RationalWiki:Recommended Books

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Here are some books (and other "print resources") recommended by Rationalwikians in case you're ever off the internets.

Please when adding to this list, dig out the ISBN for an in-print edition (if possible) of the publication and list it. If anyone is looking for some seriously fun whitewash work, the ones listed without ISBNs need them.

Contents

[edit] Books

[edit] Critical Thinking, Argument, Rhetoric

  • How To Lie With Statistics by Darrell Huff
    • Or, how not to be deceived by those who do...
  • Rhetorics by Aristotle.
    • Still the best.
  • Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion by Jay Heinrichs
    • Need a retort for that comment over at the other place? This book talks about the rules of argument in a fun, non threatening way.
  • The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan
  • The Skeptic's Dictionary by Robert Todd Carroll
    • Easy-to-approach encyclopedia of topics related to quackery, pseudoscience, and the paranormal (also available online).

[edit] Creationism, Evolution, Intelligent Design

  • Intelligent Thought: Science versus the Intelligent Design Movement by John Brockman
  • The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design by Richard Dawkins.
    • Dawkins takes down intelligent design, and gives an account of evolution pitched to the mid-level reader, explaining away "irreducible complexity" and illuminating gradualism v. punctuated equilibrium fracas, on his way giving readers a crash course in evolutionary biology.

[edit] Religion, and Understanding the Religious

  • Sacred Causes: The Clash of Religion and Politics, from the Great War to the War on Terror by Michael Burleigh (ISBN 978-0060580964)
    • Exposes the influence and interference of religion in 20th Century politics, history and dictatorship.
  • A Short History of Islam by Karen Armstrong
  • An Introduction to Islam by David Waines
  • Christian Theology: An Introduction by Alister E. McGrath
  • God's Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission to Save America by Hanna Rosin.
    • In her book, investigative journalist Mrs. Rosin chronicles the life and times of the children of "Patrick Henry College," an institution that tries - and, ultimately, fails - to wed evangelical Christianity and modern intelletualism. Her warm approach to the children, and presentation of their astonishing lifestyle, is eye-opening and critical to understanding the modern evangelical movement. It'll also scare you shitless.
  • Introducing Christianity by Sally Bruyneel and Alan G. Padgett
  • Muslims: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices by Andrew Rippin
  • Pretty much anything by Karen Armstrong, although The Battle for God: Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity and Islam and The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions are good.
  • The Cambridge Companion to Christian Doctrine by Colin E. Gunton
  • The Complete Idiot's Guide to Christianity by Jeffrey B. Webb
  • The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Judaism by Rabbi Benjamin Blech
  • The AntiChrist, A Criticism of Christianity by Frederick Nietzsche (ISBN 978-0-7607-7770-1)
    • Nietzsche's devastating, no-holds-barred critique of all the wrongs brought upon the world by people divorced from reality.
  • The X-Rated Bible: An Irreverent Survey of Sex in the Scriptures by Ben Edward Akerley
    • Fun, snarky tour of teh Bible highlighting all the dirty parts and bizarre sexual practices found therein
  • Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by David Hume (ISBN 978-0-7607-7771-8)
    • A wonderful little book from 1710 filled with debates over the existence of God and other matters of religion, told through conversations between characters from each side of argument. A great insight into different sides of the debate, and ways of debating the topics, that's still relevant today.
  • The Book of the SubGenius by Ivan Stang & Various
    • Yes, it's an insane bogus kook religion. It still does an excellent job of hiding some fairly illuminating observations on Faith, Humanity, and Money underneath a protective shell of morbid laughs.
  • The Principia Discordia, or How I Found Goddess And What I Did To Her When I Found Her
    • Yes, it's a joke, but that doesn't mean it's not true.

[edit] Atheism

  • I Don't Believe in Atheists, Chris Hedges. Points out how Dawkins, Harris et al, by cherry-picking their framing of religion end up engaging in the same kind of ideologically-driven utopianism as their intellectual enemies. Essential reading for people who unquestioningly crap all over religion.
  • The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris
  • The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
  • The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever anthology compiled by Christopher Hitchens
  • God Is Not Great:How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens.

[edit] Goats

  • Goats: A Guide to Management by Patricia Ross
  • Giles, Goat Boy by John Barth

[edit] Philosophy

  • Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder
  • From Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
    • NOTE: Possibly the most pointlessly complex thing you will read, Hobbes like other writers before and after him, excels in making the simple seem ridiculously complex... In my opinion :-)

[edit] Politics/History

  • Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville
    • Important reference to understanding the development of democracy in early Democratic USA, particularly post 1820. America was founded as a Republic, not as a Democracy, and Tocqueville explores reasons why Democracy worked in America and not in his native France. Written in two volumes, published in 1835 and 1840 respectively.
  • The Frontier in American History by Frederick Jackson Turner
    • Famous essay which can be read entirely online somewhere, written shortly after the official fall of the US Frontier (1890s). Aims to explain American Exceptionalism and may aid a non-American in his quest to understand the nation. Has been criticized savagely from left and right since its production, still stands as an important piece of historiography and an essential read to fully grasp US history.
  • Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America
    • Shows just how deep and far-reaching the effects of McCarthyism were and gives a thorough history of Communism and anti-communism in America. Buy this to beat RobS in the head with.
  • Multitude and Empire, both by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri.
    • Interesting look at globalisation, power and the state - Multitude uses a lot of Foucault's ideas about biopower..
  • Le gouvernment du monde, Jean Francois Bayart
    • Another globalisation treatise, also Foucauldian, but comes to very different conclusions about the state.
  • Ghost Wars, Steven Coll
    • Read this to understand exactly what people mean to say when they spout off about America "supporting and funding" Bin Laden. It's way more complicated and nuanced than that.
  • The Cartoon History of the Universe Larry Gonick
    • History, from the Big Bang through (so far) the founding of Islam. The cartoony style might be a bit off-putting, but the scholarship appears to be sound, and it's a good place to start reading.
  • Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds Charles MacKay
    • First printed in 1850, this book's a compendium of historical examples of human folly, from Tulipmania, to the the witch-hunt of Salem, to the Crusades. The old-fashioned writing style can be tough to adjust to, but the material is (sadly) timeless.
  • Why People Believe Weird Things by Michael Shermer
    • Essays on various more modern cults and delusions, from Creationism and UFO contactees to Objectivism.
  • The True Believer by Eric Hoffer
  • The Ordeal of Change by Eric Hoffer
    • Both classic books exploring what draws people to authoritarian mass movements, from fundamentalist Christianity to Communism. Other Hoffer books are also worth reading but these are the only two that remain in print.
  • The Republican War on Science by Chris Mooney
    • Explores the politicization of science in the United States, from evolution, to global warming, to abortion.
  • Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in a Free Society by Peter McWilliams
    • Sensible response to the war on drugs, anti-sodomy laws, etc. (Also anti-smoking and anti-gun laws - McWilliams is pro-choice on everything). Contains especially extensive and good material debunking the Religious Right.
  • Master of the Senate, The years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro, much more than an autobiography of this complex character, this book provides an insightful look at how the Senate operates and can be moulded to suit a personal agenda.
  • History of the Crusades, by Stephen Runciman.
    • Three volumes written in the 50s, standard reference book for the crusades by one of the greatest historians of his day.

[edit] Magazine articles

  • "Devolution, Why intelligent design isn’t." by H. Allen Orr New Yorker [1]
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