3 for Under the Banner of Heaven.

Please feel free to "argue" for your book! Ultimately, our goal is a great book discussion so sell us on your book choice.

3 for “Empire of Illusion”

I think this is a very topical book for today. Ironically, we are awash in information today, but for some reason have quite possibly unprecedented numbers of the population who are uninformed, or disinterested in a deep understanding of the world about them. This could have significant fallout for the future of society. I think it already has in a number of events, not least the Bush presidency and the war in Iraq.

All the other books are good choices, but perhaps not quite as immediate in significance. Jung has done some classic work of course, but personally I think some of his ideas will seem a little dated to the modern reader. The Nash story is certainly interesting, although not the most typical case of schizophrenia. As for the other two books, I was hoping that the religious debate would occupy a slightly smaller proportion of the dialogue at b.t., as I think the phrase “flogging a dead horse” applies to those arguments. We can attempt to understand the internal workings of those with religious conviction, most certainly, but to me it is a rather unsatisfying exercise to engage in dialogue with those who are fixed and immobile in what is undoubtedly a fluid and changing world.

etudiant wrote:

We can attempt to understand the internal workings of those with religious conviction, most certainly, but to me it is a rather unsatisfying exercise to engage in dialogue with those who are fixed and immobile in what is undoubtedly a fluid and changing world.

I certainly agree with this, however, Under the Banner of Heaven may provide an inside look at a religion from an un biased perspective. Jon Krakauer is well known for his works in adventure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Krakauer

The Mormon religion/cult/sect is so far removed from the debates and discussions of late in many threads. I believe his book could educate many about a widley known, but little understood topic. As far as “flogging a dead horse”, we have yet to check this horses teeth.

Yes, it does present religion, but, it's also presents an interesting story, and a part of US history that many may not be informed about.

Yes, I suppose this could be a good read, from an historical point of view, if nothing else.

I suppose I am just a little fatigued with looking at horses, either their dental work, or other parts of their anatomy.

3 votes for Empire of Illusion.

I would second etudiant's comments. This book should provide a smorgasbord of topical subjects for discussion.

I'd also give an honorable mention to Under the Banner of Heaven. I've already read it and found it to be an interesting book, but it probably doesn't have much insight that the folks here don't already have.

etudiant wrote:Yes, I suppose this could be a good read, from an historical point of view, if nothing else.

I suppose I am just a little fatigued with looking at horses, either their dental work, or other parts of their anatomy.

I agree!

Good selections this month. I'm torn because I can see the value of A Beautiful Mind and Under the Banner of Heaven, in that they both have more narrative drive than the others will have. Sometimes our discussions flag after a while with books centered on topics rather than people. On the other hand, there will probably be less to say about the two I've mentioned. By the way, I don't anticipate that Krakauer's book will be anti-Mormonism. This would be an easy slant to take, but I'd be disappointed if Krakauer settled for it. I would hope that his book is an exploration of extremism, which could pertain to anyone, even liberals!

I've read Beautiful MInd already. It's good. Cutting to the chase, I'll cast two votes for Empire of Illusion and one for Under the Banner of Heaven.

2 for "Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith"

1 for "A Beautiful Mind"

I put my 3 votes to Empire of Illusion. It sounds like a very timely book that would lend itself to interesting discussion.

Fantastic choices Chris, and hard to separate. I've spent some time looking at Amazon reviews, and would encourage others to do the same. One of the benefits of recent Booktalk discussions on Dawkins has been that while people agree with evolution, they often do not understand it in detail, so reading The Selfish Gene has enabled this depth of understanding. Similar benefits really apply for all the books up for selection here, extending and deepening people's understanding of issues they are aware of.

For my own learning, I plan to read Who Was Jesus by Acharya S. In my opinion she is the most brilliant religious scholar now writing, presenting an uncompromising empirical analysis of the fraudulent basis of Christian faith and providing an amazing arsenal of facts about the evolution of religion. I'm sure Acharya would be pleased to join discussion on Booktalk if her book was selected, and that would be great for those interested. It is not 'flogging a dead horse' because there is a great amount of new material here, but I can understand that the religion theme has limited appeal.

Similarly, I would like to read On The Nature of the Psyche by Carl Jung, for its analysis of archetypes and the unconscious, but this really is a specialist area, and I don't think would produce enough interest.

My three votes go to Empire of Illusion. I really fear the USA is cracking up in some serious ways, and this book fingers the lies peddled by the corporate state. How can the USA spend trillions on security and yet allow one of its best cities, New Orleans, to go under due to simple incompetence at maintaining levees? The basic concept of security is way out of kilter. Explaining the dream world of mass illusion is a great reality check. Reading books like Empire of Illusion (and Who Was Jesus) is absolutely essential to gather the evidence base about the reality of how far the current society is from where it needs to be.

The other books, on the Mormons and on Nash, are good options too. I read A Beautiful Mind and thought it was superb, as a humane study of genius and insanity. The Mormon book also touches on the problem of illusion, but in a particular limited and egregious cult. My interest in it would be, rather like in Acharya's book, in the guidance it provides for cult deprogramming. For this goal, Empire of Illusion has a broader sweep and more incisive message, so gets my votes.