Recommended Books
Member Book Recommendations
Also see:
Recommended by Charles LaRue
Books by Stephen Jay Gould:
- Eight Little Piggies; Norton Press
- The Flamingo's Smile; Norton Press
- Hen's Teeth & Horses Toes; Norton Press
- The Panda's Thumb; Norton Press
- Ever Since Darwin; Norton Press
- The Mismeasure of Man; Norton Press
- Leonardo's Mountain of Clams & the Diet of Worms; Harmony Books
- Dinosaur in a Haystack; Harmony Books
- Full House; Harmony Books
- An Urchin in a Storm; Norton Press
- Bully for Brontosaurus; Norton Press
- Questioning the Millennium; Harmony Books
- Lying Stones of Marrakech; Harmony
- Wonderful Life; Norton Press
Books by Richard Dawkins:
- The Blind Watchmaker; Why the Evidence for Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design; Norton Press
- Climbing Mount Improbable; Norton
- Unweaving the Rainbow; Science, Delusion & the Appetite for Wonder; Houghton Mifflin
- The Selfish Gene; Oxford Press
- The Extended Phenotype; The Long Reach of the Gene; Oxford Press
- River Out of Eden; A Darwinian View of Life; Basic Books
Books by Carl Sagan or Sagan/Druyan
- Cosmos; Ballantine Books
- The Dragons of Eden; Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence; Ballantine Books
- The Demon-Haunted World; Science as a Candle in the Dark; Random House
- Shadows of Forgotten Anscestors; Ballantine Books
- Billions & Billions; Thoughts on Life & Death at the Brink of the Millennium; Random House
- Carl Sagan; A Life; (a biography of Sagan by Keay Davidson; John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Non-fiction Books by Isaac Asimov
- The Roving Mind; Ballantine Books
- The Relativity of Wrong; Kensington
- Beginnings; The Story of Origins- of Mankind, Life, The Earth & the Universe; Berkley
- Asimov's Guide to the Bible; I. Asimov; Wings Books
Books by Oliver Sacks
- The Island of the Colorblind; Knopf
- An Anthropologist On Mars; Seven Paradoxical Tales; Knopf
- Oliver Sacks (anthology);
- Awakenings
- A Leg to Stand On
- The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat
- Seeing Voices & Other Clinical Tales; Quality Paperback Library
Books in a similar vein to Sacks
- Defending the Cavewoman; Harold Klawans,MD; Norton & Co.
- Thinking in Pictures and Other Reports From My Life With Autism; Temple Grandin; Vintage
- The Man Who Tasted Shapes; Richard Cytowic; Tarcher/Putnam
- Extraordinary People; Understanding the “Idiot Savant”; Darold Treffert,MD; Harper & Row
- Phantoms In the Brain; V.S.Ramachandran,MD, PhD & Sandra Blakeslee; Morrow
Critical Thinking/ Human Fallacy/ Pseudoscience:
- How We Know What Isn't So; The Fallibility of Human Reasoning in Everyday Life; Thomas Gilovich; Free Press
- Critical Thinking; Francis W. Dauer; Barnes & Noble
- Why People Believe Weird Things; Pseudoscience, Superstition & Other Confusions of Our Time; Michael Shermer; Freeman
- How We Believe; The Search for God in an Age of Science; Michael Shermer; Freeman Press
- Voodoo Science; The Road From Foolishness to Fraud; Robert Park; Oxford Press Flight From Science & Reason; Edited by Paul Gross, Norman Levitt & Martin Lewis; New York Academy of Sciences
- The Borderlands of Science; Michael Shermer; Oxford Press
- How to Think About Weird Things; Schick & Vaughn; Mayfield Books
- Weird Water & Fuzzy Logic; Martin Gardner; Prometheus Books
- Did Adam & Eve Have Navels; M. Gardner; Prometheus Books
- The Science of Illusions; Jaques Ninio; Cornell University Press
Critiques of Creationism
- Tower of Babel; The Evidence Against the New Creationism; Robert Pennock; Bradford Publishers
- Evolution & the Myth of Creationism; A Basic Guide to the Facts in the Evolution Debate; Tim Berra; Stanford Press
- Science & Creationism; Edited by Ashley Montigue; Oxford
- The Triumph of Evolution & the Failure of Creationism; Niles Eldridge; Freeman Books
- Scientists Confront Creationism; ed. by Laurie Godfrey; Norton Books
Language/Evolution
- The Lopsided Ape; Evolution of the Generative Mind; Michael Corballis; Oxford
- The Language Instinct; Stephen Pinker; William Morrow & Co., Inc.
- The Ape That Spoke; Language & the Evolution of the Human Mind; John McCrone; Morrow
- Eve Spoke; Human Language & Human Evolution; Philip Lieberman; Norton
- From Lucy to Language; Donald Johanson; Simon & Schuster
Vision/Perception
- Visual Intelligence; Donald Hoffman; Norton Books
- Perception; Irvin Rock; Scientific American Library
- Metapatterns; Across Space, Time & Mind; Tyler Volk; Columbia University Press
- Inner Vision; An Exploration of Art & the Brain; Semir Zeki; Oxford Press
- The Object Stares Back; James Elkins; Simon & Schuster
- The Science of Paintings; W.S. Taft & J.W. Mayer; Springer Books
- Visualizations- The Nature Book of Art & Science; ; Kemp; University of CA Press
Mind/Brain/Cognition
- Oxford Companion to The Mind; Edited by Richard Gregory; Oxford
- The Mind; Richard Restak,MD; Oxford
- The Brain Has A Mind of Its Own; Richard Restak,MD; Harmony Books
- How the Mind Works; Stephen Pinker; Norton Press
- Are We Unique?; A Scientist Explores the Unparelleled Intelligence of the Human Mind; James Trefil; John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Mind, Language & Society; Searle; Basic Books
Other Dimensions
- Hyperspace; A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, & the 10th Dimension; Michio Kaku; Oxford
- The Astonishing Hypothesis; The Scientific Search For the Soul; Francis Crick; Touchstone/ Simon & Schuster
- The Illustrated Brief History of Time; Stephen Hawking; Bantam Books
Genome/ Bioethical Concerns, etc.
- The Sun, The Genome & the Internet; Freeman Dyson; Oxford University Press
- Genome; Matt Ridley; Harper Collins
- Beyond Evolution; The Genetically Altered Future of Plants & Animals, the Earth & Humans; Dr. Michael Fox; The Lyons Press
- The End of Evolution; On Mass Extinctions & the Preservation of Bio-Diversity; Peter Ward; Bantam Books
- Clone; The Road to Dolly & the Path Ahead; Gina Kolata; William Morrow & Co.
Early Evolution/ Extreme Conditions, etc.
- Cradle of Life; The Discovery of the Earth's Earliest Fossils; J. William Schopf; Princeton University Press
- Life; Natural History of the First Four Billion Years of Life on Earth; Richard Fortey; Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- The Pony Fish's Glow; George Williams; Basic Books
- Dark Life; Michael Ray Taylor; Scribner
- The Universe Below; William Broad; Simon & Schuster
- The Crucible of Creation; Conway Morris; Oxford Press
- Sudden Origins; Fossils, Genes & the Emergence of Species; Jeffrey Schwartz; Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- The Time Before History; Colin Tudge; Scribner
- Liaisons of Life- From Hornworts to Hippos, How the Unassuming Microbe Has Driven Evolution; T. Wakefield; Wiley, Inc.
Evolution as Directly Considering or Applied to Humankind/ Behavior
- The Naked Ape; Desmond Morris; Dell
- Darwin's Dangerous Idea; Evolution & the Meanings of Life; Daniel C. Dennett; Touchstone/ Simon & Schuster
- The Red Queen; Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature; Matt Ridley; Penguin
- Lucy; the Beginning of Humankind; Donald Johanson; Simon & Schuster
- Mother Nature; A History of Mothers, Infants & Natural Selection; Sarah B. Hrdy; Pantheon
- Becoming Human; Ian Tattersall; Harcourt Brace
- The Human Zoo; Desmond Morris; Dell
- The Origins of Virtue; Human Instincts & the Evolution of Cooperation; Matt Ridley; Penguin Books
- Time, Love, Memory; A Great Biologist & His Quest for the Origins of Behavior; Jonathon Weiner; Knopf
- The Meme Machine; Susan Blackmore; Oxford
Evolution/Historical, etc.
- Guns, Germs & Steel; The Fates of Human Societies; Jared Diamond; Norton Press
- The True Believer; Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements; Eric Hoffer; Harper & Row
- Huxley; From Devil's Disciple to Evolution's High Priest; Adrian Desmond; Addison Wesley Publishers
- Apes, Angels & Victorians; William Irvine; McGraw- Hill
- One Long Argument; Charles Darwin & the Genesis of Modern Evolutionary Thought; Ernst Mayr; Harvard University Press
Natural History/Philosophical/Conceptual
- The Sacred Depths of Nature; Ursula Goodenough; Oxford
- At Home in the Universe; Stuart Kauffman; Oxford
- The Fifth Miracle; Paul Davies; Simon & Schuster
- In Search of Nature; E.O. Wilson; Island Press
- Consilience; the Unity of Knowledge; E.O. Wilson; Knopf
Science—Predictions Dealing With the Body of Knowledge
- Visions; How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century; Michio Kaku; Anchor Books
- What Remains to be Discovered; Mapping the Secrets of the Universe, the Origins of Life and the Future of the Human Race; John Maddox; Martin Kessler Books
- The End of Science; Facing the Limits of Knowledge in the Twilight if the Scientific Age; John Horgan; Helix Books
Essays - Group or Individual on Science
- Galileo's Commandment; An Anthology of Great Science Writing; Edited by Edmund B. Bolles; Freeman Press
- Great Essays in Science; Ed. by Martin Gardner; Prometheus Books
- How Things Are; A Science Tool Kit For the Mind; Ed. by John Brockman & Katinka Matson; Quill
- The Ascent of Science; Brian L. Silver; Solomon Press
- Gardner's Whys & Wherefores; Martin Gardner; Prometheus
- 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Science; James Trefil; Doubleday
- Mysteries of Life & The Universe; Essays on Science; Ed. by William Shore; Harcourt Brace
Philosophical (& Miscel.) Essays
- Freedom of Choice Affirmed; Corliss Lamont; Continuum/Ungar
- The Night is Large; Collected Essays 1932-1995; Martin Gardner; St. Martin's Press
- On Being Human; Ashley Montague; Hawthorn Books
- The Bell Curve Wars; Race, Intelligence and the Future of America; Ed. by Stephen Fraser; Basic Books
- Forbidden Knowledge; From Prometheus To Pornography; Roger Shattuck; St. Mary's Press
- The Philosophy of Humanism; Corliss Lamont; Humanist Press
- Forbidden Fruit; the Ethics of Humanism; Paul Kurtz; Prometheus Books
- Challenges to the Enlightenment; in Defense of Science & Reason; Ed. by P. Kurtz & T.J. Madigan; Prometheus Books
Religion/Atheism/Agnosticism
- Einstein & Religion; Physics & Theology; Max Jammer; Princeton University Press
- Some Mistakes of Moses; Robert Ingersoll; Prometheus Books
- Atheism; The Case Against God; George H. Smith; Prometheus Books
- Critiques of God; Making the Case Against Belief in God; Ed. by Peter A. Angeles; Prometheus Books
- The Bible According to Mark Twain; Edited by Howard Baetzhold & Joseph McCullough; Touchstone/ Simon & Schuster
- Why I Am Not A Christian; & Other Essays On Religion & Related Essays; Bertrand Russell; Touchstone
- Religion & Science; Bertrand Russell; Oxford
- Agnosticism & Christianity; & Other Essays; Thomas Henry Huxley; Prometheus Books
- Gospel Fictions; Randel Helms; Prometheus Books
- The Mythmaker; Paul & the Invention of Christianity; Hyam Maccoby; Barnes & Noble
Misc.
- The Variety of Life- A Survey & Celebration of All the Creatures That Have Ever Lived; Colin Tudge; Oxford Press
- The Beak of the Finch; J. Weiner; Vintage
- The Monk in the Garden- The Lost & Found Genius of Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genetics; Henig; Houghton/Mifflin
- A Primate's Memoir; Robert Sapolsky; Scribner
- The Trouble with Testosterone; R. Sapolsky; Scribner
- Human Natures- Genes, Cultures and the Human Prospect; P.R. Ehrich; Island Press
- Mother Nature- A History of Mothers, Infants & Natural Selection; Sarah Blaffer Hrdy; Pantheon
- Significant Others- The Ape- Human Continuum & the Quest for Human Nature; C. Stanford; Basic Books
- The Best American Science Writing, 2000; ed. by James Gleick; Ecco Press
- From the Wandering Jew to William F. Buckley, Jr.; M. Gardner; Prometheus Books
- Six Great Humanistic Essays of John Stuart Mill; Washington Square Books
- Close Encounters With the Religious Right; Robert Boston; Prometheus Books
- Robert Ingersoll- A Life; Frank Smith; Prometheus Books
- Fighting Back (Freethought Manual); ed. by Tim Madigan & Tom Flynn; Free Inquiry Press
- The Age of Reason; Thomas Paine; Prometheus Books
- Evolution- The Triumph of an Idea; Carl Zimmer; Harper Collins Publishers
- The Born Again Skeptics Guide to the Bible; Ruth Hurmence Green; Freedom From Religion Publishers
