1. Naomi Klein
   The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
2. Trevor Paglen
   Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentegon’s Secret World
3. Damian Thompson
   Counterknowledge: How We Surrendered to Conspiracy Theories, Quack Medicine, Bogus Science,and Fake History
4. John Brockman
   What Is Your Dangerous Idea?: Today’s Leading Thinkers on the Unthinkable
5. Sam Harris
   “The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason”
6. Carl Sagan
   • “The Demon Haunted World: Sceice as a Candle in the Dark”
   • “Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space”
   • “Cosmos”
   • “Billions and Billions: Thoughts on Life and Death at the Brink of the Millennium”
7. Michael Shermer
   “Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time”This was one of the first books I read on the subject of skepticism and for me, it was like a breath of fresh air. It was proof that there were many others beside me who raised their eyebrows in disbelief of the unsubstantiated and often bizarre claims out there.

   What I like about this book, and others by Michael Shermer, is that it is written for anyone to understand. Some writers on this subject use language steeped in scientific jargon making it hard to relate to. This book doesn’t do that. It is fun to read and not an effort to understand.

   In it he covers not only some of the weird beliefs systems out there from UFOs to cults, but discusses why and possibly how these odd belief systems happen.

   After reading it for the first time I went onto the Skeptic Society website and signed up for the online newsletter which is also a great read. I have read this book a couple more times since that first time a few years ago, and it’s great each and every time. I highly recommend it.

8. Michael Shermer
   “The Borderlands of Science: Where Sense Meets Nonsense”
9. Richard Dawkins
   The God Delusion
   “Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion, and the Appetite for Wonder”
10. Christopher Hitchens
    “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything”
    “Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice”
11. Howard Bloom
    “The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History”
12. Gary Greenberg
    “101 Myths of the Bible: How Ancient Scribes Invented Biblical History”
13. Timothy Freke and Peter Grandy
    “The Jesus Mysteries: Was the Original “Jesus” a Pagan God?”
14. Fawn Brodie
    “Joseph Smith:No Man Knows My History”
15. John Stossel
    “Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel-Why Everything You Know is Wrong”
16. Russ Kick
    “You Are Being Lied to:The Disinformation Guide to Media Distortions, Historical Whitewashes, and Cultural Myths”
17. Hyam Maccoby
    “The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity”
18. James Carrol
19. Constantine’s Sword: The Church and the Jews”
20. Will Bagley
    “Blood of the Prophets: Brigham Young and the Mountain Meadows Massacre”
21. Juanita Brooks
22. “The Mountain Meadows Massacre”
23. Jon Krakauer
    “Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith”
24. Linda Sillatoe and Allen Roberts
    “Salamander:The Story of the Mormon Forgery Letters”
25. Martha Beck
    “Leaving the Saints”
26. Sonja Johnson
    “From Housewife to Heretic”

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 19th, 2008 at 8:17 pm and is filed under Book Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.