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Our selection of books and associated reviews. Each cover is an affiliate link to Amazon for purchase.
The Science of Good and Evil : Why People Cheat, Share, Gossip, and Follow the Golden Rule
In his third and final investigation into the science of belief, bestselling author Michael Shermer tackles the evolution of morality and ethics. A century and a half after Darwin first proposed an ‘evolutionary ethics,’ science has begun to tackle the roots of morality. Just as evolutionary biologists study why we are hungry (to motivate us […]
The Structure of Evolutionary Theory
The world’s most revered and eloquent interpreter of evolutionary ideas offers here a work of explanatory force unprecedented in our time–a landmark publication, both for its historical sweep and for its scientific vision. With characteristic attention to detail, Stephen Jay Gould first describes the content and discusses the history and origins of the three core […]
The View from Nowhere
Human beings have the unique ability to view the world in a detached way: We can think about the world in terms that transcend our own experience or interest, and consider the world from a vantage point that is, in Nagel’s words, “nowhere in particular”. At the same time, each of us is a particular […]
Tower of Babel: The Evidence Against the New Creationism
The face of creationism has been through some major plastic surgery in the past decade or so. The leading proponents of “intelligent design theory” have left the ranting flat-earth types behind and found respected positions in the academic world from which to launch attacks on mainstream science. Philosopher of science Robert T. Pennock has explored […]
Visions: How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century
In a spellbinding narrative that brings together the cutting-edge research of today’s foremost scientists, Michio Kaku examines the three scientific revolutions that have reshaped the twentieth century–quantum mechanics, bio-genetics, and artificial intelligence–and tells how they will dramatically alter science and the way in which people will live in the 21st century.
When Prayer Fails: Faith Healing, Children, and the Law
Book Description Relying on religious traditions that are as old as their faith itself, many devout Christians turn to prayer rather than medicine when their children fall victim to illness or injury. Faith healers claim that their practices are effective in restoring health–more effective, they say, than modern medicine. But, over the past century, hundreds […]
Why I Am Not a Christian: Four Conclusive Reasons to Reject the Faith
Description Richard Carrier explains the four reasons he rejects Christianity, describing the four facts that—were they different—he would be a believer. Those four facts are God’s silence, God’s inaction, the lack of evidence, and the way the universe looks exactly like a godless universe would, and not at all like a Christian universe would—even down […]
Yours, Isaac Asimov : A Lifetime of Letters
Isaac Asimov was one of the most prolific authors of our time. When he died in 1992 at the age of seventy-two, he had published more than 470 books innearly every category of fiction and nonfiction. Asimov was a prodigious correspondent as well as a prolific author. During his professional career he received more than […]
2061 : Odyssey Three
Fifty years after meeting the “spirit” of Dave Bowman aboard the abandoned Discovery and witnessing the fiery transformation of Jupiter into Earth’s second sun, 103-year-old Dr. Heywood Floyd boards the luxury spaceship Universe for the historic first landing on the surface of Halley’s Comet. At the same time, the Galaxy expedition sets out to probe […]
A Materialist Theory of the Mind
This classic work of recent philosophy was first published in 1968, and remains the most compelling and comprehensive statement of the view that the mind is material or physical. In A Materialist Theory of the Mind, D. M. Armstrong provided new insight into the debate surrounding the relationship of the mind and body. He put […]
Al Qaeda: Brotherhood of Terror
Al-Qaeda: Brotherhood of Terror examines the network’s religious roots, its widespread organizational reach (including the U.S.), its complex political and religious agenda, and its terrifying tactics. The book includes a chilling account of life within al-Qaeda that comes in part from the testimony of members of the Bin Laden group, including Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl, who […]
Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime
e name: Sparta. Her beauty veils a mysterious past and abilities far surpassing those of a normal human being: Sparta is the first product of advanced biotech engineering. But crucial memories of the past three years are locked away in the dark recesses of her brain. Who is she really? Why is she here on […]
Atheistic Humanism
This collection of essays by one of the world’s best-known philosophers directly addresses the many and diverse aspects of this branch of humanist philosophy. Included in the author’s theses are “Fundamentals of Unbelief, ” “Defending Knowledge and Responsibility,” “Scientific Socialism, ” and “Freedom and Human Nature.”
Betrayal of Science and Reason
Subtitled: How Anti-Environment Rhetoric Threatens Our Future The authors are angered by what they perceive as deliberate efforts to subvert media interest in pressing environmental issues. They suggest that the planet is in real peril from overpopulation, depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, and loss of biodiversity, and that each of these threats is […]
Breaking Faith: The Pope, the People, and the Fate of Catholicism
As John Paul II’s papacy darws to a close, the Catholic Church, its policies, and its future are being scrutinized around the globe. The election of the next Pope will have a greater impact on world affairs than that of the next president of the United States – or the leader of any single nation. […]
Christ’s Ventriloquists: The Event that Created Christianity
Description Christ’s Ventriloquists is a work of investigative history. It documents and describes Christianity’s creation-event, in the year 49 or 50, in Antioch (present-day Antakya, Turkey), 20 years after Jesus had been crucified in Jerusalem for sedition against Roman rule. On this occasion, Paul broke away from the Jewish sect that Jesus had begun, and […]
Created From Animals: The Moral Implications of Darwinism
Western philosophy and religion, James Rachels argues, have been shaken by the implications of Darwin’s work, most notably the controversial idea that humans are simply a more complex kind of animal. Here, Rachels assesses a number of studies that suggest how closely humans are linked to other primates in behavior, and then goes on to […]
Darwin’s Ghost: The Origin of Species Updated
Biologists have a dirty little secret: while practically everyone knows of The Origin of Species (and owes much to it), almost nobody has read it. British geneticist Steve Jones wants to make the arguments contained in that great text accessible to modern audiences, and succeeds with the delightful Darwin’s Ghost. Approximating the structure of Darwin’s […]
Disruptive Religion: The Force of Faith in Social-Movement Activism
Religion has long played a central role in many social and political movements. Solidarity in Poland, anti-apartheid in South Africa, Operation Rescue in the United States–each of these movements is driven by the energy and sustained by the commitment of many individuals and organizations whose ideologies are shaped and powered by religious faith. In many […]
Early Mormonism and the Magic World View
In this articulate and insightful book, D. Michael Quinn reconstructs the world view of an earlier age in America, finding ample evidence for treasure seeking and folk magic in Joseph Smith’s formative years. Folk magic was not unusual for the times and is important in understanding how Mormons may have interpreted developments. Quinn’s impressive research […]
Excavating Jesus: Beneath the Stones, Behind the Texts
The premier historical Jesus authority and a brilliant archaeologist search the texts and stones of antiquity to offer the most complete picture of Jesus ever presented. Joining the best of biblical studies and archaeology John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L. Reed dig down into the earliest layers of the Bible and the ancient world, focusing […]
Fighting Words: The Origins of Religious Violence
Is religion inherently violent? If not, what provokes violence in the name of religion? Do we mischaracterize religion by focusing too much on its violent side? In this intriguing, original study of religious violence, Prof. Hector Avalos offers a new theory for the role of religion in violent conflicts. Starting with the premise that most […]
Future Shock
“This book provide the historical perspective on the Industrial Revolution that is lacking in Spengler’s book, above. Toffler correctly ascertains that the industrial Revolution is the first wave of a massive change in human society. The full effect of this change will be equivalent to the Agricultural Revolution of several thousand years ago. However, Toffler’s […]
God: The Failed Hypothesis–How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist
Book Description Throughout history, arguments for and against the existence of God have been largely confined to philosophy and theology. In the meantime, science has sat on the sidelines and quietly watched this game of words march up and down the field. Despite the fact that science has revolutionized every aspect of human life and […]
His Dark Materials (Boxed Set)
Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy has been called the atheistic counterpart to The Chronicles of Narnia, and the successor to The Lord of the Rings. Pullman takes us to a world in which people’s souls walk along side them as shape-shifting animals, where witches and armored bears roam distant lands, and where the Church rules […]
Human Natures : Genes, Cultures, and the Human Prospect
It’s common to blame “human nature” for some of the unpleasant facts of life–road rage, say, or murder, or war. The problem with this convenient out, argues the distinguished scientist Paul Ehrlich, is that there really is no single human nature. Humans, it’s true, share a common genetic code with remarkably few large-scale differences (if […]
In Lieu of Heaven
It was a journey of faith that led to a gift of liberation–from God… In Lieu of Heaven tells of two men’s quests for God. One man’s search takes him through the wilderness, following an inherited faith and the sanction of tradition. The other man has settled simply and comfortably in a secluded garden, having […]
Is There Life After Death? An Examination of the Empirical Evidence
Book Description Is there life after death? Belief in some form of afterlife has persisted nearly universally across cultures for thousands of years. But what of the empirical evidence for survival of bodily death? Has there been rigorous research into phenomena purported to provide evidence for survival after death, such as ‘past life memories,’ near-death […]
Ken’s Guide to the Bible
The Bible is a thick, imposing, often unreadable, damnedly religious book. Most people don’t have the time or the patience even to attempt reading it. But everyone knows they’re supposed to know what’s in the world’s most widely quoted book. To whom can you turn? Ken Smith, co-author of the best-selling Roadside America books, goes […]
Life, the Universe and Everything
The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads–so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the white killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation. They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler, who […]
