North Texas Skeptics
Our Book Recommendations
This is a collection of books recommended by North Texas Skeptics. Check 'em out! And remember - if you use the links on this page to purchase any of these books from Amazon.com, a portion of your money goes back to us. Just click on the book image to obtain price, availability, reviews, etc. And thanks in advance for your support.
Has Science Found God? The Latest Results in the Search for Purpose in the Universe
by Victor J. Stenger
In this book, Stenger tackles cosmology, alternative medicine, reports of psychic phenomena, and similar subjects to dispute claims by some scientists that religion and science are beginning to merge. He'll be speaking at our April 2004 meeting if you'd like to see him in person!
Nine Hallmarks of Highly Incompetent Losers
by Pat Reeder with Laura Ainsworth (Foreword by Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee)
Authored by two former NTS Vice-Presidents who now run The Comedy Wire, this book is stuffed with hilarious (but true) examples of sheer incompetence. The skills Reeder and Ainsworth acquired as corporate trainers and communications gurus enabled them to separate these stories of failure into nine basic categories of mistakes that everyone makes again and again with the goal of helping people avoid making these mistakes themselves.
To learn more, read about Pat Reeder's lecture on the book in the March 2002 North Texas Skeptic. Mention that you heard about this book from North Texas Skeptics, and the authors will donate a 15% cut to us!
The Ghost in the Universe: God in Light of Modern Science
by Taner Edis
Re-examines the ancient question of whether or not God exists while maintaining that complexity, intelligence, and even religious experiences can be explained by naturalist arguments that cast doubt on the existence of any spiritual reality. Former NTS President Virginia Barnett is one of the reviewers. For more information, read about Edis's visit to the NTS in the December 2003 North Texas Skeptic.
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! [Season One]
This 3-DVD set contains the complete first season of Penn & Teller's controversial and highly entertaining Showtime series. 13 half-hour episodes dealing with alien abduction, psychic mediums, alternative medicine, second-hand smoke, sexual quackery, and much more. Includes many extras, including a bonus episode on ghost sightings, an interview with James Randi, and deleted scenes and outtakes.
[Region 1 - TV-MA] May not be suitable for younger viewers due to mature subject matter and strong language.
Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion
by Edward J. Larson
Reexamines the now-infamous Scopes "Monkey Trial" of 1925 during which evolution was put on trial before the American public. A fresh and attentive look at all of the major players, including William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow. To learn more, read John Blanton's review in the April 2001 North Texas Skeptic.
Outlines of Pyrrhonism
by Sextus Empiricus (Translated by R.G. Bury)
Authored in the Roman Empire during the third century CE, this is perhaps the definitive ancient text on Pyrrhonian skepticism as a viable philosophy, presenting an intellectual framework on how to conduct oneself in the absence of complete knowledge. A must-read for those who want a better understanding of skepticism as originally expounded by Pyrrho and his students.
Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud
by Robert L. Park
Cold fusion? The Natural Law Party? Jacques Benveniste's "memory of water" claims? All this and more is discussed in this book by Park, who also authors the What's New column. A great primer for learning how to distinguish the good, the bad, and the ugly in scientific research.
In Darwin's Shadow: The Life and Science of Alfred Russel Wallace: A Biographical Study on the Psychology of History
by Michael Shermer
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea
by Charles Seife
Why People Believe Weird Things
by Michael Shermer
Strange Matters: Undiscovered Ideas at the Frontiers of Space and Time
by Tom Siegfried
The Guys
by Jim R Feliciano
When All the Gods Trembled : Darwinism, Scopes, and American Intellectuals (American Intellectual Culture)
Paul Keith Conkin
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4)
by J. K. Rowling
Cranks, Quarks, and the Cosmos : Writings on Science
by Jeremy Bernstein
The History of Hell
by Alice K. Turner
Therapeutic Touch
by Bela Scheiber (Editor), Carla Selby (Editor)
UFO Verdict: Examining the Evidence
by Robert Sheaffer
The UFO Enigma: A New Review of the Physical Evidence
by Peter A. Sturrock
Quack : Tales of Medical Fraud from the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices
by Bob McCoy, Robert McCoy