Recently read books - March 2008
Tuesday, 18. March 2008, 13:14:05
The last ten books I've read since January:
- Who Wrote the Bible? by Richard E. Friedman (Re-read)
- A History of God: The 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by Karen Armstrong
- David and Solomon: In Search of the Bible's Sacred Kings and the Roots of the Western Tradition by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman
- Hen's Teeth and Horse's Toes: Further Reflections in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould
- Smithsonian Intimate Guide to Human Origins by Carl Zimmer
- Bible Prophecy: Failure or Fulfillment? by Tim Callahan
- Trilobite: Eyewitness to Evolution by Richard Fortey
Entertaining discussion on all things trilobite. 4/5
- The Reason Driven Life: What Am I Here on Earth For? by Robert M. Price
- Skipping Towards Armageddon: The Politics and Propaganda of the Left Behind Novels and the LaHaye Empire by Michael Standaert
- Why I Am Not a Muslim by Ibn Warraq
A great overview and introduction to the Documentary Hypothesis. 5/5
Discusses the evolution of the Abrahamic religions through the changing conception of their common deity. 4/5
Excellent discussion on the evolving legends of kings David and Solomon. 5/5
A fine, if dated, collection of essays by Stephen Jay Gould. 4/5
A full-color and well illustrated introduction to human evolution. 5/5
Excellent discussion on biblical, messianic, and apocalyptic prophecies. Needs an editor to fix the misspellings and repeated words. 4/5
Brilliant counterpoint to the (unfortunate) bestseller "The Purpose-Driven Life". 4/5
Interesting look at premillennial theology and rightwing politics. Sorely needs a spell-checker. 3/5
One of the better books on Islam. Doesn't pull back on criticising the "religion of peace". 4/5
Grading system:
1/5 - I hate it! 
2/5 - I don't like it. 
3/5 - It's ok. 
4/5 - I like it. 
5/5 - I love it! 
Currently reading: From Epic to Canon: History and Literature in Ancient Israel by Frank Moore Cross.
