The Freethinker's Book and Media Exchange

I have just borrowed a book from a member of the group, and that exchange has given me an idea for the group...

I have several books of interest to freethinkers and atheists at home which I have read but are now collecting dust on the shelf...and I've got a feeling that I'm not the only one in the group that has books in that condition. My idea is a book and media exchange where someone in the group wants to read a book, but doesn't necessarily want to purchase it for themselves, they can post to this list what book they would like to read. If someone in the group has the book (or DVD or whatever) and would like to share, they can get in touch with the requester and exchange the book, perhaps at the next meetup.

What do you think?

I think this is a good idea. When shall we get started?

I guess it will be started as soon as someone posts something they want to borrow. :)

Ok. I guess I will start by listing books I have available.

Books by Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize winner, UCLA prof, and genius:

Guns, Germs, and Steel - Pulitzer Winner, PBS mini series, that explains the history of modern man from hunter-gatherer, to farmers, to civilizations, and weaponry. He explains how it was geography (proximity to ancestors of rice, wheat, corn, cattle, goats, etc) that lead to the spread of civilization and not differences between races. Fascinating from beginning to end.

Collapse: How Societies Choose To Succeed or Fail - Discusses civilizations that have risen and fallen (Ancient Egypt, American Indians, European settlements that failed, modern Montana) and describes the various factors that lead to their collapses. Most common to all is destruction or change of the environment. This book explains the need to think hundreds of years into the future.

The Third Chimpanzee - Describes the evolution of traits that left no fossil evidence, such as the development of language. Another great read on unusual topics for evolution.

Richard Dawkins, in order that I read them:

The Ancestor's Tail - I had no idea he was an atheist, but learned quickly he is a great scientific writer. Traces backward from human beings to are next common ancestor, then to the next common ancestor, and so forth until we reach the first form of life. There is much evidence in this book to support the theory of evolution.

The Selfish Gene - I learned that this was the most famous Dawkins book, so I bought the 30th anniversary edition. It provides a different answer to the question, "What is the unit of evolution (species, population, individual)." In this book he makes an excellent case for the gene! It is an excellent and classical read.

The Extended Phenotype - Describes how an objects phenotype (expression of its genes) extends beyond its body. For example, the phenotype of a beaver includes the dam it builds and the effects of the dam on the river. This is a higher level of scientific reading than normal.

The God Delusion - Some excellent humor, satire and arguments against the existence of god. Very different from his science books, but still a great read.

Books By Bart Ehrman, UNC Chapel Hill Religious Department Head

(currently loaned out) Misquoting Jesus: Who Changed the New Testament and Why - Describes how the early manuscripts of the new testament has hundreds of thousands of discrepancies and provides information on early Christian texts that have since been edited out of the biblical canon.

Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code - Provides more information on early Christianity as it also debunks much of the "facts" revealed in the Da Vinci Code. A short and enjoyable book on early Christianity.

Sam Harris - The End of Faith - Excellent arguments on the foolishness and evil of religion.

Donna Kossy - Strange Creations - Describes weird ideas of human origin from ancient astronauts to aquatic apes. Includes creationism in its list of "aberrant ideas"!

Michael Shermer (Center For Inquiry Committee for Scientific Investigations of the Claims of Paranormal) - The Borderlands of Science, Where Sense Meets Nonsense - Describes how to tell the difference between science and non scientific topics such as ESP.

Ernst Mayr - What Evolution Is - Nice short book that describes the basics of evolution by one of the most important biologists of all time.

Intelligent Thought : Science versus the Intelligent Design Movement - Many scientists and others offer essays against creationism. There are some excellent sources of evolution for evolution and against creationism.

Scientists Confront Creationism - Much of the same as the above book, but probably a little older.

Richard Preston : The Hot Zone - Not really much for atheism, but a terrifying true story about the spread of Marburg and Ebola viruses. This will scare you more than anything Stephen King ever wrote.

John Armstrong - God vs. The Bible: Instead of borrowing this book, why don't you just buy it from John? He describes very well how nature contradicts the bible.

I have 7 others I have yet to read. Maybe they will be available soon.

Here are some titles I own that I am willing to loan (in no particular order):

Richard Dawkins:
The God Delusion
The Blind Watchmaker
The Selfish Gene
The Ancestor's Tale
A Devil's Chaplain
Unweaving the Rainbow

Charles Darwin:
Origin of Species

Sam Harris:
Letter to a Christian Nation
The End of Faith

Susan Jacoby:
Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism

Jennifer Michael Hecht:
Doubt, A History

Jared Diamond:
Collapse

Michael Shermer:
Why People Believe Weird Things

Carl Sagan:
Pale Blue Dot
The Demon Haunted World
The Dragons of Eden

George H. Smith:
Atheism, The Case Against God
Why Atheism?

Steven Pinker:
The Blank Slate

Bertrand Russell:
Why I am not a Christan

Issac Asimov:
Asiimov's Guide to the Bible
Lots of paperback science fiction books. Not going to list them all here lol.

Natalie Angier:
Woman: An Intimate Geography


Just compiling this list is making me want to re-read a few of these :-p After I'm done with Misquoting Jesus, anyway.

I have found a book others might be interested -
Under The Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer-
"At the core of Krakauer's book are brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a commandment from god to kill a blameless woman and her baby girl. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this appalling double murder , Krakauer constructs a multilayered , bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, polygamy, savage violence, and unyielding faith. Along the way he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America's fastest growing religion, and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief."

Did anybody know that there are presently more Mormons than Presbyterians- and on the entire planet there are more Mormons than Jews- Some believe that Mormonism is well on its way to becoming a major world religion- the 1st such faith to emerge since Islam! This is very very scary stuff- this book is a must read for anybody interested in the nuttiness of religion and the depth people will go for their beliefs!

Does anyone have "The Secular Conscience" by Austin Dacy? I would like to borrow it.

Thanks

I have numerous books on atheism and science (cosmology, quantum physics, evolution, studies of the mind/consciousness, and science in general), but I am looking for a book that discusses how atheists handle religious holidays -- what can we do at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter that is celebratory and relevant to atheism? Does anyone have a good book on this subject to recommend?

Respectfully,
Jeff W