Good Books

(1-19-17)

Elisabeth Roudinesco (2016). Freud: In his time and ours. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press

John R. Searle (2004). Mind: A brief Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.

Eric R. Kandel (2006). In Search of Memory: The emergence of a new science of mind. New York: W.W. Norton.

• I was reading Searle’s and Kandel’s book at the same time and was almost half way through each before I realized that they were writing about the same thing (kind of) from very different perspectives (kind of).
• Kandel presents one of the better statements/rationalizations of a reductionistic approach to understanding human behavior. Searle helps us understand how some classical approaches to questions are mistaken. Searle simply writes with such clarity of thought that I would probably recommend anything he puts his name to.

Thomas C. Foster (2003). How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines

• A good read about reading (or theatre or your favorite TV show).

Nick Lane (2005). Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the meaning of life. New York: Oxford University Press.

• No only is this a good book that will give you a lot to think about–you’ve got to love the main title. Was enough to get me to pull it off the library shelf for a look.

Nicholas Wade (2006). Before The Dawn: Recovering the lost history of our ancestors. New York: The Penguin Press.

• A beginning to answering the question, “Who are you?” is to know from wince you come.

Jack Weatherford (2004). Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. New York: Three Rivers Press.

• It is difficult to appreciate the impact of some individuals on history. This history of the Mongol Empire offers a perspective on one of the most influential of men: Temujin, known to us as Genghis Khan.

Verlyn Klinkenborg (2006). Timothy; or Notes of an abject reptile. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

• A perspective on life, including human life, from the viewpoint of a tortoise observed for many years by the 18th century English curate Gilbert White. An oddly powerful reading experience for one of “that nimble-tongued, fleet-footed race”.
• “How do I escape . . . . Walk through the holes in their attention. Easier at my speed than at any faster rate. . . . . What they notice they call reality. But reality is a fence with many holes, a net with many tears. I walk through them slowly. My slowness is deceptively fast.” (p. 18)

Truss, Lynne (2003). East, Shoots & Leaves: The zero tolerance approach to punctuation. New York: Gotham Books.

• It may seem unlikely that a book on punctuation would be an exciting read but Ms. Truss brings a novel perspective. In commenting on Aldus Manutius the Elder–inventor of the italic typeface, semicolon, much of our current printing conventions–she conveys her unique enthusiasm: “That man was Aldus Manutius the Elder (1450-1515) and I will happily admit I hadn’t heard of him until about a year ago, but am now absolutely kicking myself that I never volunteered to have his babies.” (p. 77)

Bryan Sykes (2001). The Seven Daughters of Eve: The science that reveals our genetic ancestry. New York: W.W. Norton.

• “Where do I come from?” With this common question Professor Stykes begins his discussion of what mitochondrial DNA reveals of the journey that has lead to each of the six billion people walking this world.

Michael S. Gazzaniga (2005). The Ethical Brain. New York: Dana Press.

• Dr. Gazzaniga is known for seminal work on split-brain subjects and the view that the left hemisphere has an “interpreter” function for us. In this book he takes up the topic of “neuroethics”: “the examination of how we want to deal with the social issues of disease, normality, mortality, lifestyle, and the philosophy of living informed by our understanding of underlying brain mechanism.” (p. xv).

Norman F. Cantor (2003). Antiquity: The civilization of the ancient world. New York: HarperCollins.

• Dr. Cantor’s previous book, In The Wake of the Plague, gives an interesting view of the impact of The Black Death on Europe. His same style of opening history to the reader is seen in this current work. Filled with a number of great ideas and quotes, including this one:
• “The most important characteristic of mainstream Judaism is that, unlike all the other religions of the ancient Mediterranean world, including Christianity, it does not involve magic. The word ‘magic’ in anthropology means that some physical act, like a sacrament or faith healing or astrological calculation or touching some object, is being used to bring divine assistance to mankind. Mainstream Judaism recognized only prayer and righteous conduct as a form of communication with the divine.” (Cantor, 2003, p. 88)

David R. Williams (2000). Sin Boldly: Dr. Dave’s Guide to Writing the College Paper. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing.

• My children, grandchildren (maybe someday), nieces, nephews, and graduate students I really like are all getting copies of this book. He advances radical ideas (getting papers turned in on time, the ecological and moral evil of plastic binders) and sage practical advice (think about what you want to say before beginning).

Julian Keenan with Gordon Gallup & Kean Falk (2003). The Face in the Mirror: How we know who we are. New York: ECCO.

• A highly readable discussion of the objective study of self-awareness in humans and other primates, and where this phenomenon carries the discussion.

David Bainbrige (2003). The X in Sex: How the X chromosome controls our lives. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

• Interesting discussion of the influences on and by sexual dimorphism in humans and other creatures, but be careful about believing everything you read–nature is even more complex that Professor Bainbridge describes and there remains conflicting points of view and data on some of the questions he ponders.

Scott T. Meier & Susan R. Davis (2005). The Elements of Counseling. 5th Edition. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.

• Inspired by Strunk & White’s (1979) The Elements of Style, this short book attempts, “to distill the basic elements of counseling and teach what counseling is as well as what it is not.” (p. xiii)

Thomas Cahill (2003). Sailing The Wine Dark Sea: Why the Greeks matter.

• This is the fourth of Cahill’s popular “Hinges of History” series:
  • How The Irish Saved Civilization
  • The Gift of the Jews
  • Desire of the Everlasting Hills
• He advances the idea that ancient Greek civilization shaped much of the conceptual framework through which Western cultures view basic ideas of human nature, politics, war, relationships, feelings, and ideas. Whereas he sees our notions of time and history as deriving from a Jewish world view (Time and history has a direction, we are going somewhere); he sees the basic ways we think (What matters and how we should consider it) as deriving from the Greeks. Cahill is a gifted writer and advances interesting ideas.