultural system, and shrinking the growing gap between rich and poor.
