"Living The Secular Life: New Answers to Old Questions" by Dr. Phil Zuckerman

Publisher: Penguin Press
ISBN: 9781594205088
Copyright: 2014

This book is essentially a review of what it means to be secular, but it also juxtaposes this with what many people seem to think a secular person is. The book itself is oriented with a very American focus, which is understandable both because the author is American, but also due to America promoting itself as a christian nation, even though there is a large number of people with no religious affiliation down there.

Other countries are mentioned in contrast to America, such as Canada, Norway, Finland, and many more who are very secular and have crime rates that are essentially nonexistent, while the United States and numerous other religious nations have ridiculously high crime rates.

Dr. Zuckerman gained a lot of the material in this book from interviewing both secular and religious people and this gives the reader a very good overview of how people see those who are secular.

These interviews also give the reader into other areas that show how secular people deal with such topics as Morality, Society, The Rise of the Non-religious, Raising Secular Children, Creating Communities, Dealing with Hardship, and Death.

A very good book, that I think all should read.

"For Small Creatures Such as We: Ritual for Finding Meaning in our Unlikely World" by Sasha Sagan

 

Publisher:  G. P. Putnam's Sons

Copyright: 2019

ISBN: 9780593087541

This book is an examination of how we humans interact with the natural world, and with each other. It is the story of Ms. Sagan and her life as the daughter of the astronomer Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan. She was raised in a secular household, and this forms the basis of her outlook on the world, which is to say the least a very good one that demonstrates that science has revealed truths more impressive and amazing than any religion, myth or fable.

She reminisces about hr life with her parents, how she met her husband, and how they are now raising their daughter in the same manner. She examines how her life has been influenced by her relatives, and how she has taken some of the rituals and developed others to enhance her family's life.

An excellent book that gives not only a good overview of a secular life, but also some insight into what it means to be secular in a world that seems to be dominated in certain places by religion, mythology, fables, and much more - some of which are very detrimental to the person and society at large.

Highly recommended.

"Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity, and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions" by Todd Rose

 

Publisher: Hachette Books

Copyright: 2022

ISBN: 9780306925689

I found this book "collective illusions" to be extremely interesting to read, and a bit of an eye-opener as to how people perceive each other in every day situations (and some not-so-everyday situation as well).

I first came across Dr. Rose on a YouTube video published by Big Think, in which he spoke about the various illusions that humans are susceptible to in every day life. His video is actually one of many published by this organization, all of which are quite illuminating.

The fact that humans are suffering (and that's virtually the only word you can use to accurately describe what we're facing) collective illusions in pretty much all aspects of every day life makes this book an indispensable resource on how to navigate what we experience daily.

The book is clearly written, and very informative. I would highly recommend it to anybody who is interested in the way the world works, or who is a participant in all the various social media platforms that are currently invading our life.

“Labor of Love: The Invention of Dating” by Moria Weigel

 

Publisher: Straus and Giroux

Copyright: 2016

ISBN: 9780374182533

This book looks at the history of dating, from his very early beginnings as a recognized activity through to modern day.

The author has done considerable research into this subject and presents a detailed examination of all the things that have both influenced people who date, as well as how dating has influenced the world we currently live in.

The book is written from a feminist point of you, but this just adds to the overall story as it gives a woman's point of view, whereas the majority of other books out there seem to focus more on the male perspective.

Ms. Weigel touches on a number of different subjects throughout the book such as historically how families dealt with the prospects of romance and used their influence/positions of power to select partners for their children, and how this practise changed throughout history. How things changed during and after the two world wars, and how it is continuing to change into the digital age.

An extremely interesting book to read.

"Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon" by Daniel C. Dennett

Published: New York: Penguin
Year: 2007, c2006.
Physical Details: xvi, 448 p. ; 23 cm
ISBN: 9780143038337

This books an extremely interesting read that examines the concept of religion essentially from the ground up. Dennett investigates the various controversial subjects of religion, such as why do we believe in a god or gods, how these beliefs frame and control our lives, how our societies are effected by the beliefs, and much more. Many people allow their lives to be controlled by these phenomena, and have for hundreds if not thousands of years. It affects how people see other cultures, how they raise their children, treat their elders, interact with a community, and many more aspects of human life.

The big question in this book is why do we have religion. Why do people from totally different cultures that have never met feel a bond when they meet based on these beliefs? On the other hand why do the beliefs of certain groups cause them to go to war?

The discussion ranges through the fields of anthropology, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and many more ologies.

While I found this book extremely interesting it did read quite slowly at times, but once you began to think about what was said, then you realised that this was essentially the only way that the concept could be explained. This is definitely a book that every humanist, anthropologist, and philosopher should have on their shelf (hopefully after they've read it), as it provides many insights into human culture and belief.

"The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life " by Mark Manson

Publisher: Harper Collins

Copyright: 2016

ISBN: 9780062457714

Not only does this book have a somewhat unique title, but the advice it shares is equally unique. It allows you to be wrong, to stop believing yourself, not be special, ignore emotions that do not serve any purpose, etc.

It teaches you how to respond to tragedy, how to make yourself the creator of your own beliefs, it cautions you on what you should believe in, and addresses the failure success paradox (which is a real big deal in today’s society).

While many readers may be offended by the title, and therefore wouldn’t want to be caught reading this book I think that it is a book pretty much everyone should read. I say this because in society today we are inundated by information that we should care about this, or that, that all children are special, and therefore should be protected from ever having to think they have failed at something. Well this might be good advice if the child is still in diapers, but when they get into the real world if this same attitude is shown them, then they will be subject to a real shock, as nobody is that special. Not you, nor me, or anyone else on the planet.

Definitely worth the read!

"Westworld Psychology: Violent Delights" by Travis Langley and Wind Goodfriend (eds.)

New York: Sterling (2018)
ISBN: 9781454932413

This book takes an in-depth look at the psychology behind the hit HBO series Westworld (now filming it's third season). This series is based on the 1973 Michael Crichton movie of the same title which starred Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, and James Brolin and told the story of a theme park where things went horribly wrong. The series takes inspiration from this movie, and explores in great depth the interactions between the hosts (robots), guests. There are some overall differences between the movie and series as in the movie there were three theme parks Westworld, Roman World, and Medieval World. In the series so far we only know of two Westworld, and Shogun World.

This is not a fiction book but a critical  examination from a psychological perspective of what humans would be subjected to, and hosts have to endure in the event Westworld actually existed.

The various articles are written by prominent authors, scientists, medical personnel who deal with the psychological, sociological, and other issues as well as the concepts behind artificial intelligence, and human / machine interaction.

The book takes on such topics as: violent games and how they enhance aggression; the concepts of when games more than just games; when and why [and how] do we perceive what is human; The evolution of women's gender roles and the development of agency; overcoming complex PTSD; and much more.

Overall I found this book extremely interesting and I believe it would be a valuable resource for any would be fiction writers, or students in undergraduate or graduate anthropology, psychology, or sociology.

"The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins

Publisher:Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co., 2006.

ISBN: 9780618680009 

Characteristics: 406 pages ;,24 cm

This is the first book of Richard Dawkins' that I've read, and I found it to be very well written, and informative. Dr. Dawkins poses his arguments logically, and follow them through to their logical conclusions. He does tend to goober things a number of times, but when you consider how ingrained some of the beliefs in religion are this is likely a good technique as not all people will see the relevance with only one example.

I have read other authors on the subject of atheism, and the vast majority follow the same general format, however Dr. Dawkins goes into much greater detail and gives more examples of why certain beliefs may have arisen, why they are regarded as unchallengeable truths, and what non-believers can do to attempt to understand where proponents of the beliefs in question come from.

I believe this is a good book for the general reader, and would also make a good addition to most anthropology, sociology and possibly even history courses.

"Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold" by Stephen Fry

Publisher:[London] : Michael Joseph, 2017.
ISBN: 9780718188740
Characteristics: ix, 416 pages :,colour illustrations, maps

This book is an excellent retelling of the Greek myths, that mainly focuses on the ones that you typically don't hear too often. In his introduction Mr. Fry says:

"Mythos begins at the beginning, but does no end at the end. Had I included heroes like Oedipus, Perseus, Theseus, Jason and Herakles and the details of the Trojan War this book would have been too heavy for a Titan to pick up."

With numerous footnotes this book gives a fantastic overview of Greek mythology, and points out the numerous links to our current myths, and legends. In addition Mr. Fry's famous sense of humour comes shining through in his prose, and this makes this book a delight to read.

I sincerely hope that he will consider expanding this book into a second volume that includes some, if not all of the above mentioned tales that he purposely omitted. This is a book well worth reading, that would make a great addition to any collection that focuses on history, anthropology, and numerous other social sciences.

"Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow" by Yuval Noah Harari

Publisher:[Toronto, Ontario] : Signal, [2015]
Copyright Date:©2015
ISBN: 9780771038686
Characteristics: 440 pages :,illustrations

This is the second book from this author that I have reviewed recently. The first one was three weeks ago, and was called "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind". This book continues the narration with a look at what the future of humankind could possibly be like.

The author goes into a lot of detail by examining politics, technology, economics, sociology, anthropology, and a few other ologies that I'm not very familiar with. He gives a very in-depth examination of these various topics, and makes the case that the human species is due for a relatively drastic cultural and sociological evolution sometime in the next century or so that will make it almost unrecognizable when compared to what we currently have today.

I found this to be an extremely interesting and thought-provoking book, that was extremely difficult to put down when I got into it. I'm not sure whether I really want to see some of the changes that are being predicted happen, but then again it could be interesting to witness.

"Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Publisher:[Toronto] : Signal, 2014.

Copyright Date:©2014

ISBN: 9780771038518 

9780771038501 

Characteristics: 443 pages :,illustrations, maps

This is an excellent book that is well worth the praise that it has garnered to date. It covers areas as diverse as politics, history, religion, economics, and much more in a well researched and very understandable format.

The author's writing style is very refreshing with the odd bit of humour thrown in to keep the reader interested. Even though the style is easy to read, the topics covered are quite complex, but this will hopefully not dissuade anybody from reading it.

I would recommend this book to anybody who is looking for a good overview of human history, and what we've managed to accomplish in the 100,000 years or so. It would also I believe make a good addition to a senior level courses in anthropology or sociology as it analyses their disciplines from a layperson's standpoint.

Definitely a book I'll be adding to my collection!