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Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies 1075 reviews Jared Diamond
W. W. Norton, 2005
A profound and lasting classic
+ History; It's What's for Dinner + Fascinating! + Great subject and treatment - shakey science
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Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She? 21 reviews Molly Ivins
Vintage, 1992
Most excellent and funny!
+ Political writing the way it oughta + Great collection of Ivins' earlier columns
Like the woman herself, this book is a great commentary by the legendary commentator. Highly recommend!
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Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World (Global Century Series) 22 reviews J. R. McNeill, John Robert McNeill, ...
W. W. Norton & Company, 2001
Easy to read and full of history everyone should know
+ Something New Under the Sun + Excellent + Where we went astray and what we might do about it + One of a kind book on environmental history
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The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind 141 reviews Julian Jaynes
Mariner Books, 2000
Fascinating and controversial speculation
+ A new take on hallucination + Mind-blowing + Incredible insight into consciousness
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A Prophet with Honor : The Billy Graham Story 2 reviews William Martin
Harper Perennial, 1992
This is THE Graham biography to buy
+ A friendly take on Graham
If you buy only one book about Billy Graham, this should be it. Wonderfully written, it is an objective view by a writer who had full access to Graham and his staff, and full freedom to write the truth.
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The God Delusion 1280 reviews Richard Dawkins
Houghton Mifflin, 2006
A Wonderful Book..
+ Everyone should read this + Great Overview of Anti-Theistic Realism
Whether you are an atheist or a believer, this book is a genuinely life-changing work. I have always been an atheist, but occasionally find myself thinking that it would be nice if God existed - idle day-dreaming, really. This book shows that nature without God is many times more awe-inspiring and ...
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Prodigal Summer: A Novel 443 reviews Barbara Kingsolver
Harper Perennial, 2001
spring is the right time to read this book
+ Prodigal Summer - very enjoyable light reading + Prodigal Summer + A Perrenial Favorite
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The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House 29 reviews Nancy Gibbs, Michael Duffy
Center Street, 2007
Fascinating Look at Graham's Influence on the Presidency
+ Living His Mission + Thoroughly enjoyable with one exception + For non-fans
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Leap 12 reviews Terry Tempest Williams
Vintage, 2001
I'm new to the Mormon Church
+ Staring at the sun
and this book has imspired me so much - What a wonderful depiction of eternal life or in other words - the eternal struggle - lived in modern times by a modern woman
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Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival?--A Scientific Detective Story 34 reviews Theo Colborn, Dianne Dumanoski, ...
Plume, 1997
Very important Read
+ Well written and packed with information + Riviting & Deeply Disturbing + Future + Plastics, there's no future at all in plastics
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Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid 244 reviews Douglas R. Hofstadter
Basic Books, 1999
Computer Science
+ An Incredible Intellectual Romp + Literate, Facinating, Readable + My favourite book - ever!
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The Prince of War: Billy Graham's Crusade for a Wholly Christian Empire 2 reviews Cecil Bothwell
Brave Ulysses Books, 2008
Billy Graham and civil rights
+ A profound revelation of our resident prophet
The title comes from Graham's support for every American war since Korea, but I found the civil rights material most interesting.
Cecil Bothwell portrays Graham as the political opposite of Martin Luther King and says the historical record does not support Graham's recent insistence that he was ...
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The Age of Missing Information 17 reviews Bill Mckibben
Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2006
Disturbing
+ how television has shaped the modern psyche + A plea for mental silence + Still missing
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Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed 399 reviews Jared Diamond
Penguin (Non-Classics), 2005
Warms up after the first couple chapters
+ Good overview of the relationship between the environment & politics + Critical topic, excellent scholarship, yet very accessible
Not quite as good as his best-known book, "Guns, Germs and Steel", mostly because the first 50 pages are about Montana. Who cares about Montana? I barely even know where it is. But after that it gets wicked awesome. Unfortunately you can't really skip the Montana parts - too many concepts are ...
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Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life 304 reviews Anne Lamott
Anchor, 1995
Touching and funny
+ Beyond the book - "Real" Life Tips + Teacher resource + fantastic + Not just another how-to textbook; a must for the writer wanna-be
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Coming Into Being: Artifacts and Texts in the Evolution of Consciousness 8 reviews William Irwin Thompson
Palgrave Macmillan, 1998
Vintage Thompson Mind-Jazz
+ Nothing and beingness + Soulful mind improvisation + A book that changed me. + A scholar and intellectual, at full gallop
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Betrayal of Science and Reason: How Anti-Environmental Rhetoric Threatens Our Future 25 reviews Paul R. Ehrlich, Anne H. Ehrlich
Island Press, 1998
Reason and Motives
+ Good for debates + And things have only gotten worse
Paul and Ann Ehrlich have devoted their lives to promoting environmental understanding and influencing government policy. They have endured the scrutiny of their detractors with respect to dire predictions concerning population growth and the environment. They have made mistakes-- the most famous ...
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A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.) 639 reviews Howard Zinn
Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2005
This should be required reading in our schools
+ History of the U.S. book
Our country will never be able to live up to the lofty ideals of our founding documents unless we come to grips with the truth of how we got where we are. This book tells the truth about how the people on top have butchered and suppressed others in order to STAY on top. The first 10 pages are ...
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The Structure of Scientific Revolutions 118 reviews Thomas S. Kuhn
University Of Chicago Press, 1996
Not Just for Those Interested in Science
+ Scientific Revolutions + Review of Kuhn + Exciting, elevated, and encouraging (to would be researchers)
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An Unspoken Hunger: Stories from the Field 4 reviews Terry Tempest Williams
Vintage, 1995
Beautifully, powerfully written.
+ A taste of salt air and sage + The Erotics of Place + An Unspoken Hunger
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