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Our selection of books and associated reviews. Each cover is an affiliate link to Amazon for purchase.
Man a Machine
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Mormon Polygamy: A History
An informative outline of the secret origins of Mormon polygamy, the peculiarities of the early practice, “unofficial” polygamous marriages at the turn-of-the-century and present-day fundamentalist Mormon groups which still practice polygamy.
No Sense of Obligation: Science and Religion in an Impersonal Universe
Book Description Rejecting belief without evidence, a scientist searches the scientific, theological, and philosophical literature for a sign from God–and finds God to be an allegory. This remarkable book, written in the layperson’s language, leaves no room for unproven ideas and instead seeks hard evidence for the existence of God. The author, a sympathetic critic […]
Ontological Arguments and Belief in God
This book is a unique contribution to the philosophy of religion. It offers a comprehensive discussion of one of the most famous arguments for the existence of God: the ontological argument. The author provides and analyzes a critical taxonomy of those versions of the argument that have been advanced in recent philosophical literature, as well […]
Philosophy of Religion: An Introduction
One of the most respected scholars in the field, William L. Rowe offers a well-balanced, understandable introduction ot the central topics in philosophy of religion. With a clarity praised by reviewers, the author helps introductory students assess the sorts of reasons that thoughtful people have advanced for and against religious belief. Topics include: differing conceptions […]
Rama II
Years ago, the enormous, enigmatic alien spacecraft called Rama sailed through our solar system as mind-boggling proof that life existed — or had existed — elsewhere in the universe. Now, at the dawn of the twenty-third century, another ship is discovered hurtling toward us. A crew of Earth’s best and brightest minds is assembled to […]
Religious Liberty and State Constitutions
The fact is sometimes overlooked that the state constitutions, some of which were written written before the federal Constitution, include explicit protections of religious liberty and church-state separation, some even more comprehensive and specific in their guarantees and prohibitions than the U.S. Constitution. All of the state constitutions deal with religious freedom and all support […]
Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders
Mark Hofmann, a premed student, decided at age 25 to become a professional forger of old documents…. His Mormon upbringing and … research into the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints enabled Mr. Hofmann to forge … the so-called Salamander Letter, which raised questions about the very foundation of Mormonism. … […]
Self-Esteem Every Day (1998 Paperback)
This pocketbook is a handy and convenient tool which aids in helping one improve their self-esteem through daily reflection. The concepts presented facilitate positive change as they draw one’s mind (back) into focus.
Spirituality for the Skeptic: The Thoughtful Love of life
A radical approach to spirituality that blends emotion, intellect, science, and common sense, and that urges a passionate enthusiasm for the world. Is it possible to be spiritual and yet not believe in the supernatural? Can a person be spiritual without belonging to a religious group or organization? In this book, philosopher Robert Solomon offers […]
Tales from Planet Earth
Collection of short stories.
The Anti-Christ
“In truth, the Anti-Christ is as necessary to the completeness of the whole of Nietzsche’s system as the keystone is to the arch. All the curvers of his speculation lead up to it. What he flung himself against, from the beginning to the end of his days of writing, was always, in the last analysis, […]
The Biology of Belief: How Our Biology Biases Our Beliefs and Perceptions
‘The Biology of Belief’ examines how our less than perfectly adapted brains cope with today’s world. Among the things considered are how our brain biology biases our perceptions, organizes ignorance into belief systems, predisposes us to believe in supernatural spirits, and permits others to manipulate our beliefs. The human brain evolved over millions of years […]
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
Robert A. Heinlein has written some of the bestselling science fiction novels of all time, including the beloved classic Stranger in a Strange Land. Now, in The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, he creates his most compelling character ever: Dr. Richard Ames, ex-military man, sometime writer, and unfortunate victim of mistaken identity. When a stranger […]
The Demon-Haunted World: Science As a Candle in the Dark
Carl Sagan muses on the current state of scientific thought, which offers him marvelous opportunities to entertain us with his own childhood experiences, the newspaper morgues, UFO stories, and the assorted flotsam and jetsam of pseudoscience. Along the way he debunks alien abduction, faith-healing, and channeling; refutes the arguments that science destroys spirituality, and provides […]
The Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Paganism
The eighteenth-century Enlightenment marks the beginning of the modern age, when the scientific method and belief in reason and progress came to hold sway over the Western world. In the twentieth century, however, the Enlightenment has often been judged harshly for its apparently simplistic optimism. Here a master historian goes back to the sources to […]
The Final Superstition: A Critical Evaluation of the Judeo-Christian Legacy
The development of just and effective social policies on such important issues as population control, abortion, sexuality, euthanasia, capital punishment, and even income distribution requires sophisticated knowledge about human nature and the environment. Too often, however, such policies are determined by religious traditions or influenced by church leaders claiming to speak with divine authority. Can […]
The Great Deception: And What Jesus Really Said and Did
New Testament scholar Gerd L’demann explains why he left Christianity and ultimately why he considers Christianity the “Great Deception.”
The Immoralist
Gide’s novel is a classic work that confronts the angst of existence and the attempt to live an authentic life while reconciling the burden of freedom.
The Last Word
If there is such a thing as reason, it has to be universal–it must work the same way for everyone. Reason must reflect objective principles whose validity is independent of our point of view. To reason is to think systematically in ways that anyone with enough intelligence ought to be able to recognize as correct. […]
The Meaning of Life
“The Meaning of Life is a compilation of twenty-five essays by different authors on the meaning of life divided into three sections: “The Theistic Answer”, “The Non-Theistic Alternative”, and “Questioning the Question”. Particularly interesting selections are provided by William Lane Craig, Walter T. Stace, Kurt Baier, Paul Edwards, Kai Nielsen, Richard Taylor, Thomas Nagel, R. […]
The Myth of Repressed Memory
The nation’s leading expert on memory exposes the recent wave of sex abuse charges based on “repressed memories” as akin to a 20th-century version of the Salem witch trials. Drawing on many famous cases in which Loftus has been directly involved, the authors attack the ideological agenda of recovered memory proponents.
The Origin of the Universe
There is no more fascinating question in all of science than that of how time, space, and matter began. Now cutting-edge researcher John Barrow guides readers on a journey to the beginning of time. With new insights, he draws us into the latest speculative theories about the nature of time and the inflationary universe, explains […]
The Power of Self-Esteem
Emphasizing the importance of self-esteem, the author defines this vital aspect of our personality and traces its influence in our personal and professional lives.
The Rise of Christianity
If Christianity was not divinely founded by God, then how did it begin? Sociologist Rodney Stark digs deep into the historical evidence on many issues — such as the social background of converts, the mission to the Jews, the status of women in the church, the role of martyrdom — to provide a vivid and […]
The Spark of Life: Darwin and the Primeval Soup
Can you create life with just a taser and a bowl of soup? Most likely not, unless you give yourself a few hundred million years to experiment. Biologist Christopher Wills and marine chemist Jeffrey Bada show off the fruits of research looking for signs of life elsewhere and clues to the origin of terrestrial organisms […]
The Universe in a Nutshell
Lavishly illustrated and easy-to-understand sequel to A Brief History of Time.
Thomas Jefferson’s Freethought Legacy
This delightful collection of quotes from Jefferson establishes beyond dispute his enormous contributions to rationalism, freethought, and science. Often, what historians (and especially politicians) have done is to select those quotes that reflect conventional religiosity and beliefs. Here great care has been taken to exclude those quotes and to present, instead, Jefferson’s freethought legacy.
Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion, and the Appetite for Wonder
Did Newton “unweave the rainbow” by reducing it to its prismatic colors, as Keats contended? Did he, in other words, diminish beauty? Far from it, says Dawkins–Newton’s unweaving is the key too much of modern astronomy and to the breathtaking poetry of modern cosmology. Mysteries don’t lose their poetry because they are solved: the solution […]
What is God?
Twenty-two critical essays raise serious questions about traditional claims of God’s omnipotence, omniscience, omnibenevolence, simplicity, ability to do the logically impossible, and omnipresence. LaCroix’s introductory article on metatheism explains his unique approach to issues in the philosophy of religion, providing a useful, up-front orientation for the reader.
