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Our selection of books and associated reviews. Each cover is an affiliate link to Amazon for purchase.
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 […]
Sacred Rage: The Wrath of Militant Islam
For a generation, Muslim extremists have targeted Americans in an escalation of terror that culminated in the September 11 attacks. Our shared confusion — Who are the attackers? Why are we targets? — is cleared away in a book as dramatic as it is authoritative. Updated with new chapters on Afghanistan and the the broader […]
Secular Wholeness: A Skeptic’s Paths to a Richer Life
Can a skeptic the benefits of a religious practice? When you can’t abide ideas of the supernatural, when no religious account of the world satisfies, how can you satisfy the need for depth, engagement, serenity in life? Davd Cortesi, well-known as a writer on technical subjects, brings a programmer’s bent for logic and scholar’s research […]
Spiritual Warfare
Diamond traces the history of the extreme Religious Right and its forays into international military actions and domestic suppression. The documentation in this book is thorough and reputable. Make no mistake, this book is not for everyone: she’s writing for academians and is not aiming for entertainment. However, the book, at times, is riveting in […]
Taking Responsibility: Self-Reliance and the Accountable Life
The bestselling author of The Psychology of Self-Esteem presents an illuminating guide to self-realization through self-reliance and a vision of a society transformed by a new ethical individualism.
The Anthropic Cosmological Principle
Is there any connection between the vastness of the Universe and the existence of life within it on a small planet out in the suburbs of the Milky Way? Could there be other universes? How large is the range of conceivable universes that can give rise to living observers? What is the past history and […]
The Big Domino in the Sky
The Big Domino in the Sky and Other Atheistic Tales is a fun and thought-provoking collection of short stories in the form of science fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy. There is no other book like it on the market.
The Castle
Kafka’s existential insight is still as poignant today as it was in the late nineteenth-century when he wrote. The Castle addresses the modern problem of the enormous gulf that separates us from God. Instead of a clearly accessible God, there exists a no-man’s land of shadow and illusion, in which roam clerics and bureaucrats that […]
The Dark Side of Christian History
Over a period of nearly two millennia, the Christian Church has oppressed and brutalized millions of individuals. Meticulously researched and courageously written, The Dark Side of Christian History by Helen Ellerbe examines the Church’s devastating impact upon human freedom, dignity and spirituality. Written for the lay reader, this controversial book is especially relevant today as […]
The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason
An impassioned plea for reason in a world divided by faith. This important and timely book delivers a startling analysis of the clash of faith and reason in today’s world. Harris offers a vivid historical tour of mankind’s willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when those beliefs are used to justify […]
The Fantasies of Robert A. Heinlein
The Fantasies of Robert A. Heinlein gives newer SF readers and fans a less-known side of his work and opportunity to savor crisp sentences filled with telling detail, sardonic observations of character, and engrossing tales. The stories, originally published in the 1940s and ’50s, showcase Heinlein’s science-fictional approach to fantasy. Though magic works and the […]
The Godless Constitution: The Case Against Religious Correctness
The word God does not appear in the U.S. Constitution. Kramnick and Moore remind us why it does not and also how efforts to insert it have been staved off. They take us back to radical Christian Roger Williams’ influential insistence upon a religiously neutral polity for Rhode Island and to the British roots of […]
The Illusion of Immortality
The Illusion of Immortality details the often ignored scientific evidence against life after death. Lamont first outlines different historical views of immortality, presents the scientific evidence from mind-brain dependence against the immortality of the soul, considers the problem of what an afterlife environment could possibly be like, and evaluates arguments that immortality must be guaranteed […]
The Last Three Minutes
Subtitled “Conjectures About the Ultimate Fate of the Universe” from the Science Masters Series, Davies presents various alternatives for what happens when the universe reaches its final destiny. The only downside is that this book, dating from 1997, predates the recent discovery of facts tending to lead to the conclusion of a positive cosmological constant, […]
The Martian Way and Other Stories
Still thinking like an Earthling? Get out of your rut,open your mind – there’s a whole universe waiting. It’s waiting for peoplewho aren’t afraid of thinking in new ways, of doing new things. Can you imagine… …mining the skies for water?…building a new world beneath the surface of a strangeplanet?…making pets out of alien explorers?…putting […]
The Myth of Free Will
Book Description (Revised and Expanded Edition) Illuminating, uplifting and lighthearted, the second edition of The Myth of Free Will expands on the powerful ideas in the first edition by offering fifty additional pages of quotes and short essays on free will. The book strives to answer the question: “Who is saying we don’t have free […]
The Origin of Species
It’s hard to talk about The Origin of Species without making statements that seem overwrought and fulsome. But it’s true: this is indeed one of the most important and influential books ever written, and it is one of the very few groundbreaking works of science that is truly readable. To a certain extent it suffers […]
The Power of Logical Thinking
America has become a society devoid of any clear understanding of the power and logic of numbers. In this book, one of America’s most popular columnists offers a classic and enduring work intended to help readers restore the ability to reason, to use logic in everyday life, and to interpret what the numbers really mean.
The Resurrection of Jesus: History, Experience, Theology
How was Jesus seen? Was the tomb really empty and if so, what happened to the body? Gerd L’demann demonstrates that tradition as well as the evangelists themselves contributed substantially to the enlargement of the Easter story.
The Snark Puzzle Book
While walking on a hillside, an unusual line occurred to Lewis Carroll: “For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.” Carroll later incorporated the phrase into a complete work that became the best-known nonsense poem of all time: “The Hunting of the Snark.” What could be more of a delight to young readers? Here in […]
The Unconscious Quantum : Metaphysics in Modern Physics and Cosmology
The term “quantum” taken out of its original scientific context has become the mantra of a new metaphysics which purports to find a convergence between the picture of reality presented by physics and the world view of traditional Eastern mysticism. The Unconscious Quantum: Metaphysics In Modern Physics And Cosmology is a fascinating and accessible book […]
Think : A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy
Here at last is a coherent, unintimidating introduction to the challenging and fascinating landscape of Western philosophy. Written expressly for “anyone who believes there are big questions out there, but does not know how to approach them,” Think provides a sound framework for exploring the most basic themes of philosophy, and for understanding how major […]
Unto Others: The Evolution and Psychology of Unselfish Behavior
No matter what we do, however kind or generous our deeds may seem, a hidden motive of selfishness lurks — or so science has claimed for years. This book, a detailed case study of scientific change, tells us differently. In Unto Others philosopher Elliott Sober and biologist David Sloan Wilson demonstrate once and for all […]
What Is Atheism? A Short Introduction
Many questions and concerns arise when believers question the purpose and meaning they suspect is lacking in the lives of nonbelievers. Douglas Krueger contends that atheism is a powerful alternative to religion, yet it is also one of the most misunderstood because people harbor preconceived ideas about atheism. This concise introduction to the subject has […]
Why Christianity Must Change or Die
John Shelby Spong, Episcopal Bishop of Newark, New Jersey, argues that if Christianity is to survive in the modern age of science, it must shed some of its traditional beliefs. See why this book has traditional Christians in such a tizzy!
Wisdom Without Answers
Wisdom Without Answers is a simple yet profound introduction to philosophy ideal for those unfamiliar with philosophy. Rather than introducing the reader to a lot of complicated philosophical jargon, Kolak and Martin delve into several traditional philosophical problems in small separate chapters using a Socratic questioning style. This small book probes deep issues in a […]
1984
War is peace.Freedom is slavery.And Big Brother is watching… Thought Police. Big Brother. Orwellian. These words have become part of our national vocabulary because of George Orwell’s classic novel 1984, the story of one man’s nightmare odyssey through a world ruled by warring states and a power structure that controls not only information but individual […]
A Gospel of Shame: Children, Sexual Abuse, and the Catholic Church
Over the past few years, a relentless crescendo of revelations about Catholic priests molesting children has riveted the nation’s attention and raised urgent, previously unthinkable questions: Just how widespread is child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy? Why hasn’t the Catholic church done more to stop it? In A Gospel of Shame, authors Elinor Burkett and […]
