Books And Things

An exploration of the spirituality of quantum mechanics. Alternatively, one could look at this film as an exploration of the scientific aspects of religion. As the Dalai Lama points out in his book The Universe In A Single Atom (later in this list), any approach to finding the truth that does not encompass both techniques will, ultimately, fail. A purely scientific approach ignores important things like thoughts and emotion. A purely religious approach ignores things like experimentation, evidence, and logic. This movie, like Quantum Theology, combines both science and spirituality. It is a remarkable tour de force. Watch the movie. Go to the web site. Think about this. It will change your life.

Light is sometimes a wave and sometimes a particle. A pair of photons can have a quantum entanglement and communicate across vast distances instantaneously; their messages traveling faster than light. Science and religion are opposing sides of the same coin. Neither will be able to explain the universe unless they work together. What are the differences between thought and reality and, more importantly, how do they affect each other? Make no mistake; this book does not have the answers. Instead, it asks very thought provoking questions… Questions that should be in all of our minds.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s autobiography, from his boyhood in the south Bronx, through ROTC at City College of New York, his rise through the army ranks to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to retirement. His unflinching look at his life, both his successes and his failures, lessons learned and applied, opportunities and obstacles… through it all, his courage, loyalty, integrity, and perseverance show through. I said in a “blog” entry that Powell would make an outstanding President, and not only does nothing in this book contradict that contention, nearly everything supports it. This book is a must read for everyone with the faintest interest in American history, politics, or even how a West Indian kid from the Bronx “made good” and became one of the formost figures in American government.

Theoretical physics for the common man (and woman). Hawking writes with style and humor and manages to make a complex topic simple and understandable, even to those who consider math a foreign language. There is precicely one mathematical equation in the book, and it’s one that most people are already familiar with. This book makes for a wonderfully easy introduction to physics and science. You also get an occasional peek into the spirit of this amazing man who, in spite of highly advanced ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), is the formost physicist in the world.

A story of the new age of man (and woman) that masterfully combines science and spirituality. A manuscript is discovered in the Peruvian rainforests that defines nine insights we must grasp in order to evolve into a higher, spiritual society. People are coincidentally met along the journey who can provide us with messages we need to hear and for whom we have messages. Later insights in the book reveal methods for interacting with other people in harmonious and uplifting ways. Whether you are scientific or spiritual or some combination thereof, this book is a must read.

From the book jacket: After forty years of study with some of the greatest scientific minds, as well as a lifetime of meditative, spiritual, and philosophical study, the Dalai Lama presents a brilliant analysis of why all avenues of inquiry - scientific as well as spiritual - must be pursued in order to arrive at a complete picture of the truth. Science shows us ways of interpreting the physical world, while spirituality helps us cope with reality. But the extreme of either is impoverishing. The belief that all is reducible to matter and energy leaves out a huge range of human experience: emotions, yearnings, compassion, culture. At the same time, holding unexamined spiritual beliefs - beliefs that are contradicted by evidence, logic, and experience - can lock us into fundamentalist cages.

I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again: NOBODY writes like Sabatini. He has a style and flair that are utterly lacking in contemporary authors. That style and flair are used, to spectacular effect, in this tale of swashbuckling adventure romance, when Peter Blood, bachelor of medicine and several other things besides, goes to aid a patient who was wounded in the Battle of Sedgemoor. From this, he gets swept up into the politics of the age from which he had, hitherto, remained steadfastedly aloof. Sold into slavery, he meets Arabella Bishop, the neice of his brutal owner. He manages to escape and, having nowhere to go, turns to a life of piracy until… well, read the book!

Another spectacular foray into theoretical physics. Greene writes well, with simple analogies and visuals that are easy to imagine. The graphics are well explained, and the content of this book gives the reader a more than adequate grasp of modern sting theory. While reading this, it becomes almost easy to envision matter as vibrating strings of energy, with different frequencies equating to different particles and forces. String theory is the first theoretical framework to incorporate matter, energy, and gravity. Greene’s work brings an understanding the most fundamental workings of the universe to regular people.

The first of the adventures of Robert Langdon, it begins when hs is called to C.E.R.N. (Conseil European pour la Recherche Nuclaire, now known by the official name, European Organiztion for Nuclear Research) to analyze a symbol branded to a murdered physisist’s chest. It turns out the legendary Illuminati has resurfaced to complete its vendetta against the Catholic Church and has placed a time bomb at the heart of the Vatican. Now the race is on to find the bomb, the killer, and the secret behind the Illuminati. Brown’s writing style displays verve and suspense. Although Angels & Demons is fiction (C.E.R.N.’s web site identifies what’s accurate and what’s not), it is difficult to put it down.

In this murder mystery, the sequel to Angels & Demons, we follow the adventures of Robert Langdon as he decifers clues left years ago by Leonardo Da Vinci and unravels an ancient religious conspiracy centered on Opus Dei, the Priory of Sion, and the Holy Grail. Racing through London, Paris, and elsewhere throughout Europe with the killers on his trail, Langdon’s adventures are gripping and fascinating. The Vatican has expressed its disapproval of this book, which makes me wonder what they have to hide. It’s written as fiction, even though it leans heavily on historical fact. If nothing else, Brown’s writing is captivating enough to make this a page-turner. I do recommend, however, that you read Angels & Demons first.

A fascinating look at how humans might have evolved… from a gynecentric perspective. Most treatises on evolution are thought through and written from an androcentric perspective. That is, from a masculine viewpoint. This one is considered and written from a feminine perspective. Morgan makes a very convincing argument for the “naked ape” coming down from her tree and going into the water instead of the savannah. Millions of years later, when the Pliocene drought ended, she came back onto land and evolved into humans. Some of us stayed in the water, however, and evolved into… dolphins! Morgan has also written a number of other books, The Scars of Evolution, The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis, and The Descent of the Child. I have not read these and so cannot recommend them here… yet.

The key to successful relationships. Yes, you read that correctly. This book delivers into your hands the key to making relationships successful. Don’t get me wrong, just reading this book won’t automagically make your next relationship a successful one. You do have to work to put the concepts in this book into practice… and your partner must reciprocate. After reading this book, however, you know what must be done to get the ball rolling. My only issue is that it’s a little too Christian. As if Christians are the only folks who have a need to feel loved. Gary, how ’bout a non-denominational version? There is a version for singles (this one is for married couples), why not write one for non-Christians?

Stephanie Plum is the almost thirty-year-old daughter of a Hungarian mother and an Italian father, from “The Burg” in New Jersey. Having lost her job as a lingerie buyer for the local department store and encountering difficulties finding alternate employment, she blackmails her Uncle Vinnie into giving her a job in Bond Enforcement & Fugitive Apprehension. Now, bounty hunter is one occupation this woman is singularly unsuited for. With the help of Joe Morelli (local police captain & former “boyfriend”), Lula (file clerk & 200lb former prostitute), and Ranger (Cuban hunk & former special forces expert), she always manages to muddle through. Of course, her car gets blown up, burned down, crushed, or otherwise destroyed in almost every book. Don’t read them in public, people will mistake your hysterical laughter for insanity.

Although this book is written primarily for children, it is a tremendously heart-warming story, and worthwhile for children of all ages. Jonathan is a seagull who dreams of more than just flying around looking for food. He wants to fly for the sake of flying. This is quite disturbing to the leaders of the flock, who look askance at his disruption of the status quo. Eventually, he gets kicked out of the flock and goes off on his own to learn everything he can about flight. Other gulls come with similar desires and he teaches them as well. Soon, he has learned spirituality in addition to flight. Read it for yourself, read it to your kids, just read it.

Another book that is just a little too Christian, but contains fabulous information. The Farrels analogize how men and women think by comparing us men to waffles, with a box for each topic, and comparing those often-unfathomable women to a plate of spaghetti, with every thread connecting to every other thread. This is a must-read for men and women alike; if you’re a couple and you haven’t read this, why are you still sitting at your computer reading my words? Go get it! Better yet, just click the picture of the book on the left and you can buy it from Amazon.com. The Farrels approach the subject with humor and real-world stories, so it’s not a dry read, either. Be advised, though, if you’re not Christian, the repetitive biblical references will be a bit irritating; just try to skip over them and focus on the meat of the matter.