• selected book is Three Roads to Quantum Gravity Lee Smolin
| 1 | The Quest for Cosmic Justice | Thomas Sowell |
| He provides plenty of little mentioned facts about morality. | BF 2012/3 | |
| 2 | The Great Big Book of Horrible Things The Definitive Chronicle of History’s 100 Worst Atrocities | Matthew White |
| (2012, 670p, $23.10) a serious book despite title. If we choose this book, we might want to read selected parts, instead of reading it all. | JB 2012/3 | |
| 3 | The Righteous Mind Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion | Jonathan Haidt |
| He is a social psychologist and does a good job focusing on the topics of "liberals" and "conservatives" and how they think. He appeared on Bill Moyers. | CA 2012/2 | |
| 4 | Destiny Disrupted A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes | Tamim Ansary |
| AH 2012/2 | ||
| 5 | Economic Facts and Fallacies | Thomas Sowell |
| It is very likely to expose our and Thomas Sowell's misconceptions during discussion. | BF 2001/10 | |
| 6 | Sister Citizen | Melissa V Harris-Perry |
| overview also at Barnes & Noble. | JS, 2011/9 | |
| 7 | Conservatives Without Conscience | John W Dean |
| BF, 2011/7 | ||
| 8 | iWoz | Steve Wozniak |
| a personal story about the guy who developed personal computers, and saved the world :-) | AJ, 2011/4 | |
| 9 | The Abacus and the Cross The Story of the Pope Who Brought the Light of Science to the Dark Ages | Nancy Marie Brown |
| (Hardcover, 2010, $18.45) ...would help us better understand what the Middle Ages were really like. | AJ, 2011/3 | |
| 10 | Packing for Mars The Curious Science of Life in the Void | Mary Roach |
| (hardcover, $14.24) This is a delightful read. Mary Roach will entertain you and keep you laughing out loud and she maintains your sense of wonder about space. In the end, you will want us to go to Mars more than ever because it represents a conquering of our biological limits even as we conquer our little corner of the cosmos. | AJ, 2010/9 | |
| 11 | Islam, the West and the Challenges of Modernity | Tariq Ramadan |
| (2009, $14.96) Ramadan, raised in Switzerland, has a unique perspective on you-know-what. | AD, 2010/9 | |
| 12 | The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus Exploring and Conserving Our Natural World | Cousteau/Schiefelbein |
| (Bloomsbury USA, 2007, $7.80) Among 20th-Century non-political figures, Cousteau, with his TV shows and other things making the public aware of ecological problems, is among the most infuential, and is likely to be honored by future generations. | AD, 2010/9 | |
| 13 | Islam – A Mosaic, Not a Monolith | Vartan Gregorian |
| 2004, paperback: $17.05 | AJ, 2010/9 | |
| 14 | The Shock Doctrine The Rise of Disaster Capitalism | Naomi Klein |
| $10.88; along the lines of Cornered but has its own focus. | AJ, 2010/8 | |
| 15 | Reviving the Left The Need to Restore Liberal Values in America | Dwight Furrow |
| Prometheus Books, $18.89; "[Furrow's] proposals are fresh--he urges liberals to develop 'a more substantial moral identity' and win a few battles in the values war by building upon their 'inherent culture of caring,' repackaging the conservative movement's successful tactics for the Left." -- Publishers Weekly | AJ, 2010/6 | |
| 16 | Losing My Religion How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America — and Found Unexpected Peace | William Lobdell |
| 2009, 283 pages, $10.40 (HC). "... the most intellectually honest and emotionally courageous book I have ever read ..." – Michael Shermer ~ "...does more to advance ... irreligion than the bilious ... tracts by ... Hitchens and others ... [and] far more fun to read ..." – N Y Times | AD, 2009/7 | |
| 17 | Chinese Lessons Five Classmates and the Story of the New China | John Pomfret |
| Pomfret went to China as a Stanford exchange student and returned many times as a journalist. He describes the personal perspectives of five classmates. This book is an easy read, informative and full of authentic stories. | LM, 2008 | |
| 18 | Atheist Manifesto The Case Against Christianity, Judaism, and Islam | Michel Onfray |
| A London Times Book of the Year. "A wonderful, invigorating last of sanity delivered against the fog of high-toned mumbo-jumbo we have to endure everywhere today. A passionate and coolly reasoned advocacy of atheism." – William Boy, London Times Literary Supplement. | FJ, 2007 | |
| 19 | The Grand Inquisitor's Manual A History of Terror in the Name of God | Jonathan Kirsch |
| The Spanish Inquisition was the world's first experience with sanctioned terror, and a precursor to episodes like the Salem Witch trials, McCarthyism and even Abu Ghraib | FJ, 2007 | |
| 20 | The World Without Us | Alan Weisman |
| LM, 2006 |