The Best `Free-Thinking' Books

Does anyone have a few favorite books that they'd like to recommend? Two of my very favorites are, `Religion Explained' by Pascal Boyer and `The Third Chimpanzee' by Jared Diamond. The former presents belief as a "hijacking" of systems in the brain that evolved for other, more natural, purposes and the latter is just a really fun book on evolution that I've always loved. :)

I've heard 'Freethinkers' by Susan Jacoby is quite good, but I haven't gotten around to reading it.

by Daniel Dennett is probably the most "belief" shattering, thought manumitting book I've read in the last ten years.

I highly recommend it. I wouldn't call it belief shattering, but reality reinforcing. Great read; reality is way more fascinating than the tired old mother goose tales in the Bible.

:evilgrin:

I like to highlight certain passages when I read, and this book is almost entirely fluorescent yellow!

written by Carl Sagan.

Col. Robert Ingersoll

Paine already disproved the idea that Moses wrote the Pentateuch, thus casting the entire origin of the books into complete mystery, but if there is someone who won't accept Paine's arguments, here comes Ingersoll showing why Moses probably would want to not be remembered as the author anyway!

She doesn't seem to be highly regarded here in DU, but I always thought she had lots of good things to say about valuing rational thought and creativity. And she was a merciless critic of faith-based anything.

The Ishmael "trilogy" - that is, Ishmael, The Story of B, My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. These books literally changed my life.

Also The Culture of Make Believe by Derrick Jensen. Amazing.

Not necessarily books on atheism per se, more like animism. They are all VERY thorough examinations of our culture, our cultural mythos, and a critique of civilization itself. Couldn't recommend these highly enough.

Note: The Quinn books can get a little tiresome if you have above-average intelligence b/c he hammers the point over and over. However, I think he employed a somewhat silly literary "device" so that the message can be understood by anyone and everyone. Jensen, however, is just deep.

The subtitle is "No Gods - No Master." Edited by Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-founder of "Freedom from Religion Foundation."

...Dan Barker, whose book I am currently reading - "Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist". Funny you brought her up.

He's more for entertainment than education, but I do like to be entertained...

Piety by Wendy Kaimer. It could make you nuts though, to hear what they believe and what hypocrites they are.

for its many quotations that never fail me when I need one:
"2000 Year of Disbelief - Famous People with the Courage to Doubt"; and

Also my much worn copy of "Ken's Guide to the Bible". I LOVE the irreverence of this little paperback. Many have borrowed it and gone out and gotten their own when I demanded it back.

Oh wait, one more:

A book called "Trials of the Monkey - An Accidental Memoir" by Matthew Chapman, who is Darwin's great-great grandson. A beautiful, thoughtful little book, and a stunning, yet poignant indictment of American society.

Ack! OK, can't leave out everything by Richard Dawkins! Especially "Rivers of Eden".