Monday, May 2, 2016

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins



A preeminent scientist -- and the world's most prominent atheist -- asserts the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11.

Monday, April 18, 2016

A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar




Stories of famously eccentric Princetonians abound--such as that of chemist Hubert Alyea, the model for The Absent-Minded Professor, or Ralph Nader, said to have had his own key to the library as an undergraduate. Or the "Phantom of Fine Hall," a figure many students had seen shuffling around the corridors of the math and physics building wearing purple sneakers and writing numerology treatises on the blackboards. The Phantom was John Nash, one of the most brilliant mathematicians of his generation, who had spiraled into schizophrenia in the 1950s. His most important work had been in game theory, which by the 1980s was underpinning a large part of economics. When the Nobel Prize committee began debating a prize for game theory, Nash's name inevitably came up--only to be dismissed, since the prize clearly could not go to a madman. But in 1994 Nash, in remission from schizophrenia, shared the Nobel Prize in economics for work done some 45 years previously.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment by Phil Zuckerman


“Silver” Winner of the 2008 Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Award, Religion Category

Neil Armstrong: A Life of Flight by Jay Barbree


Much has been written about Neil Armstrong, America's modern hero and history's most famous space traveler. Yet shy of fame and never one to steal the spotlight Armstrong was always reluctant to discuss his personal side of events. Here for the first time is the definitive story of Neil's life of flight he shared for five decades with a trusted friend – Jay Barbree.

Monday, March 14, 2016

Why I Am Not A Christian by Bertrand Russell

Russell delivered this lecture on March 6, 1927 to the National Secular Society, South London Branch, at Battersea Town Hall. Published in pamphlet form in that same year, the essay subsequently achieved new fame with Paul Edwards' edition of Russell's book, Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays ... (1957).

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Foucault and Queer Theory (Postmodern Encounters) by Tasmin Spargo

Foucault's theories on power, crime and sexuality have enormously influenced the postmodern debates within post-feminism, cultural studies, sociology, and history.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason Paperback by Sam Harris


"The End of Faith articulates the dangers and absurdities of organized religion so fiercely and so fearlessly that I felt relieved as I read it, vindicated....Harris writes what a sizable number of us think, but few are willing to say."―Natalie Angier, ?New York Times

Friday, March 4, 2016

A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by Karen Armstrong


Over 700,000 copies of the original hardcover and paperback editions of this stunningly popular book have been sold. Karen Armstrong's superbly readable exploration of how the three dominant monotheistic religions of the world - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - have shaped and altered the conception of God is a tour de force. 

Christian Mission: How Christianity Became a World Religion by Dana L. Robert


Exploring how Christianity became a world religion, this brief history examines Christian missions and their relationship to the current globalization of Christianity.