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What non-fiction book should we read next? (probably in Oct. & Nov.)

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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President Camacho

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I'd read that for sure. It would be a nice compliment to the book I'm currently reading: From Dawn to Decadence by J. Barzun.

I'd vote for it Lawrence!

I'm getting more and more into history. Reading history books is a great way to find out which parts of our (world) culture are most interesting. In a history book you can find war, art, significant people, philosophy... pretty much everything. Acknowledging what most interested you in a history book allows you some insight into what you would like to learn more about in the future. It also gives you a strong foundation for engaging in various discussions.
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Lawrence

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Thanks Prez

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I just ordered Barzum's D to D. I've been meaning to read him but time just slipped away. Thanks for the wake up call and it does appear that Tarnas' book will be a splendid compliment. Of course the historian's historian is Toynbe but his flaw is he judged the causation of events through the paradigm of Christian theology. Also, he wrote the first 4 volumes before WWII and WWII really dislocated his premise of history.
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Saffron

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In light of many of the discussions currently occurring on the site, I'd like to recommend a book that proposes a very different theory of how societies are organized. The book is Riane Eisler's The Chalice & The Blade.

Amazon link

I think the ideas and language in this book would expand and enrich the on going discussions on the various forums concerning how social norms are past from generation to generation, the role of religion in society and the division of labor, resources and power.

Copied from Wikipedia:
Eisler's international bestseller The Chalice and The Blade: Our History, Our Future, now in 22 languages, including most European languages and Chinese, Russian, Korean, Hebrew, Japanese, and Arabic, was hailed by anthropologist Ashley Montagu as "the most important book since Darwin's Origin of Species".
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President Camacho

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I've read some of the reviews for the book. Is this like a feminist thing? It seems like it's a feminist viewpoint of history that validates female worth. I don't think I'd vote for this book. I wouldn't read a book validating white/black/male/ or any other groups worth to the neglect of other groups either.

I do admit that the reviews are very good (although the vast majority are written by females), the book appears to be well written, and it should spark debate and discussion.
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Saffron

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President Camacho wrote:I've read some of the reviews for the book. Is this like a feminist thing? It seems like it's a feminist viewpoint of history that validates female worth. I don't think I'd vote for this book. I wouldn't read a book validating white/black/male/ or any other groups worth to the neglect of other groups either.

I do admit that the reviews are very good (although the vast majority are written by females), the book appears to be well written, and it should spark debate and discussion.
This is not a feminist thing. It is an atempt to write a description of Indo-European Neolithic life based on the available archeological evidence. Based on the picture that emerged from her research Eisler decided that new terms were needed to describe the type of culture she saw in the archeological evidence.

For a better understanding of what Eisler talks about in the book have a look at this web site
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President Camacho

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I checked out the website. There's some very interesting stuff.

I give it a pass for now... maybe I'll read it sometime in the distant future after my sex change operation. :P
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Chris OConnor

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I'm going to go through this thread now and pull out the most promising 3 or 4 books for the poll. :shock:
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