Books are probably the best source of information when it comes to the topics covered by freethinking, which include science, religious criticism, scepticism, philosophy etc. The importance of books is getting somewhat lost amongst the milieu of information available to the regular broadband-packing layman. In a world of point and click soundbite snippet based media it's important to take a break from the digital intertubes and hold a few pounds of paper in your fist and do some old school learning.
This list is by no means comprehensive, and is in no particular order. It is the first 50 books that came to mind which I felt were important to the freethinking world. If you think I've left out a particularly important book (which I no doubt have) please feel free to let us all know by posting a comment.
Demon Haunted World- Carl Sagan
The God Delusion- Richard Dawkins
God is not Great- Christopher Hitchens
The Origin Of Species- Charles Darwin
Why People Believe Weird Things- Michael Shermer
God: The Failed Hypothesis- Victor Stenger
Atheist Universe- David Mills
Skeptics Guide to the Paranormal- Lynne Kelly
Letter to a Christian Nation- Sam Harris
The End of Faith- Sam Harris
The Science of Good and Evil- Michael Shermer
Darwin's Dangerous Idea- Daniel C. Dennet
Unweaving the Rainbow- Richard Dawkins
The Cannon- Natalie Angier
The Atheist Manafesto- Michael Onfray
Climbing Mount Improbable- Richard Dawkins
Why Darwin Matters- Michael Shermer
Bad Astronomy- Phil Plait
Origins- Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Quirkology- Richard Wiseman
The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick- Peter Lamont
Skeptical Essays- Bertrand Russell
Why I am NOt a Christian- Bertrand Russell
The Varieties of Scientific Experience- Carl Sagan
Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion- David Hume
Brocas Brain- Carl Sagan
The Portable Atheist- Christopher Hitchens
The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing- Richard Dawkins
The World Treasury of Modern Science Writing- Timothy Ferris
Last Chance to See- Douglas Adams with Mark Carwardine
Evolution vs Creationism- Eugenie Scott
The Stuff of Thought- Stephen Pinker
The Blank Slate- Stephen Pinker
How the Mind Works- Stephen Pinker
Death by Black Hole- Neil deGrasse Tyson
The Sky id not the Limit- Neil deGrasse Tyson
An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural- James Randi
Flim-Flam!- James Randi
The Faith Healers- James Randi
The Doors of Perception- Aldous Huxley
The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Psuedoscience- Michael Shermer
How We Believe- Michael Shermer
The Pandas Thumb- Stephen Jay Gould
The Gods and Other Lectures- Robert G Ingersoll
The Voyage of the Beagle- Charles Darwin
The Descent of Man- Charles Darwin
A Brief History of Time- Stephen Hawking
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy- Douglas Adams
Brave New World- Aldous Huxley
The Discworld Series- Terry Pratchett
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That's a great first 50 list Alan. Can I suggest a couple of others that your fellow readers may be interested in.
ReplyDeleteCollapse - Jared Diamond
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out - Richard Feynman
Guns, Germs and Steel - Jared Diamond
Love, Poverty and War - Christopher Hitchens
Kant and the platypus - Umberto Kant
That should keep your skeptics waist deep in some of the best books by authors of great intellect and insight very satisfied. Keep up the good work, love what you have to say.
I have the following list of readings:
ReplyDeletehttp://podblack.com/?page_id=392
By the way, the link to my blog is to my old addy? It should now read:
www.podblack.com.
Thanks!
Podblack blog.