Non-fiction book recommendation

[Meclizine]

I'm going on vacation in about a week. It's a family reunion type thing.

Anyway, it will probably be stretches of boredom punctuated by mildly fun activities. So, I'm looking for a book to read. I'm interested in religion from a psychological/evolutionary standpoint. Evolution, too. I'm not looking for something too heavy, having no formal education on either of those subjects.

I'll ultimately end up browsing if I don't get any recommendations.

By the way, as far as I know, most of the people that will be there are mormons. I'm not looking to stir up controversy or conflict, but I'm not afraid of them knowing where I stand. Thanks. :)

[tomgv15]

Feynman, Sagan, Gould, C.P. Snow... Try The Gospel According to the Simpsons by Mark Pinsky & The Simpsons and Philosophy, anthology.These are not joke books. Both books are accessible and can be read in segments. Also, you may be able to draw your relatives into a meaningful, (at least for a family reunion),conversation. Check your library and used book store first.

[Brainache]

If you are at all familiar with Terry Pratchett's Disc World stories I would recommend "The Science Of The Discworld" books. By TP Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen.
Light hearted well written popular science interspersed with Terry Pratchett's inimitable fiction.

[SusanB-M1]

If you are at all familiar with Terry Pratchett's Disc World stories I would recommend "The Science Of The Discworld" books. By TP Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen.
Light hearted well written popular science interspersed with Terry Pratchett's inimitable fiction.

Definitely agree with that; also try one of the books in the series of 'Bluffers' Guides'.

[kc440_]

I'm going on vacation in about a week. It's a family reunion type thing.

I'm looking for a book to read. I'm interested in religion from a psychological/evolutionary standpoint. Evolution, too. I'm not looking for something too heavy, having no formal education on either of those subjects.

How about "Varieties of Religious Experiences" by William James? It's about sudden insight that you are one with the Universe and have a spark of the divine in you.

On the other side of the scale, there's The "Holographic Universe" by Michael Talbot, which explains how people develop stigmata, etc.

There are also some interesting books by Robert Monroe, who believes in thought forms, that you create your situation.

What about Shirley MacLaine's books on psychic phenomenon? "Out on a Limb," for example.

kc440

[Meclizine]

Thanks for the replies!

It turns out I'm probably not going. I'm still going to check out those books, though, because I really want to read up on these subjects.

And I welcome any more suggestions.

[Polaris]

A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson - good one-volume book on science for the layman, including evolution. Can't say enough good things about it.

[SusanB-M1]

A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson - good one-volume book on science for the layman, including evolution. Can't say enough good things about it.


Agree absolutely.

His latest, which I think is called 'The thunderbolt Kid' is being read on Radio 4 and I'm just waiting for my copy to come into our local bookshop.

[whitefork]

Any of Paul Theroux's travel books, especially The Great Railway Bazaar and The Old Patagonian Express.

[CptColumbo]

Guests of the Ayatollah very interesting inside look at the Terahn hostage crisis at the US Embassy, told from both sides.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

I'm going on vacation in about a week. It's a family reunion type thing.

Anyway, it will probably be stretches of boredom punctuated by mildly fun activities. So, I'm looking for a book to read. I'm interested in religion from a psychological/evolutionary standpoint. Evolution, too. I'm not looking for something too heavy, having no formal education on either of those subjects.

I'll ultimately end up browsing if I don't get any recommendations.

By the way, as far as I know, most of the people that will be there are mormons. I'm not looking to stir up controversy or conflict, but I'm not afraid of them knowing where I stand. Thanks. :)

You might try Origin of Species by Darwin. It's a bit of a hard read since he tends to present so much that is obvious (to us in this century anyway). It is interesting to see his thought processes and, one of the big advantages :) is that you can then ask any creationist you meet, "Well, have you read Origin of Species?" without being a hypocrite!

I got a remaindered copy for a couple of bucks (CDN) and it is also available online through Project Gutenberg at:
http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2009

[Roboramma]

Sagan's Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors was a really enjoyable look at evolution, though it's somewhat out of date by now, and not his feild, it's hard to find a more inspiring science writer.

Dawkins' River out of Eden was wonderful. Somewhat short, and very accessible, it was the first of his books that I read, and I was hooked from the first page. (I picked it up off a display at chapters and sat down and read it front to back right there. Then I proceeded to read everything else he wrote).

I just read Peacemaking Among Primates, Frans De Wahl's wonderful look at the social life of our close cousins, and how they are poorly represented by those who look at agression without looking at it's counterpart - reconciliation. Probably a hard book to find, though.

For something fun, why not try Jared Diamond's Why Sex is Fun (or is it Why is Sex Fun?, I don't remember) or slightly more serious and in depth The Third Chimpanzee.

Anything by E.O. Wilson is wonderful, particularly The Diversity of Life, but while I love his books, I find his writing a little heavy at times (though when you get into it, it's thrilling).

Right now I'm re-reading Dawkins' The Ancestor's Tale, which, while pretty heavy, is probably my all time favourite book. I learned more from this book than from any two others I've read, and forgot more.

[IllegalArgument]

Mating Mind by Geofrey Miller, sexually selection in evolution

End of Faith by Sam Harris is also good

[Charlie Monoxide]

Right now I'm re-reading Dawkins' The Ancestor's Tale, which, while pretty heavy, is probably my all time favourite book. I learned more from this book than from any two others I've read, and forgot more.I'll ditto that. I just read this about 4 weeks ago. There's a lot of amazing things told in here. The one that still sticks in my head is the african horsefly that pupates in ponds that usually turn dry during drought seasons. Before going into pupa stage, the horsefly larva first creates 2 cork-screw like holes and then creates a 3rd hole between the other 2, in which it uses to pupate in. The reason biologist figure, is that when the pond dries up, the mud becomes dry and brittle. As mud dries, it cracks. A crack directly through the hole the horsefly pupates in would be fatal. One of the 2 cork-screw like holes would absorb the cracks. Pretty amazing (if true).

Charlie (real life more interesting than woo life) Monoxide

[Almo]

I'm reading "The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s" by Piers Brendon. THAT's a good book. You might also look at Collapse by Jared Diamond; fascinating book.

[antihippy]

Orwell's 1984 - some argue that it's modern history ...

Seriously though I've been reading a lot of history lately and judging by your username I'd recommend:
Gibbon's Decline and Fall
The Pellopennesian War - Thucydides
Rifles - Mark Urban
Wealth of Nations...

[Marquis de Carabas]

Daniel Dennett's Breaking the Spell (http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Spell-Religion-Natural-Phenomenon/dp/067003472X/sr=8-1/qid=1157991977/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-7607375-4204160?ie=UTF8&s=books)

[boooeee]

Okay, so it's not evolution or religion, but I have to plug E.T. Bell's "Men of Mathematics". I've been told that Bell's book is not always the most factually accurate, but it is easily one of the most entertainingly written non-fiction books in the English language. Each chapter is devoted to one or two mathematicians. They can be read in any order as well.

I'll post excerpts of Bell's writing if I have time.

[headscratcher4]

Thanks for the replies!

It turns out I'm probably not going. .


What about the Left Behind series?

[Meclizine]

Those are fiction, aren't they?

[Charlie Monoxide]

What about the Left Behind series?
Those books (as well as CD's) seem to pollute my local library (Orlando main branch). It seems whenever I scan the new release shelves of books the titles are half hidden. I grab the book to read the inside flap then realize it's a "Left Behind" book by LaHaye. I immediately put it down, shuddering and muttering to myself, "eeew, I touched it".

I really wish they'd truly leave those books behind.

Charlie (dang, I hate those books) Monoxide

[Meclizine]

Wait a minute... That was a joke, wasn't it, headscratcher4? :p

Probably not going... Left behind...

Anyway, I just got The End of Faith. I'm looking forward to starting it tomorrow.

[SusanB-M1]

There are two delightful books I read about ten years ago: 'The Tao of Pooh' and 'The Te of Piglet'. Can't remember the author, but as you can imagine it's philosophy interpreted through Pooh's and Piglet's ideas.

[Kotatsu]

There are two delightful books I read about ten years ago: 'The Tao of Pooh' and 'The Te of Piglet'. Can't remember the author, but as you can imagine it's philosophy interpreted through Pooh's and Piglet's ideas.

A classmate lent me the former once; in the Swedish translation (at least - I haven't read the English original), one verse in one of the Pooh songs has been replaced by one of the author's own invention, which is not at all similar to the Milne original verse. The author then goes on to base his argument mainly on the non-Milne verse. Or at least that's what I remember about it, but it's been perhaps ten years, and I didn't like the book at the time and hurried through the last few chapters.

However, a nice book is Simon Winchester's "The Meaning of Everything", a short history about the Oxford English Dictionary. It is filled with small interesting facts, although the book in general is only fairly good.

[headscratcher4]

Wait a minute... That was a joke, wasn't it, headscratcher4? :p

Probably not going... Left behind...

Anyway, I just got The End of Faith. I'm looking forward to starting it tomorrow.

You are quicker than I am, it took me a while to get it... ;)

[TragicMonkey]

Encyclopedia of Occultism by Lewis Spence. It's quite good, giving lots of background on everything from Victorian spiritualists to ancient religion. Not sure what a Hand of Glory is? Wondering about the Eleusinian Mysteries? Need to define a bezoar? And no, he's not a Believer, so it's not pages of waffle about the Wonders of the Universe. (And I have a strong suspicion that JK Rowling uses this book for reference.)

HTML a Beginner's Guide by Wendy Willard. It's somewhat old by now, but if you don't know HTML and want to learn, this is a really good book. Worked for me.

The Dinosaur Heresies by Robert Bakker. For anyone who likes dinosaurs, and all the cool people do.

[Polaris]

What about the Left Behind series?

Why read the book when you can play the video game? http://www.leftbehindgames.com/

[orpheus]

On evolution, I'd recommend The Blind Watchmaker and The Selfish Gene by Dawkins, and Daniel Dennett's Darwin's Dangerous Idea. Dawkins's books are the best introductions to the subject I've read (and slimmer than Ancestor's Tale, though I'm looking forward to reading that one).

I'm always surprised that Dennett's book isn't recommended more often. Biology is not his field, so there isn't as much detail in that area as in Dawkins's books. However, DDD is an astonishingly compelling explanation of the power of natural selection as an algorithm - an explanation of why things are the way they are. He also explores the big philosophical implications of this - the only one to do so this thoroughly, to my knowledge. And he's such a good writer. A real pleasure to read.

I've fewer books to recommend about religion, but Matt Ridley's The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation is very fine. I've also had his Genome on my reading list for a while. I've heard good things about it.

When I first read George Smith's Atheism: The Case Against God, I used to get a highly amusing range of looks from people who caught sight of the title - from:confused: to :clap: to :czangry: to :jaw-dropp . On a NYC subway train, a family actually got up and changed seats to move as far away from me as they could.

Now I sometimes read it in public just for fun.

[orpheus]

Sorry - I'm pretty new here, and I just discovered - and got carried away with - all the Smilies.

It's true!:D

[orpheus]

Third post in a row. Ah well...

I just saw on my bookshelf D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson's On Growth and Form. Big thick book, so not a good one for packing light on a vacation. And his ideas about evolution are certainly outdated - this dates from 1917. But it's a great read. And he seemed to know a lot about everything - this is one of the all-time great idea-sparkers.

I just checked it out on Amazon, and found this quote about the book from Sir Peter Medawar: "beyond comparison the finest work of literature in all the annals of science that have been recorded in the English tongue."

In sum, it's good.

(It's true! :D )

[Marquis de Carabas]

Third post in a row. Ah well...

I just saw on my bookshelf D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson's On Growth and Form. Big thick book, so not a good one for packing light on a vacation. And his ideas about evolution are certainly outdated - this dates from 1917. But it's a great read. And he seemed to know a lot about everything - this is one of the all-time great idea-sparkers.

I just checked it out on Amazon, and found this quote about the book from Sir Peter Medawar: "beyond comparison the finest work of literature in all the annals of science that have been recorded in the English tongue."

In sum, it's good.

(It's true!
See, I almost believed you, but then I got to this part...

:D )

...and I knew you were making it up. Truth can only be established with this smiley: :).

It's true. :)

[orpheus]

That's true. :D

(hehehe - Cretan's Paradox - hehehe - new formulation - heheheh....)

[Meclizine]

Some really good stuff. I don't know how I'm going to read all these books! But that's my problem, not yours... So by all means, don't let that stop you from posting more suggestions.:D

[orpheus]

That's true. :D

(hehehe - Cretan's Paradox - hehehe - new formulation - heheheh....)

Of course, I meant to write: That's false. :D

There's the paradox's new formulation.

[IllegalArgument]

Just finished "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins.

If you like Dawkins, you'll love the book.