Journalist and comedian Leon conducts a series of anthropological experiments designed to illuminate the world of conservative USA. As he is a self-described liberal his targets are rather predictable
A discoverer or co-discoverer of 21 comets, Levy helps astronomy buffs in any hemisphere and locale find 100 deep sky objects, such as double and triple stars, nebulae, galaxies and quasars. He offers
Using either immoral or moral means, asks Gabel, did the Bolsheviks have half a prayer of creating an institutionally and psychologically secular society, and for that matter, is such a society possib
In The Losing Battle with Islam, David Selbourne explores the many facets of the West's inability to understand and meet the challenge of a resurgent Islam. Neither "Islamophile" nor "Islamophobe," S
Scholars, most from Europe and the US but some from Islamic countries, present primary and secondary material on the theory and practice of jihad and the treatment of non-Muslims in conquered territor
In The Myth of Self-Esteem, Ellis provides an insightful explanation of self-esteem and self-acceptance, examining the thinking of great religious teachers, philosophers, and psychologists, including
Over the course of a long legal career, Robert O. Swados has worked primarily in the field of professional sports. In this memoir, he describes his experiences as part owner, vice-chairman, and counse
Liza Donnelly, herself a renowned cartoonist with The New Yorker for more than twenty years, has written this in-depth celebration of the rich history of women's humor and the women cartoonists who ha
Twenty-one distinguished US journalists, beginning with Ted Koppel and concluding with Knight Ridder's war correspondent Tom Lasseter talk candidly about what's happening to journalism in America as a
Young defines his transhumanist philosophy as a belief in overcoming human limitations through reason, science, and technology. Death is an error of life, he argues, and science can correct it. After
Journalist and Arab and Islamic scholar Keating describes the intrigue and power politics surrounding the discovery of oil fields in the Arabian peninsula between the world wars. New Zealand geologist
While terrorists are real enough today, people suffering from feelings of powerlessness and social alienation may resort to a type of inner terrorism in our stressful society. Through scenarios drawn
The author draws connections between Islamic terrorist organizations, drug traffickers, organized crime, and Latin American street gangs. He builds a speculative case that Al Qaeda and other organizat
Using clear, non-technical language Weiner introduces lay readers to the inner workings of the human brain. Synthesizing the findings of recent research in fields such as psychology, neurobiology, and
Cooke (philosophy, State U. of New York-Buffalo) writes for atheists, skeptics, humanists, and other free-thinkers in the broadest sense of the word. His entries are not designed to attack religion, b
Nielsen (emeritus philosophy, U. of Calgary) has assembled 11 essays he wrote over a number of years, some for academics and some for general readers, but always trying to avoid technical jargon. Amon
The ethics around the application of biotechnology to problems of fertility and practices of childbearing are illuminated in 20 documents that include academic, medical, and legal perspectives but ran
In a companion to his 2001 Jesus After 2000 Years, Ludemann (history and literature of early Christianity, U. of Gottengen, Germany) explores what objective information can be gleaned from Luke's text
Dr. Grant (emeritus, medicine, U. of Ottawa), a gastroenterologist who has written several books on his specialty, dispels myths about the placebo effect. He discusses how control treatments and belie
Originally published in 1884, this short novel tells the story of A. Square, and inhabitant of the two-dimensional world Flatland. After an overview of Flatland society in all its aspects, A. Square
British mathematician and astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle (1915-2001) coined the phrase "big bang theory" to describe the currently accepted explanation of the beginning of the universe. Hoyle's work center
Two of the most brilliant German thinkers of the twentieth century were Karl Jaspers and Rudolf Bultmann. Jaspers, the philosopher, and Bultmann, the theologian, were both influenced by the philosoph
For general readers, Hall explains the ideas behind nanotechnology and scenarios for its future use. He is the inventor of Utility Fog and is a former computer systems architect at Rutgers U. Annotat
An astronomy educator at such well-known observatories as the Lowell and Wilson offers a quick tour of current knowledge about the universe via common questions and answers, quick facts, and an overvi
Flew (emeritus philosophy, Reading U., England) approaches the question of the existence of God from a perspective in which the burden of proof rests with the believer. First published in 1966, and re
Changes in the functioning of the body generate near-death experiences, says Dutch anesthesiologist Woerlee after many years of research into such experiences, and that these changes also reveal both
Through a series of biographical vignettes, Ben-Ari (science teaching, Wiezman Institute of Science, Israel) offers general readers an overview of the nature of science to help them understand and ana
Historians, philosophers, and religious scholars some with an overtly secular perspective explore aspects of the central mystery of Christian history. Among their topics are the Resurrection as initia
Sonnert (physics, Harvard U.) investigates how German culture of the 19th and early 20th centuries surrounded the scientist in his formative years, and during most of his life shaped his physics and h
While violations of US law and international treaties are hardly unknown in the histories of US presidencies, the brazenness and scope of these violations under the administration of George W. Bush, o
Lawyer and journalist Ince specializes in laws pertaining to sexuality, and co-founded the Art of Loving, a sexuality center in Vancouver, British Columbia. Here he argues that people's in-born erotic
Skimin's heroes include the famous and the obscure, and are primarily soldiers, such as George Washington and John McCain, and occasionally workers associated with war efforts, such as Clara Barton an
Essays by media scholars, critics, and journalists explore how corporate owners' conflicting interests and the bottom line have reshaped mainstream news coverage, doing away with independent investiga
Writing for a general audience, Zimmer (chemistry, Connecticut College) describes his own and others' research in bioluminescence, particularly that found in a green fluorescent protein in one species
In his collection of nearly 60 essays and primary documents, editor Spencer (who runs the Jihad Watch weblog) counters what he views as a misleading and dangerous view of Islam being presented by West
Leading British humanist editor and author Herrick sets out the basic principles of the philosophy, which emphasizes the human, the here-and-now, and the humane. Humanists are atheists or agnostics an
Science journalist Bailey argues that the fears of those he calls bioconservative are vastly exaggerated; that their ethical objections to biotechnological progress are largely misconceived; and that
In this overview of radiation's many great benefits and as yet untapped potential, Dr. Alan E. Waltar, past president of the American Nuclear Society, explains how this important energy source has be
Male caregiver is not an oxymoron according to Kramer (social work, U. of Wisconsin-Madison) and Thompson (sociology, Holy Cross College). They compile 16 chapters reflecting increased academic attent
