Book Recommendations

One of my regular recreational activities is to wander around Borders (the bookstore) looking for something to read. In fact, I did this just yesterday. This event gave rise to the thought that some of you might like to get recommendations, based on what I found worthwhile during the previous year.

If this seems a tad presumptuous, remember the title of my blog.

I don't generally read fiction (although last year I did read "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini,the author of "The Kite Runner," both of which I whole-heartedly recommend. The books listed below are non-fiction, interesting, and very informative. I've recommended them in the order I preferred them.

TOP FIVE RECOMMENDATIONS

1. "E=MC2" by David Bodanis. This is a biography of the famous equation. It was easy to read and absolutely fascinating. You'll learn a great deal about scientific history, the roles that real human beings (with all their warts)played in the discoveries leading up to Einstein's discovery, and theoretical physics, all the while enjoying yourself immensely.

2. "Electric Universe" by David Bodanis. Almost as good as "E=MC2" for the same reasons. I loved it.

3. "Moral Clarity" by Susan Neiman. Parts of this book will stretch those of you lacking a philosophical background. But its mostly readable and well worth the effort to wade through the thick parts. After reading the book and listening to Michelle Obama express her views, its clear to me that Obama has read and absorbed Neiman's work. I found Neiman's argument convincing and important.

4. "The Dark Side" by Jane Mayer. She chronicles, in her words, the way in which America's "War on Terror" turned into a war on American ideals. Mayer also chronicles the many efforts made by heroic lawyers and other officials within the government to stop America's torture program.

5. "Gay Marriage" by Jonathan Rauch. This book came out a few years ago, but I reread it this year and highly recommend it. Rauch is a gay conservative. He is also one of the most intelligent and clear writers I have ever encountered. In "Gay Marriage," Rauch develops a convincing conception of what marriage is and proceeds to develop an intelligent, systematic, thoroughly convincing, and inherently conservative argument in favor of Gay Marriage. A must read for supporters and opponents of gay marriage alike.

While I'm at it, I'd recommend anything Rauch has ever written, including "Kindly Inquisitors." That book is a bit dated, but its still highly worth reading for anyone wanting to understand what counts as knowledge in the modern world, and why, and how our modern system of knowledge creation is far superior to previous and/or alternative arrangements. Rauch also offers a sustained and convincing argument that attempts to regulate speech (even when they are well intentioned) pose an existential threat to our modern system of knowledge creation, and therefore must be resisted. You can probably get this book on line at "Half.com." Easily readable and most highly recommended.


Happy reading!

Joe H.