Philosophy Books

The Federalist Papers need no review. They are classics in American History and were the basis for convincing the Colonials that the Constitution was a sound structure for the new Government.

Must read for those who wish to understand the US Constitution in it basic understanding from the writers of the USC

You will not know American History without reading these papers. I am a history major and forget or never realized the importance of these papers. I know I never read them in college.

The details have already been well covered so let me just add another five star vote for must read(or for many of us reread). Whatever your political views you simply cannot understand the basis of our countries principles without working through the Federalist Papers. Step away from the bloggers and bar stool pundits(same thing really-just different delivery) and do your own homework on the founding of this great country. I am not a flag waving, rah, rah patriot type but it is hard to come away from a reading of the Federalist papers without a profound respect, admiration and in my case awe of the principles which form our government.

Lastly, this is a review of the Signet series which is very good but frankly I suggest not spending too much time worrying about which edition, publisher etc. The main point is to get a copy and start studying.

The Federalist Papers provide an outstanding basis for comprehending the foundation in the principles of creating and maintaining the U.S. government. It is very interesting. If you are studying American politics you can not continue without reading this book. It will also give you a better understanding of how the older laws of the U.S.A. were developed.

I won't pretend for a moment I know a damn thing about philosophy, as much as I'd love to the esoteric barriers always seem just out reach for either my pedestrian intelligence or my patience, or both. This book, and its companion (Aristotle and an Aardvark) are both so enjoyable I read it completely while in the bookstore and still bought it. The authors appear to have a deeply rooted understanding of the nuances of philosophical thought and study yet present the material in such an approachable, understandable and humorous way one can't help but enjoy the process of learning. You WILL laugh and WILL learn.

I only know a little about philosophy, so I can in no way speak to the accuracy of this little book, and in all honesty, if you're looking for an in-depth review, look elsewhere. However, explaining a rather dry, esoteric subject like philosophy through something fun like jokes is a great idea, and these authors pull it off rather well, with only the occasional stretch. Some of the ideas the authors talk about are quite down to earth and put in a way that they can actually be applied to life, and if you learn nothing else, you can have a few new jokes to tell your friends.

I loved this book... I have gifted this book to so many of my friends for a good laugh. I recommend this book to all.

In college, I loathed philosophy, philosophy students, and philosophy professors, and not necessarily in that order. There were two problems, one my fault, and the other a consequence of the attitudes displayed by denizens of the philosophy realm. I did not understand that it is the structure of the argument, not the answer (or even the question per se) that was the point, so I was under the impression that philosophy was for arrogant, humorless, self-satisfied pencil-necks who were incapable of agreeing on the color of grass. The philosophy folks failed to articulate that the fundamental issue was structured argument and were utterly without a sense of humor. Needless to say that in conversation, we got along like a house on fire; people running away, smoke, flames, sirens approaching...

Had I found this book before being exposed the the philosophers of academia, I would have had a much better attitude towards their grim view of their own discipline.

This is philosophy for people with a sense of perpective and a sense of humor. All the major themes of current philosophy education are addressed, along with a few other threads, and placed into context and relevance through jokes. Making philosophy relevant is where academia falls down, but Cathcart and Klein pick it up, dust it off, and make it worth a person's time.

If you never got the point of philosophy, read this book. If nothing else, there are some worthwhile jokes.

E.M. Van Court

This is an amusing little trip through the various fields and schools of Philosophy. It is lightened with jokes and anecdotes, little stories and perceptions which are never too difficult, and never require much time to absorb. It is of course not for anyone who wishes to go into philosophical questions in depth but rather for those who would like to have a bit of fun in the world of ideas.

This is a discussion of curriculum for the education of poor people. It is written by a man who made it his life mission to help the oppressed masses. While Freire no longer lives, his work continues in South America.
This book is an insight to Freire's thoughts.

Like the famous non-sense poem, the book feels like it ought to make sense, but it never does. As you read, you will have the feeling of impending meaning, and that in the next paragraph, or on the next page, or in the next chapter, everything will come together and you will have your moment of clarity. Never happens.

Whatever you think Paulo Freire means, you are wrong.

This is a profound little book that makes a cogent argument for effective change in individual and social thought processes. It will change the way you think about oppression and what it actually is for those who are oppressed. This is a book for everyone but especially for those who want to make a change for the better in themselves and the society at large. A thought provoking and challenging book!

Over a year ago 24 of us decided to co-found the Earth Intelligence Network and begin producing public intelligence in the public interest. We quickly expanded the vision to include a Transpartisan Policy Institute and a Public Budget Office. Today, for free, any citizen can get a weekly report on "GLOBAL CHALLENGES: The Week in Review." Our free report is superior in multiple ways to the President's Daily Brief, which costs the taxpayer $1.2 billion per WEEK ($60 billion for secret intelligence, pro rated over 52 weeks).

Early on we realized that educating the five billion poor was both a non-negotiable first step, and "mission impossible" if we accepted the standard educational system that is part prison, part child care and part didactic dildo display (my lesson outline is bigger than yours).

Before I read this book, we had conceptualized a concept for educating the five billion poor "one cell call at a time," leveraging free cell phones and 100 million volunteers covering 183 languages, each using Telelanguage and Skype to be available on demand.

Now, with this book, and also Pedagogy of Freedom: Ethics, Democracy, and Civic Courage (Critical Perspectives Series), I feel we have struck the mother lode.

A few notes and then some other links.

+ Stark critique of the "banking" system of education that deposits knowledge without teaching critical thinking or how to create new knowledge.

+ Relevant to US, not just Third World.

+ It's about class, not race. Concentration of wealth above, poverty below.

+ The author illuminates for all of us "the humanizing voaction of the individual" and the "power of thought to negate accepted limits."

+ Modern education instills a culture of silence and lethargy. Friere's work instead inspires liberation, dignity, and the ability to change.

+ Illiterates are not stupid, they just cannot read. They *can* be empowered, taught, and energized orally.

+ Education is NOT neutral--it is either teaching for the benefit of the oppressors (producing docile factory workers) or for the benefit of the opprssed (liberating, empowering with individual volition).

+ Dehumanization is a historical reality.

+ False charity perpetuates dependenct.

+ Recognition of reality liberates BOTH the oppressed and the oppressor.

+ Oppressed must break free from "having is being" and learn that "being is enough."

+ The oppressed cannot be "granted" freedom, it must result from an interactive dialog that liberates both sides

+ Liberation and revolution or transformation for the good of all are essentially pedagogical missions with very high ethical content.

+ Humanizing pedagogy is the anti-thesis of propaganda, manipulation, and deceit.

+ "Co-intentional" education

+ Authentic thinking can only be realized in communication with another

+ Pyramical (one-way) education enslaves, circular (multi-way)education liberates

+ Any educational system that does not respect nor elicit the student's own worldview is culturally invasive

+ Education of the five billion poor must begin by LISTENING to them.

+ "Libertarian education" STARTS with the needs and views of those to be educated.

+ Communion and communication leads to cooperation and cultural synthesis.

A few links:
The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits (Wharton School Publishing Paperbacks)
The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom
The Tao of Democracy: Using Co-Intelligence to Create a World That Works for All
A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
Society's Breakthrough!: Releasing Essential Wisdom and Virtue in All the People
One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization
The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism

You will see how his idea is very influential in the educational discourse. Intrigued particularly by the Chapter 2, I would say that his revlutionary notion of education will be alive and well-adapted in the contemporary educational practices.

Freire wants to critisize the idea of narrative education in which teachers just impose students with plentiful information without encouraging them to think cirtically and to search for realilty, and students just listen passively, try to memorize, and repeat teacher's words and lessons accordingly. In fact, education should be to forster students' creativity, transformation ,and knowledge so that it helps them to become fully human being. In the ideology of oppression, teacher is the oppressor, and students are the oppressed. It means it is not neccessary for students to argue, ask questions, have their own position, and the roles of teacher are to preach students and to dominate their opinions. In other words, it is called the banking concept of education used by oppresors to change the mind of the oppressed in order to easily cotrol them. Conversely, the concept of liberian education entails deeper cooperation between teachers and students. Teachers and students can learn from each other because students must be seen as people who have prior knowlege and raise their opinions influencing teachers'.

My fourteen year old actually finds these essays humorous in light of what is currently going on within our society. While I realize that common sense is not something that is highly valued within our education system, it is highly necessary for running a government. Thumbs up. Share these ideals and thoughts with your children!

Thomas Paine is the Main Man who started the two Revolutionary Wars, first America which took 7 years then afterwards France starts her own Revolution with Thomas Paine's help but hers is won almost overnight. Thomas Paine not only started these Revolutions but he participated in both. This book is a real page turner that you won't be able to put down!

With all of the current claims by people of what the Founding Fathers intended for our country I decided to begin reading them for myself to achieve a personal perspective on what the Founders intended. This book and the writings contained are an excellent source of information and insight as to what Thomas Paine's intentions were.

This little paperback is conveniently sized and conveniently priced. Were it not for the bothersome introduction, I would have gladly given it five stars. As it stands, however, I could do without radical leftist Sidney Hook's presumptuous introduction, wherein he arrogantly dictates to me precisely how I should read Thomas Paine, and in what manner Mr. Paine is correct and incorrect in his reasoning. Ripping out the introduction or going over it line-by-line with a black sharpie would be a marked improvement to this volume.

I have read much on the history of our beautiful country and also of other countries as well.

This book by Thomas Paine "COMMON SENSE AND THE RIGHTS OF MAN" is an extraordinary out line of how man should form his government and live in harmony with his fellow man in this world. Thomas Paine, one of our founding fathers, is a man that saw the rights of man being trampled on by England. His writing is plain common sense, of which many of us fail to utilize, about what a government should be and should not be. Our founding fathers gave us a Republic, if we could keep it. So far we have taken the declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights completly our of context. We are nowhere near the government our founding fathers gave us.

Those who wish to find the truth are compelled to read this book. Those who are satisified with the status quo will continue to be so. Read one of the best books ever written on the Rights of Man and then make your decision whether you want to live free men or langour in slavery.

Thomas Eby......

I agree with this book's author! I am very pleased to see that there are some Christians who care about making the world we are living in a better place. Like Brian McLaren, I don't approve of Christians who don't care about how bad the world we are living in is, as long as they go to Heaven when they die. I find it very ironic that George W. Bush has shown no evidence of caring about the rich getting richer only at the expense of the poor getting poorer, or any other quality of life issues when he is a Christian (or at least claims to be). It is even more ironic that North America's conservative Christians have generally been among the strongest supporters of right-wing governments when right-wing governments, although more strongly against sex-related sins than left-wing ones, have not shown any evidence of caring about greed-related sins, and have, in fact, even been promoting them. Personally, I used to be a strong supporter of conservative governments myself, but in recent years, I have been having second thoughts about them.

Where would we be without people that actualy take the time to think and analyze the things we think and do. If you're able to put preconcieved ideas out of your head for a bit you'll find this book a very interesting exersize.
What I was dissappointed in:
There seems to be a broad acceptance of much of the liberal teaching in this book. While our earth care as a society does have a dismal record many of the things being preached (global warming in particular) simply have yet to be proved. Our ability to measure has outgrown our knowledge of history and we seem bent on using our recently aquired ability to measure to drum up support for most anything we can make the numbers infer. Second his acceptance that business is just after another customer and and forgets all about the customer they have is another statement without fact. So many take for granted that because 1% of the businesses do something bad that paints all business with the same brush. I find these types of broad generalizations dissappointing.
While Brian spends much time on the "Security" issue and quotes turn the other cheek passages he really doesn't even attempt to reconcile that view with the "I AM" of the old testament who ordered the Israelites to kill every man, woman and child. I would find it most helpful to have the justice of that placed in context of the New Testament. Taking portions of scripture to prove a point without a full discussion of those scriptures that might cloud the issue seems a bit counter productive.
What I liked:
In short this book has caused me to start a complete overhaul of the way I live my life. Politically I would call myself a conservative but now I'm pretty much ready to throw political labels aside and find a another title. Most of the things talked about in this book I really never thought about in terms of christian responsiblity. What happened outside my city, county, state, etc.. just happened and that was just reality. War is just a reality and there's really nothing I can do about it. Now however, I am forced to take a really hard look at my consuption, earth care, care for my neighbor, even if in another country or unborn, and what Jesus would have me do. Working through this will, over time, change my christian walk completely.

Brian McLaren may be the most widely known proponent for the Emerging Church in the twenty-first century. The first book I read by McLaren is A New Kind of Christian, which I felt articulated my own frustration with modern expressions of church and Christianity. McLaren has become a prolific writer articulating the journey out of the modern trappings of the Western Church. McLaren is an associate in the Emergent Village, a group of Emerging Church leaders. Famed for his radical and sometimes threateningly abrasive tone as he describes modern Western Christianity, McLaren is often reviled by critics of the Emerging Church and Emergent Movement. Retired from the pastorate in Maryland, McLaren recently completed the "EMC" (Everything Must Change) Tour. He now travels, speaks, writes, and learns especially from friends in Latin America and Africa, how to change our "inner ecology" (294) and therefore help create a community freed from the dominant framing story through the viral message of Jesus.

This book is framed with McLaren's two important questions: What are the biggest problems in the world today? and What do the life and teachings of Jesus have to say about these global problems? (45) McLaren seeks the answers to those questions with his underlying thesis that we are beholden to a destructive framing story and that in the gospel of Jesus Christ, "a message purporting to be the best news in the world should be doing better than this." (34) The biggest problems in the world, as McLaren puts forth, are as a result of a "Suicide Machine," an invisible killer, feeding off of and destroying all life and corrupting the Earth's ecosystem. The Earth is a complex ecosystem in which human society is a participant. In as much as our societal machine, including prosperity, equity, and security, is not cooperatively and creatively informed by the good news of the kingdom of God, humankind will accept the curriculum and teaching of an alternative framing story, one which blinds our eyes to the increasing demands and abuse our societal "machine" places on the Earth's ecosystem.

This book shows how Christians have accepted a "gospel about Jesus", but we have failed to accept the "better news", the "gospel of Jesus", which is the message of the Kingdom of God. (83) McLaren only touches the problematic implications and interpretations of Protestant Reformation orthodoxy, such as Predestination. It is difficult for those who live consistently with that theological framework to not ask, "Why, if the Titanic is destined to sink, should we rearrange the deck chairs"? (153) The Bible, McLaren asserts, is not simply a book about how the "Elect" go to heaven and therefore will abandon the Earth, but a "story of the partnership between God and humanity to save and transform all of human society and avert global destruction." (94)

This book begins with our two questions, considers the "frame" of the conventional gospel story, and reintroduces us to Jesus. The first chapters introduce us to an alternative voice, a health care worker from South Africa, who pointed out the "nonsense" of the conventional gospel, how pastors are preoccupied with divine healing, being born again, and tithing. (27) McLaren relates how this kind of "dissatisfaction" with the current circumstance, coupled with a "shared imagination and hope, combine to form an emerging consensus that is spreading across the Global South," the new Majority Church, and emerging Christian leaders are realizing that "if their message isn't good news for the poor...it isn't the same message that Jesus proclaimed." (30) By including the voices of the Global South, McLaren broadens the emerging church discussion, showing the "two sided coin," the "postmodern" side, which is a perspective from the West, and "postcolonial" side, which is the perspective of those formerly dominated by the West. (44) The "way out" of the West's ugly, excessively confident, dominating, and exploitative narrative and the non-West's formerly colonized and oppressed people, is face-to-face meeting, dialogue, and community formation around the kingdom message of Jesus.
McLaren points out that the necessary change in our world is not "cosmetic" or merely a matter of being "relevant to culture." (32) Rather, like the South African health care worker, the necessary change is seen in the contrast between thoughtful young educated people, who are asking the difficult questions about larger societal and systemic injustices, and the typical adherents to the Christian religion, whose ultimate concern is most typically for only private and spiritual matters. The call, that "everything must change," is rooted in the dichotomy between spiritual and natural concerns. Just as Jesus warned his disciples to "beware the leaven," the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees, McLaren warns us of the dangers of "Foundationalism" and "destructive framing stories," combined with the lethal injection of "excessive confidence" in Christian religion most notable since the Enlightenment. (44)

The global problems plaguing the world have been reduced to lists by international agencies like the United Nations (Millennial Goals) and well-meaning Evangelical leaders (i.e. Rick Warren's 5-Point PEACE plan), which still imply on the part of the list-makers a confidence that such global issues can be broken down and solved according to the same Modern Western Framing Story that created the problems. Quoting Einstein, "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it", McLaren points out some bigger questions. How do we affect global change? How do we get free from the dominant system? McLaren writes of "liberating our imaginations from captivity;" (254) to whom are we captive? ourselves?, some conspiratorial group?, or is it spiritual forces in heavenly places, as Paul reveals? Who are our teachers? What questions might we ask today, which will affect the greatest transformative change and bring the greatest liberty from captivity for our society, and the world? If the idealist Boomer generation Jesus People became complicit to the dominant system, diseased with an ideology that created independent evangelical churches, what will this generation do? Or will the Emerging Church, those communities emerging from Western Christianity and out of the Western, Southern, and Eastern parts of the globe, be flexible enough in this generation to affect a radical reconciliation effort?

Clearly, we need help and we must ask difficult questions to "discern and articulate the alternative narrative of Jesus." (122) For example, why was Jesus tempted in the wilderness? (139) McLaren points out how even Jesus needed to stand against the "Suicide Machine" of the Roman Empire. We must beware of our teachers, and not just their ideas or systems they establish, but the teachers and "system" enforcers. We must ask where we place our faith and how our framing story of conquest causes us to be "driven" (137), the dehumanizing "Theo-capitalism" drive to go faster and faster, producing more and more. (192) Why do we listen to Jesus explanation of the value of our lives in comparison to a sparrow, which therefore has some value, and yet accept a dualist view of the value of an "immaterial" human soul? (138) Does our understanding of the gospel somehow lead to "derangement" (removed from our natural place in the world) and "decomposition" (divorced from what had previously been joined)? Is our spiritual aim the "disembodiment of soul" (standing outside ourselves), and a kind of spiritual ecstasy, like "a drug-induced euphoria or a hypnotically induced trance...(which therefore leaves us) liberated from all duty as embodied, environmented creatures"? (142)
The second half of this book penetrates deeper, examining and re-framing the systems of Security, Prosperity, and Equity. Chris Hedges, war zone journalist with intimate knowledge of the extent of the Security system and our nation's military investments, points out another kind of derangement saying that nations at war "fall into a collective `autism'...and do not listen to those outside the inner circle." (174) McLaren outlines in graphic detail the ugliness of the Security, Prosperity, and Equity systems in the "Suicide Machine" as if he were recruiting members to join a modern insurgency to overthrow, well...everything. Before you join, or toss aside this crazy notion, consider a few more questions we should be ready to answer: Do I believe that war is "simply a continuation of political intercourse"? (167) While he appears very much like he is presenting an argument for Ideological Pacificism, he steps away from that polarizing position to call for "a new dialogue" (176) replacing our craving for security with a passion for justice through "vibrant, reconciled communities". (182)

McLaren calls for a "New Global Love Economy" in the image of "God's sacred ecosystem." (128-131) He calls us to join the "Divine Peace Insurgency" to rebuild our societal system "as a beloved community." (151) He presents an economic plan of the kingdom of God with sustainable development and fruitfulness as the goal, not consumption. (207-9) Rather than completely abandon organized religion, he calls for "Organizing Religion" to strengthen families and communities through "celebrating virtue and training people to practice it." (264) Rather than call for political involvement, which tends to quickly polarize even the least partisan leaders, he calls for a radical believing, "believing the alternative and transforming framing story." (270) Rather than change the political system (not to mention the business, military, and even religious systems), which tends to attract those who change with the political wind, he repeats what Jim Wallis recommends: "Change the wind." This book is a call to activism with resurrection faith. This "insurgency" will not be defeated, but will "move quietly, at the margins, where all revolutions begin." (272) This is the Emerging Church, the maturing upward spiral of God's people with vision (276), those who are disbelieving a "covert curriculum, a curriculum that must be unlearned." (284) This Emerging Church is creating new lesson plans with a common script and a common faith to move mountains of oppressive systems by faith.


The vision McLaren presents in Everything Must Change is a radical restructuring of society. Jesus was constantly teaching, but only lecturing part of the time. He modeled life, crossed cultural barriers, confronted systems of thinking, and fully surrendered his rights to get his message across. This, it seems to me, is a time to re-examine all my models of ministry. One of the greatest implications of this book to my ministry is a shift in my thinking toward radical community as a transformative witness. In the past I have given myself to integrated, holistic, transformative mission "projects," but I have not formed communities, which share vision for sustainable development, reconciliation, and transformation. I'm turning away from the mission approach of transforming individuals to a radical shift of transforming communities.

The implication of this book for the global Church and for my ministry is an invitation to change personally and corporately, to partner with Christians from the West and the global South and East. I may live consistently within my foundational presuppositions, however because those presuppositions of God's nature and activity are different, I can reach very different conclusions unless I consider how much I am serving and supporting a system that is not the kingdom of God. Humankind spars for territory and resources in a closed environment producing a lot of heat, but little benefit for our global neighbors. McLaren is calling for a new ecosystem that nourishes, blesses, and sustains God's kind of life. For those trapped in the destructive ecosystem of liberalism and conservatism, there is a way out. However, it appears that way is frightfully simple, "BELIEVE." Our faith will carry us into a new environment, out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of His dear Son. Like Paul the apostle, who ruthlessly examined all his presumptions as a Pharisee, about God, right and wrong, and the Messiah, we need to ruthlessly examine those bonds that tie us to the "Suicide Machine". Something needs to change and I believe it begins with me.

When Jesus came to earth, most people either followed Him or decided He had to die. That was the radical nature of His message in their culture. Likewise, you cannot dissect and apply His message to our own culture without inciting similar reactions. I see Brian McLaren as more philosopher than theologian. Theologians answer the important questions; philosophers ask them. The problem with many Christians (or religious people) is they feel they must condemn anything they don't 100% agree with. That's what killed the prophets, both ancient and contemporary. They asked dangerous and status-threatening questions. Thank you Brian, for asking the important questions that most of Chistendom is not asking (i.e. what does our faith have to say about the world's most important crises?)

If Brian McLaren wants to write a book about social ills he should do so, but he should leave Jesus out of it. I started reading this book and never finished it because of his blatant twisting of Jesus' message.

The sad part is that he won't accept the real Jesus in scripture and that is the Jesus that will soften a man's heart and therefore, make a difference in the issues of our day.

I had been a Christian for 20 years - the evangelical sort. When I ceased to believe that the bible was the word of God, I did not give up on the existence of God altogether. I checked out liberal Christianity, and still hoped to be some sort of theist. I read an awful lot, and most books do not change my mind on a subject single handedly. But Sam's book did, because it is thorough, and excellently argued. I admit that when I was an evangelical I probably would've been too close minded to consider what he had to say. I think you have to know that your fundamentist beliefs aren't as "clear and established" as you think before you can give Sam a fair hearing. But I could be wrong even about that. He is persuasive, compelling, and overall, I'd say, correct. So I would recommend this book to anyone, fundamentalist, theist, or atheist.

Michael Tenenbaum, Author - Blessed Assurance? A Demonstration that Christian Fundamentalism is Simply False. Expanded - Limited Edition.

I wasn't sure that it would be worth my time to read the fourth recent book on atheism. I'm glad I did.

The End of Faith adds many ideas and nuances to the conversation. This is especially true in the last two chapters, which other reviewers have found controversial, rambling, or babble, but I found thought-provoking. Harris acknowledges that there are not many answers. However, just as the last 2000 years have seen astronomy develop from positing the earth being the center of the universe, rational experimentation and knowledge development can develop ethics and spiritualism into sound sciences.

Chapter 6 - A Science of Good and Evil - explores ethics from a starting point of zero faith. After making a case against relativism and pragmatism, Harris explores several interesting ethical questions. Like on abortion - Just because we can't determine exactly when humanity starts doesn't mean that you cannot make a moral judgement about a stem cell or a weeks-old fetus. Or a thought-provoking question on tortue that challenges moral intuition - is it really worse to tortue a known criminal for information that would save lives than it is to drop bombs from the air on potentially innocent civilians?

Chapter 7 - Experiments in Consciousness - acknowledges the human desire for spiritualism/mysticism and starts to explore how to grow in those directions in a mindset that does not include faith.

"Harris pointedly asks us to consider that those who do not fear death for themselves, and who also revere ancient scriptures instructing them to mete it out generously to others, may soon have these weapons in their own hands."

So I wonder if Harris is in favor of a pre-emptive military strike on Iran? If so, then he's just like the fanatical Christian George W. Bush. I hope his faith in reason offers some realistic ideas on how to deal with people whose faith is in God.

Sam Harris writes: "In our next presidential election, an actor who reads his Bible would almost certainly defeat a rocket scientist who does not." If Stephen Prothero is correct in his book "Religious Literacy", which concludes that Americans are illiterate about their own religion, then any "implicit" presidential requirement of reading the Bible would seem superfluous. Prothero, a professor of Religion, writes that Americans are undeniably religious but also profoundly illiterate about their own religion.

The only thing alarming about Mr. Harris's book is that he actually had to write it. Take a gander at this little pearl (for example): http://infonomics.infonomx5.com/evolution/evolution.asp (scroll down for source). Embarrassing. Now consider Sherri Shepherd of "The View". Explain to me how a person can reach middle-age and be uncertain about the curvature of the earth (she does not know if its flat or not) yet resolute about the inadequacy of Darwin's theory of evolution. Explain to me how you can connect with a populace when the preponderance of Christians not only do not read about their own God but they also seem to be unabashedly untroubled by it. Explain to me how to promote reason to an electorate that supports a creationist with silly syllogisms such as: Sarah Palin is the governor of Alaska. Alaska is close to Russia. Therefore, Sarah Palin has foreign policy experience. Lest you dismiss this neo-logic as mere political rhetoric, note the increase in the Republican campaign crowds since Sarah Palin's arrival. Forgive my cynical mood, but I used to be alarmed that Americans did not think; now, I am fearful that they do.

Sam Harris presaged Sarah Palin. If she insist on invoking God's name to support military action, then she must bear the burden of proving God's existence. Buy the book and support reason before Sarah Palin nukes it.

Sam Harris presents his rationale that the world faces an equally dangerous yet wholly unexpected vulnerability from religious moderates as it does from extremists. Harris asserts that moderate beliefs cause the masses to refrain from attacking fundamentally flawed religious beliefs based on the notion that certain values are perceived as too sacred to question. If you are an atheist looking to bolster you views, an agnostic wishing to amplify your curiosity, or a member of any religion looking to strengthen your convictions, Sam Harris will deliver as his book is filled with provocative questions and thoughts worthy of our times.

Harris has a resounding ideal that becomes apparent very quickly in his book. "There is no reason that our ability to sustain ourselves emotionally and spiritually cannot evolve with technology, politics, and the rest of culture. Indeed, it must evolve if we are to have any future." For it is evident that Harris' mission is not to disrupt the beliefs of the religious, but to instill in the public an inquisitive nature about events that at the very least opens the issue of religion up for discussion among all other topics.

The foundation of Harris' view stems from his belief that people generally assess situations in all realms of life based on logic and rationality, excluding religion. "Tell a devout Christian that his wife is cheating on him...and he is likely to require as much evidence as anyone else, and to be persuaded only to the extent that you give it. Tell him that the book he keeps by his bed was written by an invisible deity who will punish him with fire for eternity if he fails to accept its every incredible claim about the universe, and he seems to require no evidence whatsoever." The result of this stance ends up producing a defense and justification for an avoidance of a meticulous examination essential for truly understanding fundamental motivations. If we are unwilling to even ponder such a line of reasoning, how can we expect to successfully find fault among common terrorists actively hiding behind the same line of logical reasoning? Assertions like these will resonate with some, and will strengthen the religious views of others; but all intelligent people will agree that there is merit in considering such thoughts because if our beliefs cannot withstand simple logical questioning, than what does this reveal of our beliefs?

Where Harris might emit some weakness is in his view that the entire impetus behind Islamic terrorism is the loose quality of Koran. This clearly overlooks the far greater population of Muslims that do not share terrorist ambitions despite devoutly following the same text. Thus Harris may have been better served looking at all influencing factors (such as poverty, social influence, group identity, etc) instead of assuming religion must represent the only incentive.

The End of Faith is not to be taken lightly, as even detractors of Harris' work will require significant time to sincerely analyze the vast scope of reasoning offered. If you are seeking a thought provoking outlook on world events and religious attitudes and have the strength of conviction to handle an undeviating line of reasoning, you will find this book invigorating.

I love listening to this tape. I put it on and start it over again when it is done. I find it totally inspiring to listen to the writing of this wise Buddhist monk.
My only criticism is that the woman who reads the book (beautiful voice, by the way). She pronounces the word "strength" omitting the 'g' sound. This was horribly annoying to me. I grew up pronouncing the 'g' and it sounds prissy and pompous to omit the 'g' sound.

I loved this book -- it's practical and prescriptive. I applied her advice into both my personal and professional life. Next steps -- I will read her entire collection.

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (Shambhala Classics)

For people who are looking for a practice guide that will help them understand the process of observation with rigorous acceptance, integrity and compassion of all that which is observed. This is about finding peace through that process because the heart opens as a result. The opening and openness of the heart are at the core of that peace which we seek. Our incessant wanting is only satiated by an open heart. It represents a mature emotional and spiritual approach in understanding what we want and how we gain peace. Perhaps a truly fully open heart receives (perhaps even attracts?) what it wants because it cherishes what is.

Pema Chrodon's work is, as always is an insightful read about human nature and emotions and how we come to term with those emotions. I found the focus on the bodhichitta and the different sayings fascinating as well as enjoying further revelations about Buddhist beliefs and spirituality. All of what she writes is applicable to living life and facing the fears any of us could face.

The only reason this is a four instead of a five is because you can find a lot of what she writes in here, in her other works. It still makes for good reading, but reading one of her works seems to get to heart of all of her writing.

I am new on those buddhism staff, so I became to realize that you never end reading and learning from this sort of books.

Altough some terms results difficult to understand to me, It became a valuable source of advice.

I love the way the yoga philosophy is presented and interpreted. It's a wonderful resource for understanding Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. I highly recommend it.

A beautiful book for anyone who wants to dive into the essence of yoga. Great practical tips and wonderful/powerful chapters helping one to understand the origin and meaning of a personal practise.

I don't have a strong background in Iyengar yoga to tell you that this is an excellent book for anyone on a yogic journey!TAMARA'S YOGA FUSION

We assign this book for our Advanced Yoga class. It is a great way to bridge physical activity with mental activity in the practices of yoga. I enjoyed this book, but it is not for beginners. I think some basic understanding of the practice is needed before reading this which is in more detail.

Being a yoga teacher, I am often asked if there were only 1 book on yoga that I could recommend, which would it be? The answer is The Heart of Yoga. There is no hidden agenda here. The essence of yoga from the heart of a yogi. My second choice would be Srivatsa Ramaswami's-- Yoga for the Three Stages of Life: Developing Your Practice As an Art Form, a Physical Therapy, and a Guiding Philosophy. Second only because it did not have a translation of the Yoga Sutras included, as does The Heart of Yoga.

The historical exegeses are largely superfluous and distract from the points of argumentation.

There are many elaborate dilations of the main propositions which do little more than meander towards the next one(s), as opposed to elucidating their logical-historical connection.

Foucault gives political manifesto content-length propositions that are reasonably insightful, in a basically historical-novelistic theory fiction format. "We are less Greek than we think." --Foucault is more anti-Enlightenment than he realizes and less "Nietzschean" so much as a paraphrastic derivative thinker than he would like to be.

The description of power relations does not necessarily reveal the ideology governing it. In fact, it does much to mythologize an omnipresent non-entity of whom we see and experience only its effects. One suspects there are only effects of power, of ideology; consequences which cannotn be telekeniticized by any localizable 'gaze' but follow materially from human actions.

15. He who does not know how to put his will into things at least puts a MEANING into them; that is, he believes there is a will in them already (principle of 'belief').
(Twilight of the Idols, "Maxims and Arrows" epigram 15)

As Foucault ought to have known, there is no meaning to power except in the feeling of its increase. The only gaze that is belongs to "the Other". In this sense, Foucault has articulated the narcissistic element of power. On the whole however, he identifies with it since he cannot dissociate power from its celebration: the carnival event of discipline and punish, the panoptical voyeurism of the carceral gaze. Naval gazing social theory par excellence (Knowledge is Power and Power is Ideology, therefore Ideology is Knowledge.) The gaze is a fiction unless the alleged 'observed' sees that he is being watched, there is no subject without the choice presented by the Other; the neurosis of the subject hypersensitive to the Other withstands the hermeneutical uncertainty with horror, inevitably directed at himself, --that there is nothing to see. Foucault's text makes ideology power's Echo, when it is really ideology that echoes Power. Ideology is the ignorance and absence of Power that would be the knowledge required to suspend ideology for authentic choices.

The Birth of the Prison is the death of the social, the death of the Other, the fettering of the individual himself to ideology. One must ask, "Where is ideology?" Foucault offers merely the dazed "everywhere and nowhere," as the gaze without eye, the predicate without subject, Donald Rumsfeld's "known unknowns" which are nothing at all. Discipline and Punish does not address the lexical of 'known knowns' because the language of oppression, of ideology requires a counter affirmation of Power. One assumes power or renounces it, and one must be doubly strong for the latter. Given the current state of events, its disavowal is a gesture into a void: one has no power to renounce if one is not the State itself. "Je suis le etat." Since it has been more difficult to define the "Je", the sovereign, one speaks of exploitation as a structural and institutional function. This impotent anthropomorphism of theory merely compounds the problem of ideology. Exploitation is an action committed man against man, and these actions must be identified with what systems enable these impingements on the sovereignty of other men.

"l'ecrasez l'infamie!"

Foucault does not crush the infamy. He does reveal its ankles slightly however this will not titillate, unless one does not already see the pudeurs of the clearly unclothed emperors of the various reigning ideologies. Ideology abhors clarity. Read Foucault, then forget Foucault.

By examining the rise of prison systems in Western culture, Foucault demonstrates the ways modern nation-states exert their power to dominate their citizens. This is a great book for anyone interested in power formations as well as continental theory.

What is whispered in secret may be shouted from the rooftops, but what is done in secret will be watched.

In Discipline and Punish Michel Foucault develops the idea of the transition of God's omniscience into the state's omniscience, and points to interesting nodes along the way: the invention of the table and the Panopticon being the most compelling and far-reaching.

Foucault's thesis of The Panopticon being a physical result of the Protestant conception of the community replacing the All-Seeing-Eye of God is itself the child of the thinking of Max Weber, Jeremy Bentham, Cardinal Richelieu and Jean Calvin. The results of the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism, searching for signs of grace in this life as signs of salvation in the next, brought focus to human efforts as primarily economic. The result of such an ethos was that everyone was watching everybody all the time, and this creates anxiety, and the ultimate result of anxiety is release and rebellion. Enter the Panopticon to isolate the rebellious and a method thought to encourage good behaviour: constant watching.

Combine this with Terry Guillam's film "Brazil" and you'll be permanently fearful. Smile like you mean it.

Other reviews have done a nice job of explaining the textual benefits of the book, so let me explain its practical benefit. I'll keep this short and sweet. This is an excellent text to trot out during a sociology or other social science class when you want to egomanically dominate the conversation for a bit. It provides such food for thought that you can really wax poetic on the power of punishment over the body and soul of the individual. I say this with all seriousness. So few people read philosophical texts that, if you enjoy doing so, it almost feels like an obligation to introduce these discussions in the classroom. This is not a light summer read by any stretch of the imagination, but if you enjoy the challenge of unpacking complex concepts, you'll enjoy this read.

This is one of Michel Foucault's most accessible books (though still pretty heavy going). If in Madness and Civilization, Foucault analyzed the birth of insane asylums and in The Birth of the Clinic the birth of the hospital, in Discipline and Punish, it's the turn of the prisons. The book starts with a gruesome description of the public drawing and quartering of failed regicide Damiens in 1757. Then he goes on to quote a benign prison system of the 1830s. What changed between the two dates? While other authors would consider the birth of modern imprisonment as a triumph of progressive ideals (in comparison with what went on before), Foucault saw this instead as one aspect of increasing social and political control. While greatly researched, one immediately asks itself what Foucault wanted? Did he care about any improvement in the social conditions of prisoners? Or did he believed we should do with prisons altogether? And in which case, what about dangerous criminals? I think Foucault never wanted to answer these questions. I think it's telling that towards the end of his life (after this book was written) Foucault was a fan of the repressive and theocratic regime of Khomeini in Iran. In this, he was similar to those communist intellectuals in the West who criticized failings in their own countries but overlook much worse abuses (and crimes) in the Soviet Union. Another quibble is that the book is so French-centric (with some analysis of developments in England): he takes the evolution of imprisonment in France as an indication of the whole world.

This book certainly has some important points, and much of it is interesting and informative. The central premise that our textbooks are biased to color history is well supported. However, as one can surmise from the less glowing reviews, the author rants way too much, and much of the book is repeating the same point over and over. By the end of the book, I was quite ill from the hurling of pieties from the mountain.

This book is a must read. After finishing this book I immediately bought several copies for friends and relatives. I was outraged to find just how much I have been lied to and how these lies and omissions have changed my world view. This was an eye opener.

I can not praise this book enough.

This book was in good condition and I received it in a timely manner. HOWEVER, the book I intended to purchase and the one I received were not one in the same. The seller listed the old version of the book - which contains less information, is a few years old, and has a different cover than the one pictured on the product page.

This paperback book is "dedicated to all American history teachers who teach against their textbooks". That claims all the textbooks are wrong but any history teacher who goes against them is right. How can that be? Who is James W. Loewen? This book does not give his background (except on the back cover). Its 444 pages cover many topics. Loewen seems to take a contrary view to Official History by presenting another point of view. Is he motivated by contrariness? Schoolbooks are a product designed to meet the needs of their customers to educate and train the young who grow into adults. Their minds and thinking are controlled by education. The author of this book also wants to control the minds of his readers. The young and naive may be impressed with these essays. Note the irony in the title! Only the knowledgeable will recognize the errors in this book if they choose to read it.

How reliable is Loewen? On page 195 he states "thousands of white Southerners volunteered" to join Sherman but cites no references. The northern counties of Alabama were pro-Union and provided a cavalry that served as Sherman's bodyguard. Many captured prisoners switched sides ("Galvanized Yankees"). Sherman was a former banker and president of a Louisiana college who sympathized with slavery for cotton production. I don't know the percentages of Southerners who were pro-Union or Northerners who were pro-Confederacy. Loewen's nonsense about "ideological strengths" is pure bullspit given the massive manufacturing strength in the North, its railroads, shipping, and politics. Some say the North won because of its income tax and greenback to pay the costs of war. Its grain and petroleum earned more money in Europe than the limited cotton trade. Perhaps the United Daughters of the Confederacy erected a statue to the Confederate dead in Camp Randall Wisconsin because of a prisoner of war camp (p.196)? The Union recruited Confederate prisoners to serve in the Indian Wars in Minnesota and westwards ("Galvanized Yankees").

Loewen didn't do his homework in calling the XIV Amendment a "shining jewel", or demonstrates his bias and error. Other writers have commented on the word "persons" (p.197). That "similar legislation", the so-called Equal Rights Amendment is really a Gay Marriage Amendment. What is Loewen thinking? Why is there nothing in this book about Prohibition? Is America the land of opportunity and equality (p.213)? Don't the history books of other countries also have a positive outlook (p.281)? Chapter 9 discusses the reports on the Vietnam War and shows Loewen's faults: "the War of 1812 lasted only half as long as the Vietnam War" (p.295). There was no declared "Vietnam War" and no peace treaty. There is censorship in the media then and now; you have to search for the truth. Some obscure publications with more news may have slanted opinions. Comparing textbooks has little meaning for people who are not on a Board of Education or can't pick and choose among corporate offerings. [There is no mention of kickbacks to those who choose the books.] Most people get their "history" from Hollywood entertainment. [One poll years ago found people who remembered "Marshal Dillon" of Dodge City; he was a fictitious character on TV.] Why is there no book to answer those six questions (p.254)? Aren't teachers the employees of the school system (p.256)? "To raise a moral question would come across as a violation of classroom norms" (p.256)? Should children be allowed to think for themselves (p.257)? The last paragraph explains the mission of the history books (pp.257-258): they don't prevent the initiation of the next imperialist war. Your opinion may differ.

This is a great book, offers some different perspectives on some major American myths. Certainly an excellent companion to most major texts on American history.