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Our selection of books and associated reviews. Each cover is an affiliate link to Amazon for purchase.
The Case Against Christianity
This book is the most systematic philosophical critique of Christianity ever written. Michael Martin discusses the historicity of Jesus, the resurrection, the virgin birth, the second coming, the incarnation, Christian ethics, salvation by faith, the divine command theory, and the atonement.
The Conquest of Happiness
Something so rarely written by 20th century philosophers: this is a book simply about how to be happy. Renowned atheist Bertrand Russell uses wit and genius, and a welcome sense of compassion and decency, to survey all the usual excuses people give for being angst-ridden or depressed or otherwise unsatisfied with life, including the sorts […]
The Empty Tomb: Jesus Beyond the Grave
Did Jesus rise from the dead? Although 19th and early 20th century Biblical scholarship dismissed the resurrection narratives as late, legendary accounts, Christian apologists in the late 20th century revived historical apologetics for the resurrection of Jesus with increasingly sophisticated arguments. A few critics have directly addressed some of the new arguments, but their response […]
The Fall
Elegantly styled, Camus’ profoundly disturbing novel of a Parisian lawyer’s confessions is a searing study of modern amorality.
The God Debates: A 21st Century Guide for Atheists and Believers (and Everyone in Between)
Description The existence of God is a subject that has occupied individual thinkers and entire schools of philosophy for thousands of years, and it remains one of the greatest debates of our day. In The God Debates: A 21st Century Guide for Atheists and Believers, John Shook, Director of Education and Senior Research Fellow at […]
The House on Mango Street
Cisneros has established herself as a striking observer of human character in this work. Told from the eyes of the author as a young girl, Cisneros points out just how strong the social conditioning of our environment is upon the view we have of our own capabilities and potential. If others tell you that you […]
The Jesus Seminar and Its Critics
Written with uncommon clarity, engaging logic, and disarming candor, this book enables you to draw your own conclusions about the Jesus Seminar and the historical Jesus. The pioneering work of The Jesus Seminar has come in for high praise as well as searing denunciation from the press, the clergy, the scholars. Now, a veteran member […]
The Lurker at the Threshold
Ambrose Dewart returns to his ancestral estate and sets about restoring the mansion to his own tastes. In the process he comes across a document signed by his great grandfather invoking a sinister injunction to future generations: “Do not invite he who lurks at the threshold!”
The Morman Hierarchy: Origins of Power
A Mormon historian traces the evolution of the Latter-day Saints’ organizational structure from the original, egalitarian “priesthood of believers” to an elaborately hierarchical institution. Quinn also documents the alterations in the historical record which obscured these developments and analyzes the five presiding quorums of the LDS hierarchy.
The New Testament and Other Early Christian Writings: A Reader
The twenty-seven books of the New Testament were not the only writings produced by early Christians. Nor were they the only ones to be accepted, at one time or another, as sacred Scripture. Unfortunately, nearly all the other early Christian writings have been lost or destroyed. But approximately twenty-five books written at about the same […]
The Popes Against the Jews
Subtitled: The Vatican’s Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism The Vatican’s 1998 report “We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah” purportedly exonerated the Church of complicity in the Holocaust. In The Popes Against the Jews, David I. Kertzer argues that the report is “not the product of a Church that wants to confront its […]
The Rebel
This is the third in Camus’s “trilogy” dealing with the theme of absurdity in the face of human existence. Following on the themes outlined in The Stranger and The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus now proceeds to engage in a literary exposition of metaphysical rebellion throughout history.
The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem
Nearly twenty-five years ago Nathaniel Branden’s book: The Psychology of Self-Esteem introduced a new and revolutionary concept of self-esteem. Since then he has done more than any other theorist to demonstrate the supreme importance of self-esteem to human well-being. Now he presents the culminating achievement of a lifetime of clinical practice and study. Immense in […]
The Trouble with Islam: A Muslim’s Call for Reform in Her Faith
“I have to be honest with you. Islam is on very thin ice with me….Through our screaming self-pity and our conspicuous silences, we Muslims are conspiring against ourselves. We’re in crisis and we’re dragging the rest of the world with us. If ever there was a moment for an Islamic reformation, it’s now. For the […]
The Woman’s Bible
American suffragist and feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) was also and outspoken critic of the Bible because of the many injustices against women in the scriptures. The 1870 revision of the Authorized English Version of the Bible by an all-male committee of the Church of England prompted Stanton to compile the works of many prominent […]
Understanding the Hadith: The Sacred Traditions of Islam
Noted Indian writer and polymath Ram Swarup explores the meaning of Islam through the words of the Sahih Muslim, considered by Muslims to be one of the most authoritative of the collections of “traditions” (Arabic Hadith) about the life of the Prophet Muhammad. Like the Koran, these traditions are believed to be divinely revealed by […]
What Does It All Mean?
In this cogent and accessible introduction to philosophy, the distinguished author of Mortal Questions and The View From Nowhere sets forth the central problems of philosophical inquiry for the beginning student. Arguing that the best way to learn about philosophy is to think about its questions directly, Thomas Nagel considers possible solutions to nine problems–knowledge […]
Who’s Who in Hell: A Handbook and International Directory
Smith attempts to list every humanist, freethinker, naturalist, rationalist, and/or non-theist who made any significant mark down through history and into modern times, and all groups of, by, and for those sorts of people. This is an indispensable reference work for anyone needing biographical or contact material for any purpose.
Why the Religious Right is Wrong About the Separation of Church and State (2nd Ed.)
Award-winning journalist Rob Boston lambastes the zealots of the Radical Religious Right for spreading misinformation about the constitutional principle of the separation of church and state. This is the revised and updated Second Edition of this fabulous book.
A Brief History of Western Philosophy
“Anthony Kenny surveys the history of Western philosophy from the Pre-Socratics to the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein. This is a well-written survey of the most important contributions of some of the major philosophers, but it is far from comprehensive. Particularly disappointing was the absence of any commentary on the half-century of philosophy since Wittgenstein, the […]
A Shortcut Through Time: The Path to a Quantum Computer
The first book to prepare general readers for the next big–perhaps the biggest–breakthrough in the short history of the cyberworld: the development of the quantum computer. The newest Pentium chip driving personal computers packs 40 million electronic switches onto a piece of silicon the size of a thumbnail. It is dramatically smaller and more powerful […]
An Illusion of Harmony: Science And Religion in Islam
Book Description Current discussions in the West on the relation of science and religion focus mainly on science’s uneasy relationship with the traditional Judeo-Christian view of life. But a parallel controversy exists in the Muslim world regarding ways to integrate science with Islam. As physicist Taner Edis demonstrates in this fascinating glimpse into contemporary Muslim […]
Atheism: A Very Short Introduction
Atheism is often considered to be a negative, dark, and pessimistic belief which is characterised by a rejection of values and purpose and a fierce opposition to religion. Atheism: A Very Short Introduction sets out to dispel the myths that surround atheism and show how a life without religious belief can be positive, meaningful, and […]
Before the Beginning
“Although we cannot observe them (and they may be forever inaccessible), other universes are a natural expectation from current cosmology. Moreover, many features of our universe that otherwise seem baffling fall into place once we recognize this.” Sir Martin Rees, the British Astronomer Royal, gives a vivid, occasionally acid tour of current astrophysics and cosmology, […]
Bible Prophecy: Failure or Fulfillment?
In this much-needed book, Tim Callahan refutes Biblical literalists who claim that the Bible contains prophecies, divinely inspired and fulfilled.
Can We Trust the New Testament?
Can We Trust the New Testament? questions the historical accuracy of widely held views of early Christianity. In this book radical Bible scholar G. A. Wells examines Biblical accounts of the lives of the apostles Peter and Paul and presents evidence that the events described in the New Testament were written over time to support […]
Common Sense, the Rights of Man and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine
The eighteenth century was an age both of enlightenment and of revolution. No man more dramatically embodied this spirit of knowledge and change than did Thomas Paine. One of the world’s most eloquent and persuasive proponents of human liberty and democracy, Paine stirred the hearts and minds of men to action. His writings were key […]
Darwin: A Very Short Introduction
Darwin’s theory of evolution, which implied that our anscestors were apes, caused a furore in the scientific world and beyond when The Origin of Species was published in 1859. Arguments still rage about the implications of his evolutionary theory, and scepticism about the value of Darwin’s contribution to knowledge is widespread. In this analysis of […]
Defending Evolution: A Guide to the Evolution/Creation Controversy
Defending Evolution is a novel handbook that explains why so many secondary and college students reject evolution and are antagonistic toward its teaching. Defending Evolution helps science instructors better understand their students’ Creationist beliefs (including those of intelligent design advocates) and the bearing those beliefs have on learning evolution. The book provides instructors with a […]
Double Star
One minute, down and out actor Lorenzo Smythe was drinking away his troubles in a bar. Then a space pilot bought him a drink, and the next thing Smythe knew, he was being shanghaied to Mars. There he found himself agreeing to the most difficult role of his career: impersonating an important politician who had […]
