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Q2, 2007 Nonfiction Book Suggestions

Collaborate in choosing our next NON-FICTION book for group discussion within this forum. A minimum of 5 posts is necessary to participate here!
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Chris OConnor

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Q2, 2007 Nonfiction Book Suggestions

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Q2, 2007 Nonfiction Book SuggestionsApril, May & June 2007This thread is for making (general interest) NONFICTION book suggestions for 2nd Quarter of 2007 (April, May & June). For those that are new to BookTalk I will briefly explain our book suggestion process.We read and discuss 2 different nonfiction books concurrently each quarter. 1 book is a "freethought" nonfiction selection1 book is a general interest nonfiction bookThere is a suggestion thread created for each of the above two categories. The thread you are in now is where you make your general interest nonfiction book suggestions. Books that represent and promote freethought should not be added to this thread. Please use the above freethinker suggestion thread. We should probably come up with a better term than "general interest," since we don't read "just any" nonfiction book around here. Our focus is on books that are highly rated, of broad appeal, are available on Amazon.com, and are apt to generate deep thought and quality discussion. Books about specific obscure events or people are probably not going to be exciting to most of our members, so please put some thought into your suggestions. Important1. Provide the title, author, copied and pasted review or summary, and a link to Amazon where we can read more. 2. Please comment on other people's suggestions. This is probably the most important thing you can do. Don't make a suggestion and then vanish. Be ACTIVE in this thread.So what general interest nonfiction books would you like to read and discuss for Q2, 2007?And as I mentioned in the above freethought suggestion thread I'd really like to select our Q2, 2007 books early this time. It is in our best interest to give plenty of advance notice so visitors and members have time to order the upcoming books at least 3 weeks before the start of the next reading period. So provide your suggestion now so that they have a chance of appearing on the poll!
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Dissident Heart

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Re: Q2, 2007 Nonfiction Book Suggestions

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Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal by Anthony Arnove From Publishers WeeklyQuote:Three years into the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the dire predictions of the prewar opposition have proved remarkably prescient, notes activist, writer and editor Arnove (Voices of a People's History of the United States) in this impassioned, categorical argument for immediate withdrawal. But today's broad sentiment against the war
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Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and

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Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and WhyAs presented by Dawkins and as championed by Fiske (well maybe not championed, but you get the idea).Quote:The popular perception of the Bible as a divinely perfect book receives scant support from Ehrman, who sees in Holy Writ ample evidence of human fallibility and ecclesiastical politics. Though himself schooled in evangelical literalism, Ehrman has come to regard his earlier faith in the inerrant inspiration of the Bible as misguided, given that the original texts have disappeared and that the extant texts available do not agree with one another. Most of the textual discrepancies, Ehrman acknowledges, matter little, but some do profoundly affect religious doctrine. To assess how ignorant or theologically manipulative scribes may have changed the biblical text, modern scholars have developed procedures for comparing diverging texts. And in language accessible to nonspecialists, Ehrman explains these procedures and their results. He further explains why textual criticism has frequently sparked intense controversy, especially among scripture-alone Protestants. In discounting not only the authenticity of existing manuscripts but also the inspiration of the original writers, Ehrman will deeply divide his readers. Although he addresses a popular audience, he undercuts the very religious attitudes that have made the Bible a popular book. Still, this is a useful overview for biblical history collections. Bryce ChristensenMr. P. Mr. P's place. I warned you!!!Mr. P's Bookshelf.I'm not saying it's usual for people to do those things but I(with the permission of God) have raised a dog from the dead and healed many people from all sorts of ailments. - AsanaThe one thing of which I am positive is that there is much of which to be negative - Mr. P.The pain in hell has two sides. The kind you can touch with your hand; the kind you can feel in your heart...Scorsese's "Mean Streets"I came to kick ass and chew Bubble Gum...and I am all out of Bubble Gum - They Live, Roddy Piper
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Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology

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Here's a look at Religions working together, learning from one another and utilizing the very best of biological science and environmental studies to address crucial ecological crises around the planet.The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology by Roger GottleibBook DescriptionQuote:The last two decades have seen the emergence of a new field of academic study that examines the interaction between religion and ecology. Theologians from every religious tradition have confronted world religions past attitudes towards nature and acknowledged their own faiths complicity in the environmental crisis. Out of this confrontation have been born vital new theologies based in the recovery of marginalized elements of tradition, profound criticisms of the past, and ecologically oriented visions of God, the Sacred, the Earth, and human beings. The proposed handbook will serve as the definitive overview of these exciting new developments. Divided into three main sections, the books essays will reflect the three dominant dimensions of the field. Part one will explore traditional religious concepts of and attitudes towards nature and how these have been changed by the environmental crisis. Part II looks at larger conceptual issues that transcend individual traditions. Part III will examine religious participation in environmental politics. Roger S. Gottlieb is professor of philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.Table of ContentsQuote:Introduction: Religion and Ecology-What's the connection and why does it matter? Roger S. GottliebPart I Transforming TraditionChapter 1 Judaism- Hava Tirosh-SamuelsonChapter 2 Catholicism- John HartChapter 3 The Earth as Sacrament: Insights from Orthodox Christian Theology and Spirituality- John ChryssavgisChapter 4 The World of Nature According to the Protestant Tradition- H. Paul Santmire and John B. Cobb, Jr.Chapter 5 Jainism and Ecology: Transformation of Tradition- Christopher Key ChappleChapter 6 Hindu Religion and Environmental Wellbeing- O.P. DwivediChapter 7 Buddhism- Stephanie KazaChapter 8 Islam- Richard C. FoltzChapter 9 Taoism and Ecology- James MillerChapter 10 Motifs for a New Confucian Ecological Vision- John BerthrongChapter 11 African Religions- Jacob OlupunoChapter 12 Indigenous Traditions: Religion and Ecology-John A. GrimPart II Religion and Ecology: Conflicts and ConnectionsChapter 13 Population, Religion, and Ecology- Daniel C. MaguireChapter 14 Genetic Engineering and Nature: Human and Otherwise- Thomas A. ShannonChapter 15 So Near and Yet So Far: Animal Theology and Ecological Theology- Andrew LinzeyChapter 16 Religious Ecofeminism: Healing the Ecological Crisis- Rosemary Radford RuetherChapter 17 Science and Religion in the Face of the Environmental Crisis- Holmes Rolston IIIChapter 18 Religion and Ecology: Survey of the Field- Mary Evelyn TuckerCHAPTER 19 The Spiritual Dimension of Nature Writing- David Landis BarnhillChapter 20 Religion, Environmentalism, and the Meaning of Ecology- Lisa H. SiderisPart III Religious Environmental ActivismChapter 21 Religious Environmentalism in Action- Roger S. GottliebChapter 22 Religion and Environmental Struggles in Latin America- Lois Ann Lorentzen and Salvador Leavitt-AlcantaraChapter 23 African Initiated Churches (AICs) as Vehicles of Earth-Care in Africa- M.L. Daneel Chapter 24 The Scientist and the Shepherd: The Emergence of Evangelical Environmentalism - Calvin B. DeWittChapter 25 Religion and Environmentalism in America and Beyond- Bron Taylor Edited by: Dissident Heart at: 1/17/07 4:18 pm
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Re: Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology

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Uh, that last book is $99 and 688 pages....
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Re: Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology

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D.H.: Here's a look at Religions working together, learning from one another and utilizing the very best of biological science and environmental studies to address crucial ecological crises around the planet.Regardless of the price and size...$99 You do understand the purpose of this forum, right D.H.? This is not a site that strives to encourage religion in any way. I think you are preaching to the wrong audience.
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Re: Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology

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D.H. I also think it will provide a vision of religion that show a far more complicated and complex network of ideas...Again, not the point of this forum. Really D.H., please stop preaching to us. Stop trying to convince us to read stuff that points to religion as contributing postively to society. Just because shite can make flowers grow (as you argue), doesn't mean I want to smell it. Just because religion can be manipulated for good outcomes doesn't mean we want to read about it.Part I Transforming TraditionPart II Religion and Ecology: Conflicts and ConnectionsPart III Religious Environmental ActivismAlso I wouldn't call these descriptions and the chapter titles you gave "multifaceted." It seems to me the whole book is about religion and ecology, as the title of the book points out. Edited by: irishrosem at: 1/18/07 5:23 pm
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Re: Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology

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99$ is steep...I hope it can reach paperback publication by the time we decide...this would substantially reduce costs. As for size, well, it does claim to provide the definitive overview of this developing movement within the worlds of religion, ecological studies, and environmental activism. As each chapter is from a different author, readers can choose which ones will demand the greater attention, and which to pass over.I think the book will provide an important multifaceted, multicultural, global understanding of our planet's ecological crises; I also think it will provide a vision of religion that show a far more complicated and complex network of ideas, practices than simply deluded folk stumbling through existence clueless and afraid.
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Re: Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology

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LOL I had to read your post to my fiance just now, Rose. She laughed too. I have to remember the "just because shit can make flowers grow" anaology. Very good point.Chris
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Re: Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology

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irishrose: I wouldn't call these descriptions and the chapter titles you gave "multifaceted." It seems to me the whole book is about religion and ecology, as the title of the book points out.Well, I suppose a book that examined Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Protestantism, Catholicism, Judaism, Eastern Orthodox, Taoism, African and Polynesian Indigenous religious systems would be somewhat narrow...add to it the ways in which these systems interact with various ecosystems and natural habitats and plant and animal species on every continent and throughout the oceans and sky, and it would seem a bit limited...and, as soon as you include discussions involving genetic engineering, animal husbandry, agriculture and farming, water supplies, technology and transportation, it only further narrows our scope...and, finally, I'm sure we've all examined how these different religious traditions have redefined theological assumptions, ethical obligations, congregational structures and political activism in relation to ecological threats and biological hazards in their different regions of the world. You're right: a tiny, narrow, unimportant book indeed.As for manure: thank God it exists, otherwise, how would we ever enjoy our Roses. Edited by: Dissident Heart at: 1/19/07 11:05 am
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