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| The Work | The Review |
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| Eats, Shoots
by Lynne Truss | (First, please note that the title of the book is "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" and that what you see here is truncated.) If, you are annoyed by sentence's that, are (mis-)punctuated like "this" one is, Lynne Truss's Eats, Shoots & Leaves is the book for you. With considerable wit and erudition but without pedantry, Ms. Truss takes on abuses of punctuation, not only reminding us how to punctuate correctly (although I suspect that most of her readers will not have forgotten), but also explaining the history of modern English punctuation and frankly discussing those points about which reasonable writers may differ. (James Thurber's run-ins over commas with Harold Ross, his editor at The New Yorker, and the idiosyncratic but logical ideas on punctuation underlying George Bernard Shaw's savaging of T. E. Lawrence are among the entertaining examples cited.) If Judith Martin (Miss Manners) were English and a little more self-deprecating (but no less authoritative) and wrote a book on punctuation, this would be the book. Highly recommended! |
| Woody, Cisco, | Jim Longhi's "Woody, Cisco, & Me" is a wonderful, rollicking and touching ride through both the perils of service in the Merchant Marine in World War II and the pleasure of having folksingers Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston as fellow seamen. Longhi, a product of the same New York City Italian left that gave us Vito Marcantonio (and that hasn't been nearly as well noted in intellectual circles as its Jewish counterpart), sailed in the Merchant Marine with Woody and Cisco. They were torpedoed three times. Longhi learned how to bake for a lot of people at once (and tells of the importance of good food on a troop transport). Woody, among other things, single-handedly integrated a segregated troop transport under fire. This and lots more is packed into 300 pages that go by very quickly. If Amazon doesn't have it, the Woody Guthrie Foundation may still have copies. Or you can find it at some public libraries. Don't miss this one! |
| An Inconvenient Truth
by Al Gore | An eye-opener; I've decided that I need to be an activist for this issue because of this book. |
| Nonzero : The Logic of Human Destiny (Vintage) | The evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould was a vocal opponent of sociobiology and “historical directionality”. He insisted that if evolution on this planet was replayed, the chances of getting any species as smart as humans are "extremely small." Robert Wright challenges that assertion in Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny using sociobiology, anthropology and game theory all delivered in a conversational and non-technical style. Since living things engage in cooperative nonzero sum games to survive, Wright claims history's direction is inevitably progressive and life is not aimless. For example, before refrigeration, a hunter-gatherer society would hold a hunting feast to store the surplus food of the catch - inside their neighbor's belly! The neighbor would in turn reciprocate when his fortunes allowed, increasing the well-being of both tribes. The genesis of the Ethical Culture pot luck, perhaps? |
| Science and Human Values | I have just finished reading Jacob Bronowski's Science and Human Values (revised edition, 1965), and commend it to Ethical Culturists and humanists everywhere, despite a few quibbles (see below). Bronowski forcefully, and with great erudition, argues that (at least some of) the humanist values we hold dear are precisely the values of science, and are indeed predicated on the development of science itself. The main part of the book has three parts. First, he argues that the creation of a scientific idea is of a piece with artistic creation, depending first and foremost on the creative insight by which a scientist perceives a unity underlying different things, much as metaphor is essential to an artist's creations. He then demonstrates that science distinctly tests its concepts against their experiential consequences, explicitly borrowing from the American pragmatist tradition the idea that what is true is precisely that which proves to be experientially useful. (He will later point out that art, at least in the Western tradition, is not as different from science with respect to truth-seeking as one might imagine.) He finally argues that the ethics of science, which really need to become the ethics of humanity, can themselves be derived by applying precisely such a pragmatic analysis to find out what is necessary for science itself, and arrives at the summary statement that "We OUGHT to act in such a way that what IS true can be verified to be so." From this he derives the necessity of such virtues as justice, honor and respect -- in short, the dignity of each human being and the responsibility for all to respect that dignity, and further argues that the development of a society based on such virtues was not only essential to science but was also fostered by the development of science. Appended to the main text is a dialog, The Abacus and the Rose, in which a man of letters and a scientist confront each other (and an administrator who acts as moderator), in order for Bronowski to show that the scientist's creativity can match that of the literary type. As I said, I have a few criticisms, based on some of the perspectives we have come to recognize as worthy of consideration since Bronowski wrote, but I don't think they seriously undermine his basic argument. The depth and breadth of Bronowski's learning are apparently limited to the Western tradition. He makes invidious distinctions between the post-Renaissance Western tradition and the cultures of the East, which I suspect would not stand up well to a serious and historically informed examination of the diversity of the latter cultures. His arguments for the uniqueness of certain of the ways in which the Western artistic tradition is great might fall when confronted by a better anthropological understanding of other cultures. (Pete Seeger points out that Bela Bartok, whose pioneering work in ethnomusicology informed his work as a composer, understood that a folk song could be on as high a plane of art as a symphony, even though its emotional range is more limited because it is shorter. And Albert C. Barnes, of the Barnes Foundation, similarly argued for equal recognition for the visual arts of "primitive" peoples, basing his theories on what he learned from his friend John Dewey, another descendant of the American pragmatist tradition.) Indeed, I imagine that Bronowski would have been among the first to acclaim the better understanding of the virtues and diversity of non-Western cultures that scientific exploration of them would have revealed. Bronowski's generic scientists are always men (he was writing in the late 1950s), although there are places where it becomes apparent that he is using the male nouns and pronouns more out of custom than out of a desire to exclude women. And indeed, his picture of science itself is somewhat idealized and ahistorical, in that it ignores the flaws and pettinesses that can beset the scientific enterprise as much as any other human enterprise. The correction of these faults, however, would not change Bronowski's fundamental argument that the best human values are precisely those that are essential to science. My summary hardly does justice to the case that Bronowski makes. The book is short -- roughly 120 pages -- and can be read in a few hours. I am not well enough versed in philosophy and the history of science to speak to its originality, but I found it highly persuasive, both as an explanation of how and why science represents (perhaps not uniquely) the highest form of humanist activity and as an argument for the ethics of science as the best ethics of humanity. |
| The Trial of Socrates | I. F. Stone, the great liberal/radical journalist of the 1940s to 1980s, decided to study ancient Greek after retiring from the publication of his famous news report, I. F. Stone's Weekly. The fruit of his studies is The Trial of Socrates (published in 1988 in hardcover, 1989 in paperback), which is clearly and unabashedly that of an amateur, in the best sense of the word -- someone who works out of love for his subject rather than for its financial reward. Stone seeks to find out how Athens, with its free speech, could have tried Socrates for mere ideas. He puts Socrates (or at least Plato's and Xenophon's version of Socrates) into historical context and finds a strong supporter of authoritarianism, or even totalitarianism, who scorned Athens's values of free speech and equality. Stone does not excuse Athens for trying and executing Socrates -- quite the contrary -- but he nevertheless argues that in the historical context of the Peloponnesian Wars and antidemocratic coups d'etat, Athenian democrats had every reason to be wary of Socrates and that Socrates himself, by refusing to appeal to Athens's best democratic values (an appeal which would have violated his own authoritarian beliefs), chose to accept death. I cannot vouch for Stone's historical accuracy -- I suspect that he may have to some extent anachronistically projected the free speech struggles of our times back on an idealized vision of ancient Athens -- but he does appear to have immersed himself in a lot of the source material and the critical writings. In any case, while not exculpating Athens for executing Socrates, this book dethrones Socrates from his revered position and gives the place of honor to the values of free speech and democracy that Socrates disdained. |
| Science and Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences | This inexpensive booklet from the National Academy of Science is a wonderful summary for students interested in this controversy. It explains the nature of science and how evolution exemplifies scientific thinking, and how creationism, in all its many forms, does not. It is a companion volume to "Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science" which is also a noteworthy book, addressed to teachers, educators and policymakers. Read either or both books and see for yourself. Don't be 'snowed' by the dozens of creationist books that have flooded the marketplace, and the creationist reviewers who have criticized both of these booklets. What a shame that science and learning in this country has wasted so much time and learning potential on this non-issue. |
| Opening Skinner
by Lauren Slater | Slater catalogs many of those fascinating experiments that we’ve heard smatterings of but never quite got the full story. Each profound case has implications beyond psychology. The book reaches past a search for sanity to the meaning of obedience, courage and sentience. |
| Demon-Haunted World
by Ann Druyan | Actually written by Carl Sagan and assisted by his wife, Ann Druyan. This is a brilliant, compelling and beautifully written book that deals with critical thinking and its falling from grace in many contemporary societies, and especially our own. Sagan presents a masterful critique of magic, whichcraft, faith healing, demons, UFOs and all the other fallacious ideas that overload our culture, media and society. The interesting thing about Sagan's approach is that he doesn't claim that scientific reasoning has all the answers, but he does ask that we "keep an open mind, and not let our brains fall out" when dealing with such phenomenon. In dedicating the book to his grandson, Sagan wrote the following words: "I wish you a world free of demons and full of light." The book's subtitle is: "Science as a Candle in the Dark" |
| The Humanist Way: An Introduction to Ethical Humanist Religion
by Edward L. Ericson | One of the books that defines "Our Canon". The first chapter is available at the AEU website: www.aeu.org |
| The Devil and Secular Humanism: The Children of the Enlightenment
by Howard B. Radest | Howard B. Radest is a former leader of the Bergen Society. This volume clarifies the nature of humanism by exploring historical and current thought. The development of humanist ideas is viewed as an important part of the development of the philosophy of democracy and science. |
| Love Your Neighbor: Stories of Values and Virtues
by Arthur Dobrin | Animals teach moral lessons in thirteen wise and entertaining fables. Dobrin explores the nature of virtue with a gentle tone. |
| Teaching Right from Wrong: 40 Things You Can Do to Raise a Moral Child
by Arthur Dobrin | With forty concrete steps and clear, compassionate guidance, this book explains how 'ethicial intelligence' can be nurtured even in a child's earliest years. |
| Capacity-Building: An Approach to People-Centered Development (Oxfam Development Guidelines)
by Deborah Eade | Oxfam works in more than 80 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty, suffering and injustice. It recognizes that poorly implemented aid may create dependency, exacerbating vulnerability. This book examines the concept of capacity-building by enhancing people and societies underlying strengths for sustainable development. |
| Peace Arch Concerts
by Paul Robeson | This CD is my first exposure to the power and fury in the voice of Paul Robeson. It is a recording of his concert to the hard-rock miners in Vancouver in 1952. Nearly every song (with the delightful exception ‘Oh No, John’) seems chosen to rouse the miners to militancy and give testimony to the injustice Robeson had received during this era of McCarthyism. He sings folk songs, spirituals, and a rousing version of ‘Joe Hill’. Unfortunately, the technical recording is quite scratchy, but that is more than made up for by the excitement of the very live performance. |
| Natural History | Every issue of Natural History has a few must-read articles, glorious photos, and, even without Stephen Jay Gould, terrific columnists. And of course, supporting the work of the American Museum of Natural History is generally appealing. |
| Bel Canto: A Novel
by Ann Patchett | Terrorists invade a lavish party in a foreign embassy in a poor South American country. This contrivance allows Ann Patchett to contrast class, motives, and the meaning of beauty this microcosm of society. The former guests reluctantly acclimate themselves to their roll as hostages; the terrorists, agog at the strange luxury of the palace, unwittingly expose their humanity. Each character is dramatically but realistically transformed by the experience. Through their terror and trial, many find strengths previously untested. Patchett has written a literary page-turner with subtle humor and a keen eye for the variety in human experience. The discerning members in my book club received this very well and our discussion was varied and vivid: the need to understand the frustrations of the third world and the formation of the terrorist mentality to the satisfaction most of us felt learning about the subculture of opera. A worthwhile read. |