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New Reviews Intro to Objectivsit Epistemology - by Ayn Rand The Montessori Method - by Maria Montessori Recommended Fiction Atlas Shrugged - by Ayn Rand Giants Novels - by James P. Hogan The Hobbit - by J.R. Tolkien The Fountainhead - by Ayn Rand Braveheart - by Randall Wallace Les Miserables - by Victor Hugo Crime and Punishement - by Fyodor Dostoyevsky Search: Books Popular Music Classical Music Video Enter keywords...

Giants Novels by James P. Hogan
This is actually a series of three novels; Inherit the Stars, The Gentle Giants of Ganymede, and Giant's Star.  A fabulous tail about how humans discover where they really came from and learn about a gentle alien species that lived closer to home than we ever thought.  This novel was written to stimulate the mind of a thinking audience.  Hogan also manages to display just how the scientific method works (or at least should work).

While his plots may seem a little naive and forced at times, his sense of life is incredible and his respect for the scientific community outstanding.

Entroverse by James P. Hogan
A fourth novel in the Giants series.  While not one of his bests, it is still very good.  In it, he wrestles with artificial intelligence and how it could possibly go wrong.  This book is less like his other books in that it is based more in a fantasy futuristic world.  Fortunately, he handles it brilliantly.

The Two Faces of Tomorrow by James P. Hogan
Another novel that deals with artificial intelligence.  This time man creates an artificial intelligence in order to try to destroy it.  The plan is to attack the intelligence to see if it will develop a self-defense mechanism.  And of course it does, but now human lives are in jeopardy.  I even figured out the catch before the end of the book.  Its a very simple idea about the benevolence of intelligence.

Code of the Lifemaker by James P. Hogan

The Immortality Option by James P. Hogan

Bug Park by James P. Hogan

Paths to Otherwhere by James P. Hogan

Foundation by Isaac Asimov
 Wasn't really impressed with this book.  It jumped through time to quickly and didn't have a coherent theme.  Since I haven't read any of his other novels, I don't want to pass judgment on him too soon.  This was just his first novel.  But I wouldn't recommend it to a friend.  The plot to the book seems to follow an establishment of an intellectual haven before the fall of the galactic empire, to ensure and speed up the return of the new
empire.

Red Mars by Kim Robinson
 Not a good book.  She tries really hard to stereotype individuals after personality types found in psychology books.  She also tries to throw communistic and environmental undertones throughout the book.  This just sickened me and I only made through the book because of my intense desire to colonize Mars.  I will not buy any of her books again.  Definitely not recommendable.

2061: odyssey three 
It's been a long time since I've read this book.  My memories of it is that it carries the usual sci-fi themes and story line.  Thoroughly interesting when I was younger, yet I think I would be bored with it now.

Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
I good depiction of aliens, except that he can't shake the humanoid qualities.  His reoccurring themes of politics and psychology prevent this novel from exploring the aliens in more detail.

Rama II by Arthur C. Clarke
Should have been left on the shelf.  Boring and drab.  Not even as good as this review.

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Card's best novel follows the life of a boy genius, who is chosen to save the world.  As a child myself, when I first read this book, I couldn't help but cheer Ender on in overcoming every adversity thrown at him.  Although I might question some of Card's psychology today, he does a fair job at portraying an admirable hero.

The Speaker of the Dead by Orson Scott Card
The sequel Ender's Game tries to humanize the hero.  Because of this, the novel loses a lot of strength.  It's only redeeming characteristic is the development of the aliens and his ability to speak for the dead.

Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card
The Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card

The Hobbit by J.R. Tolkien
Tolkien's most renowned novel is a marvel in story telling.  The fantasy world comes to life as you follow the halfing Bilbo as a young adult, happy and content in his own little world, when suddenly a wizard and 13 dwarves thrust him upon adventure after adventure, much to his displeasure.  The plot is captivating, while the theme is quietly powerful.  Following Bilbo as he grows up helps us to look at our own lives and questions what challenges we can accomplish if we get past our fear.

I've read this novel many times for the sheer delight of being placed in Middle Earth with the characters.  Tolkien is the best at fantasy story telling.

Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R. Tolkien
This 3 book sequel to The Hobbit continues the story of the halfings in Middle Earth.  Again Tolkien does a superb job telling the story.  Like The Hobbit, I have read these books again and again.

The Silmarillion by J.R. Tolkien
A rather dry history of Middle Earth, the land where The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings took place.  Is of interest to those who want to completely lose themselves in this fantasy world.
 

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Ever wonder what the world would be like if the industrialists, scientists, and men of reason disappeared. This novel, the last fictional novel written by Ayn Rand, answers this question. The epic adventure spans the continent and 20 years as the hero John Galt stops the motor of the world. Countless individuals, including myself, have described this novel as the most inspirational work they've ever read. Ayn Rand's passion for reason and individuality flows into a masterpiece of fiction that challenges the mind at every corner.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Where does creativity spring from? Can the great achievements of the past be duplicated by lesser men? Ayn Rand's novel, The Fountainhead, exams these questions from the perspective of a budding architect. Howard Roark refuses to conform to the traditional building schemes, designing a new breed of buildings built for the sole purpose of being purposeful. He must also confront those who think that they must live off of his and other's greatness. The individual is idealized and worshipped for its own greatness. An inspiring story with a strange but happy ending.

We the Living by Ayn Rand
After the Communist Revolution in Russia, life was anything but easy, especially for the child of a business owner. Ayn Rand speaks from her heart in this novel, having been under this very conditions. This story cries to the world to see the cruelty of communism. It is a story of a young woman in love and against a state that doesn't care about its citizens. The story is sad and gloomy, yet inspired a passion within me to destroy any type of tyranny in existence.

Anthem by Ayn Rand
A novelette of about 100 pages.  Shows what would happen if the 'WE' destroyed the 'I'.  One man, however, dares to say this word and leaves this society to start his own.

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
 An intriguing novel about good and evil from the Christian point of view.  Hugo occasional wanders into the history of the period, adding to its length, but providing better understanding of the atmosphere of the French Revolution.  A very good novel and highly recommended.

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
If you don't mind a novel with poor plot and less suspense, then this novel provides a good glimpse into chivalry in medieval England.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

William Shakespeare
-Othello
-Hamlet

Charles Dickens
-A Tale of Two Cities
Never finished reading.  I started and got about 50 pages before I was bored with the story.  I do not understand why it is considered a classic.  Avoid reading at all costs.

Braveheart by Randall Wallace
The story of a commoner, by the name of William Wallace, who rallies the kingdom of Scottland in a fight for independence from England after the tyranny of English rule kills his wife.  This novel exemplifies the virtues of courage and justice exquisitely.  Although this story may not be historically correct, it is a great read and inspiring to the last word.

A brief history of time by Stephen Hawking
A great book for learning the basics physics and astronomy.  Hawking does a marvelous job explaining difficult concepts to the lay person.  Reading this book is a must for everyone interested in physics and time.

Cosmos by Carol Sagan
While this book covers more than just physics, it does an excellent job at presenting the history of science and our current understanding of the cosmos.

A Case for Mars by Robert Zubrin
Written to demonstrate how the colonization of Mars is possible today, with current technologies.  Zubrin does a good job of this.  He even considers several possible ways of initiating his plan.  If Mars seems like the ultimate frontier, this is a good book to read.

Lost Moon by Jim Lowell, Jeffrey Kluger
The true story about Apollo 13 and its misadventure to the moon.  An inspiring story about the will to persevere in the face of adversity.  Working at NASA seems almost admirable after this story.
 

The Symbolic Species by Terrence W. Deacon
Deacon presents a comprehensive study of linguistics, neuroscience, and evolution.  In this book he examines where symbol processing and language centers are located in the brain while asking questions like, are these structures found in other animals or can we function at all without these structures.  The book contains a wealth of information and is an interesting read to someone interested in cognitive science.  The major fault I can find with Deacon's writings is his explicitly stated philosophy, and his second-hand treatment of symbols.

The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden
Brandon is the father of self-esteem and in this book, provides a detailed look at just what is self-esteem and how we can achieve it.  Although this book was written primarily for general audiences, the philosophic and cognitive undertones ring through quite clearly.  I've found that the six pillars correlate directly with the major aspects of rationality as I've written about in The Nature of Rationality.  An in-depth analysis of this book can be found in my article The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem.

Neurophilosophy by Patricia Smith Churchland
An enormous wealth of information can be found in this book about neuroscience.  A very difficult read, so much so that I have not yet been able to get through it.  I would not recommend this book, although I can only barely describe what I think is wrong with it.  Its been almost a year since I've read it, but my memory reminds me that she was not concise and generally over examined the obvious like many philosophers tend to do.

Mind Matters by Hogan, James P.
Even though Hogan is primarily a Science Fiction writer, this book about the history of artificial intelligence is a good read and very informative.  The major fault of this book is in his conclusion, where he argues that an artificial intelligence will not be anything like a real intelligence.  The fault is that he never asks just what is neccessary for an entity to be considered intelligent.

Evidence of the Senses by David Kelley
See under philosophy section

Nicholas Rescher
-Complexity: A Philosophical Overview
Rescher is one of the few philosophers to tackle the new science of complexity. After forcing myself through his book, I wish he would have spent his time elsewhere. Rescher is constantly dropping context in his analysis and using floating abstractions like complexity itself to justify his conclusions. Although the book does contain a few valuable insights into the nature of complexity, I still eagerly await a better analysis of complexity to come from the philosophic community.

M. Mitchell Waldrop
-Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos
When I decided to read this book, I was hoping it would tell me about the essentials of complexity. That's not what this book is about. Instead, it was about the history of the complexity movement. While interesting in its own right, I was a bit let down from my expectations. Yet this book does offer quit a bit of interest and is a good read, especially for those interested in science and its history.

James Gleick
-Chaos: Making a New Science
Like Waldrop's Complexity book, this book examines the history of the Chaos theory while analyzing new developments within the field. Gleick covers a wide variety of topics from complexity to Mandelbrot sets. Chaos wants to understand the random and uneven. Gleick does a good job presenting the facts, but again I was a bit disappointed for the lack of a philosophic treatment of the Chaos theory.

Ed Regis
-Nano: The Emerging Science of Nanotechnology
Another popular science book, examining the history of nanotechnology. It is apparent that the author greatly admires Eric Drexler, the founder of the nanotechnology movement. Unfortunately, as of today, nanotechnology has not even come close to reaching the potential that Drexler proclaimed would be possible. What is missing are the initial enzymes necessary to build the nanomachines that Drexler proposes. Although the book does give a good overview of nanotechnology, it tends to gloss over the engineering problems associated with it.

Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology by Ayn Rand

In this, one of Rand's last philosophic works, she lays down the principles to Objectivist Epistemology.  As the title suggests, this is just a cursory glance at establishing her epistemology, but quite convincingly argues why these foundations are essential to knowledge.  In Rand's usual style, she complete ignores other philosophers' ideas or developments in this field and blazes her own path.  In a stretch of 82 pages she lays down these foundations.

The rest of the book is filled with an essay by Leonard Peikoff about the analytic/synthetic dichotomy and a question and answer period with Rand herself regarding her book.

Admittedly, I have read very few other epistemology books to compare with this one.  But the logic of the arguments have stood up through my own testing.  Although this book is short, it is packed full of punch.  Rand creates a great starting point for analyzing epistemology, even if she does leave off a large number of issues.   

The Virtue of Selfishness by Ayn Rand

Can a code of ethics be based souly in reason?  Rand determines that it can and explains her reasons why.  Rationality, productivity, and pride lead the list of virtues to living this life and explains that living selfishly should be everyone's chief virtue.  While this discussion of ethics is quite at odds with conventional theories of ethics, particularly those of Christians, Rand does a superb job handling all the issues.  Even if you don't agree with her premises, you can walk away with a much better understanding of yourself and the importance of living morally.

Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand

Additional articles by Alan Greenspan, Nathaniel Branden, and Robert Hessen.  In her opening line of her introduction she states "This book is not a treatise on economics.  It is a collection of essays on the moral aspects of capitalism."  Indeed, the book is just that.  The series of articles explain why capitalism is the only economic theory that is compatible with individual freedom and why socialism and communism, while usually based on noble intentions, invariable fall into the same  problems.

This book does not however present a way develop and live in such a society.  This was not her focus, though I venture to say it is sorely needed.  Her case on moral grounds is extremely strong, assuming you except that each individual is an end in themselves.  

The Romantic Manifesto by Ayn Rand

For the New Intellectual by Ayn Rand
Philosophy: Who Needs It by Ayn Rand

David Kelley
-Evidence of the Senses

Will Durant
-The Story of Philosophy

Nietzsche
-Human, All Too Human: A Book for Free Spirits

Ron Merrill
-The Ideas of Ayn Rand
 

The Montessori Method by Maria Montessori

In the world of education, it is rare to find an individual so radically opposed in public education, yet so extremely popular within the private sector.  Maria Montessori, the first female Italian doctor, specialized in educating children.  From her experiences, she came to realize that children are self-teaching and that "teachers" should not be present to lecture or assign homework, but to observe and facilitate learning.  The classrooms are student oriented and run.  

Little in the way of words can explain or demonstrate how she is correct in her essesments, except by experiencing kids learning for yourself. 

How to Grow Your Business on the Internet by Vince Emery

A great resource for any business deciding what to do, where to spend money, and how to grow their business on the internet.

Vince Emery writes a comprehensive work covering introductory and intermediate material about internet solutions, with many tips to reach success and warnings to avoid failures.  Vince looks at the how and why of finding internet solutions to business growth.  He tackles email, newsgroups, firewalls, and internet law.  A step by step procedure to attract visitors to your web site provides a clear look at effective web design and marketing.  He spends nearly a third of the book on e-commerce and  web marketing.  At the end of each chapter, a wealth of resources rated by Emery for their effectiveness is shown for additional information.

Even with lots of examples, he doesn't forget the big picture.  A business model for success using internet technologies is the theme repeated again and again.  In all, this book is an amazing resource for any business interested in growing on the internet.  

Using CGI, Special Edition by Jeffry Dwight, Michael Erwin, and Robert Niles

Not for beginners.  This book, although claiming to be written for those new to CGI scripting, is better understood with a background in Perl or C++ programming.  The examples provided give a descent overview on how to accomplish some of the most used CGI projects, but fails to capture the essentials.

This is partially because CGI is really a collection of languages, not a single language, which creates the authors dilemma in teaching too many things at once.  Overall, the authors did a fair job, but the book rates poorly because of the misguided audience.