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Our selection of books and associated reviews. Each cover is an affiliate link to Amazon for purchase.
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 […]
Ethical and Religious Thought in Analytic Philosophy of Language
Philosopher Quentin Smith rejects the widespread view that analytic philosophy is indifferent to important questions about right and wrong and human meaning. In this probing book he provides the first critical history of analytic philosophy from its inception to the present day, boldly argues that analytic philosophy has always concerned itself with the central issues […]
Facing the Wrath : Confronting the Right in Dangerous Times
Americans have seen the Religious Right seize control of the Republican Party on the state level and at the national convention, controlling everything from the political platform to the presidential nominee selection process. Meeting this challenge means understanding the nature of the threat. Facing The Wrath is an essential guide which provides a comprehensive overview […]
Foundation and Empire
Foundation and Empire tells the incredible story of a new breed of man who creates a new force for galactic government. Thus the Foundation hurtles into conflict with the decadent, decrepit First Empire. In this struggle for power amid the chaos of the stars, man stands at the threshold of a new enlightened life which […]
God and the Folly of Faith: The Incompatibility of Science and Religion
Description It has become the prevalent view among sociologists, historians, and some theistic scientists that religion and science have never been in serious conflict. Some even claim that Christianity was responsible for the development of science. In God and the Folly of Faith, physicist Victor J. Stenger shows that this conclusion flies in the face […]
Gullible’s Travels
Audio Cassette Betty Bias, Peter Prejudice, “Ad” Hominem and Teddy Tangletongue illustrate what happens when reasoning goes bad.
How To Raise Your Self-Esteem
Comforting and optimistic, this important self-help book is filled with step-by-step techniques for developing and strengthening feelings of self-worth. Shows readers how they can raise self-confidence, self-esteem, and commit themselves to happier, healthier lives.
I. Asimov : A Memoir (US 1995 Paperback)
Arguably the greatest science fiction writer who ever lived, Isaac Asimov also possessed one of the most brilliant and original minds of our time. His accessible style and far-reaching interests in subjects ranging from science to humor to history earned him the nickname “the Great Explainer.” I.Asimov is his personal story–vivid, open, and honest–as only […]
Introducing the Enlightenment
The Enlightenment of the 18th century was not only a crucial epoch, a sea-change in human history – it was also a vast moral, scientific and political movement. Intellectuals across Europe and the New World linked up in networks of friendship, projects and debates, and began to free themselves of the authority of the church […]
Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millenium
Few biographical subjects spark passions as intensely as do interpretations of the life of Jesus. In this highly accessible book, Bart Ehrman reviews the latest textual and archaeological research into Jesus’s life and the history of first-century Palestine, and draws a fascinating, controversial portrait of the man and his teachings. Jesus, Apocalyptic Prophet of the […]
Last Chance to See (US 1992 Paperback)
In “The Hitchhiker’s Trilogy” and the bestselling “Dirk Gently” novels, Douglas Adams has taken his millions of fans on wild excursions through time and space. Last Chance to See continues the trip–but this time the place is Earth, the date is today, and every word is true. By turns a poignant and hilarious look at […]
Lovecraft : A Study in the Fantastic
Levy’s book is filled with explorations of neat themes in Lovecraft such as attics (vs. cellars), dreamworlds, stairways dug from underground up… The book’s charm as well as weakness is that it points out Lovecraft’s relation to other thinkers (Poe, Hawthorne, Freud, Einstein, Le Fanu) but doesn’t get bogged down working those relations out.
Moral Realism and the Foundations of Ethics
Brink defends a distinctive brand of moral realism that embraces objectivism, naturalism, externalism, and consequentialism. According to Michael Martin, this book is the best defense of moral realism available.
Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, Antichrist
This is perhaps the most respected work on Nietzsche ever written. Thomas Mann called it “A work of great superiority over everything previous achieved in Nietzsche criticism and interpretation.”
One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society
Based on the most extensive survey ever conducted of religion in America, this book delivers surprising revelations about the religious beliefs, practices, and affiliations of Americans and about the complex dynamics of a country that is paradoxically among the most religious and the most secular on Earth. Drawn from a random poll of a hundred […]
Phenomenology of Perception
In Phenomenology of Perception, Maurice Merleau-Ponty examines the different associationist and intellectualist conceptions of perception. He rejects both of them on the grounds that they establish an overly rigid relation between stimulus and impression, and secondly, because the world is not entirely the work of a constituting subject. The body is not one object among […]
Racing Demon
In conflict with government, torn with internal dissension on matters of doctrine and practice, the Church of England finds itself enjoying unwelcome publicity. David Hare’s play, which details the struggle of four clergymen to make sense of their mission in South London, opened to universal acclaim.
Religion Explained (Hardcover)
What’s it all about? Though we might never answer the really big questions–with good reason–maybe we can understand why we ask them. Cognitive anthropologist Pascal Boyer tackles this topic in the unapologetically titled Religion Explained, and it is sure to polarize his readers. Some will think it’s an impermissible invasion of mental territory beyond the […]
Robot Visions
From the author of The Bicentennial Man and Robot Dreams, a collection of thirty-six robot stories and essays. From Robbie, Asimov’s first robot story, to human and robot detectives Lije Bailey and R. Daneel Olivaw.
Sci-Fi Private Eye (Audio Cassette)
Isaac Asimov, the modern master of science fiction and fact, and Martin H. Greenberg, a leading anthologist of our time, team together to produce an unprecedented collection of science fiction audio books. This landmark series presents their favorite private detective stories from Asimov’s private library, with a personal introduction read by the master himself. Among […]
Some Mistakes of Moses
Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-99), the “Great Agnostic,” was the greatest freethought orator in the history of the United States. No public speaker before or since has enjoyed the reputation accorded him. After the Civil War, Ingersoll embarked upon a career as a lecturer, touring the United States to make his thoughts on religion, women’s rights, […]
The Age of Reason: Examination of the Prophecies
Until the publication of this annotated edition, Thomas Paine’s third part of “The Age Of Reason” was extremely rare and almost unknown. Titled “Examination of the Prophecies,” the book examines all the supposed prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament alleged by the evangelists of the New Testament. With great wit and penetrating logic, Paine […]
The Case Against School Vouchers
No one disputes the right of religious bodies to operate private schools or the right of parents to send their children to them. But should government use its taxing power to compel involuntary support for religious institutions? This book summarizes the case against school vouchers, providing evidence and documentation for each argument.
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 […]
