Meaningful books on life? science and life? science? science and future?
2007-10-06 05:19:46 · 13 answers · asked by Pansy 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
...and also if you have any book recommendations (book, video, movie, any medium) on any good subject? Thanks!
2007-10-06 05:33:27 · update #1
'The demon haunted world' by Carl Sagan, its a classic.
2007-10-06 05:26:43 · answer #1 · answered by Leviathan 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Of course. Start with Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Almost Everything." Then any of Simon Winchester's works on geology, such as "The Map That Changed The World," or "The Crack At The Edge of The World."
You might like "The Blank Slate" or "The Language Instinct" by Steven Pinker, or "The First Word," by Christine Kenneally.
"Doubt, A History" by Jennifer Hecht, is a fascinating look at the evolution of theology.
Zaehner's "Encyclopedia of the World's Religions" is a good survey of comparative religions, too.
Enjoy.
2007-10-06 12:55:47 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I liked J.P.'s choice. It was a good read.
I like the wrintings of John Gribben on quantum science.
Some of his material can be read here.
http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/home/John_Gribbin/welcome.html
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I like Douglas Coupland, he writes pretty intensely psychological fiction.
"All Families are Psychotic" deals with religion to a great extent.
"Generation X" is considered as a minor classic.
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This one was an astounding piece of work, i will give the wikipedia stub instead of writing a description
Cambodia: A Book For People Who Find Television too Slow, is a book of short stories by Brian Fawcett. It was first published in 1988 (with subsequent US publication: ISBN 0-8021-1082-7).
In addition to its unusual title, this collection of thirteen short stories is notable also for having a division three quarters of the way down the page, above which appear the stories, below which appears an essay about Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge.
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Umberto Ecco.
I did not enjoy "In the Name of the Rose" very much, either as a book or as a movie, in spite of my respect for his skill in crafting that book.I did enjoy "Foucault's Pendelum" and "The Island of The Day Before" very much though.
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Dealing more with religion I highly recommend "The Golden Bough" by Sir James G. Frazer.
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For evolution theory Prof. T. R. Dawkins' "The Selfish Gene" is very good. It presents a much different view of genetics than almost anything before it. Even though it was written in 1975 it is still a good introduction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Selfish_Gene
(Excuse the Wikipedia links but they write better reviews than I do.)
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I also recommend very highly everything by Reverend C.L.Dodgson under the pen name Lewis Carroll.
"Alice in Wonderland"
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That is enough of a reading list. There are many more great writings out there, but it just gets to long to list them all.
2007-10-06 13:00:31 · answer #3 · answered by Y!A-FOOL 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking.
This book is written for the layman and is most instructive about theoretical physics.
2007-10-06 12:29:20 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
I recommend Finnegans Wake by James Joyce, and I think it should be preached in churches instead of the Bible.
It is a book that touches my soul, even though I have no soul.
2007-10-06 12:27:10 · answer #5 · answered by Saint Nearly 5 · 4⤊ 0⤋
About religion/atheism:
The God Delusion
Letter to a Christian Nation
God is Not Great
God: The failed Hypothesis
The Atheist Universe
In general (fiction):
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1016184
2007-10-06 12:23:20 · answer #6 · answered by Dreamstuff Entity 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
2007-10-06 12:36:51 · answer #7 · answered by brainstorm 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Almost anything by Matt Ridley - especially Red Queen Race.
Almost anything by Richard Dawkins - especially Blind Watchmaker.
CD
2007-10-06 12:23:51 · answer #8 · answered by Super Atheist 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Genesis Revisited , by Zechariah Stitchen
2007-10-06 12:35:07 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
As funny as the title may be, I recommend "Great Mambo Chicken and the Transhuman Condition."
2007-10-06 12:22:21 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
You might want to try "Evolution for Everyone" - it's an application of evolution to sciences and life situations. The basic thought is things change (duh!) and those changes may be somewhat predictable given an understanding of the history of previous changes.
2007-10-06 12:24:56 · answer #11 · answered by Pirate AM™ 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋