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Our selection of books and associated reviews. Each cover is an affiliate link to Amazon for purchase.
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 Call for Heresy: Why Dissent Is Vital to Islam and America
Book Description Confronting the fundamentalism that afflicts both Islam and the United States through traditions of dissent, A Call to Heresy discovers unexpected common ground in one of the most inflammatory issues of the twenty-first century: the deepening conflict between the Islamic world and the United States. Moving beyond simplistic answers, Anouar Majid argues that […]
A Solstice Tree for Jenny
It’s Christmas time all across America and Jenny is feeling left out. Her secular parents, born to different faiths that they no longer observe, don’t believe in celebrating Christmas. She never seemed to mind before, but this year it bothers her–maybe because they’re home and not on the Florida coast where they usually go at […]
Angry Candy
The Seattle Times said of Angry Candy: “Ellison’s stories rattle the bars of complacency that people put around their souls…Razor sharp…piercingly profound.” Once again, Ellison’s writing defies all labels. These seventeen stories by a modern master are an “assembled artifact” of anger and faith-as bittersweet as a “jalapeno-laced cinnamon bear.”
Atheism and the Case Against Christ
Description A novel critique that undermines Christianity and theism at their foundations. Hundreds of millions of people believe that Jesus came back from the dead. Philosopher Matthew S. McCormick presents a decidedly unpopular view in this cogent, forcefully argued book—namely, that the central tenet of Christianity, the resurrection of Jesus, is false. McCormick asks a […]
Being and Nothingness
The often criticized philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre encompasses the dilemmas and aspirations of the individual in contemporary society. This work of power and epic scope provides a vivid analysis for all who would understand one of the most influential philosophic movements of this or any age. Sarte’s Being is also an excellent introduction to Heidegger’s […]
Billions and Billions
“The late author of Cosmos draws on the latest research into science, mathematics, and space in a study of the mysteries of life, addressing such topics as global warming, the abortion debate, life on Mars, and his own battle with myelodysplasia. 75,000 first printing.” “In this book, his last, Carl Sagan shows once again his […]
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal contains essays in politics and economics by Rand and other Objectivist authors. Of particular interest are “What is Capitalism?,” in which Rand argues that capitalism is the only moral social-political system; “The Roots of War”; “Gold and Economic Freedom,” a defense of the gold standard by Alan Greenspan; and “Conservatism: An […]
Confession
Wittgenstein probably read the Confession while in an Italian prisoner-of-war camp during the First World War. This work along with Tolstoy’s gospel harmonization entitled The Gospels in Brief, profoundly influenced the young Wittgenstein and probably accounts for the metaphysical theories expounded in the sixth section of Tractatus-Logico Philosophicus. Tolstoy’s Confession is a highly readable, gripping […]
Darwin and Design: Does Evolution Have a Purpose?
This text surveys the argument from design from its introduction by the Greeks, through the coming of Darwinism, down to the present day. Written in clear, nontechnical language; offers an assessment of the status of the argument from design in light of the advances of modern evolutionary biology and the thinking of today’s philosophers. The […]
Defense of the Faith
Reformed theologian Cornelius Van Til systematically analyzes the essential equivalence of thought in the arminiun view of salavation and the world’s view of the autonomy of man. He further argues that if humans are indeed “autonomous,” as existentialism teaches, then our choices are an illusion because we are enslaved to chance and will ultimately fall […]
Doubt: A History : The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation
In this grand sweeping history, Jennifer Michael Hecht celebrates doubt as an engine of creativity and as an alternative to the political and intellectual dangers of certainty. Just as belief has its own history featuring people whose unique expressions of faith have forever changed the world, doubt has a vibrant story and tradition with its […]
Ethical Theory
Ethical Theory provides a fascinating and accessible selection of the most important work in contemporary moral philosophy. Divided into two parts, the first part deals with the question of objectivity in ethics and the viability of ‘moral realism.’ The second part deals with philosophical theories about how we ought to live, including utilitarianism, social contract […]
Facing Up: Science and Its Cultural Adversaries
In a recent New York Times profile, James Glanz remarked, “Steven Weinberg is perhaps the world’s most authoritative proponent of the idea that physics is hurtling toward a ‘final theory,’ a complete explanation of nature’s particles and forces that will endure as the bedrock of all science forevermore. He is also a powerful writer of […]
Foundation’s Edge
At last, the costly and bitter war between the two Foundations had come to an end. The scientists of the First Foundation had proved victorious; and now they retum to Hari Seldon’s long-established plan to build a new Empire that the Second Foundation is not destroyed after all — and that its still — defiant […]
God, Freedom, and Immortality
A collection of independent essays by the reknowned and well-respected philosopher Antony Flew on God, freedom, and immortality. The essays on “The Presumption of Atheism” and “The Principle of Agnosticism” are especially good.
H. L. Mencken on Religion
No one ever argued more forcefully or with such acerbic wit against the foolish aspects of religion as H. L. Mencken (1880-1956). As a journalist, he gained national prominence through his newspaper columns describing the now-famous 1925 Scopes trial, which pitted Fundamentalists against a public school teacher who dared to teach evolution. But both before […]
