Selected here are the best books reviewed during the year 2006. It was difficult to pick just a few, there were so many good books from the past year, but I had to narrow the list down to fit this page. Qualities which helped books stand out include providing an interesting/unusual perspective on long-running debates, offering a real enduring value to readers (i.e., worth reading more than once), and being an invaluable resource on its topic.
The Nazi party was about as misogynistic as any modern political party has ever been. Its views on women and women's proper roles in society were extreme; yet at the same time, the Nazi party was broadly and actively supported by large numbers of women. It's arguable that Hitler and the Nazis wouldn't have achieved what they did without the activism of devoutly religious women who were dedicated and committed to the cause -- a cause which promised them second-class citizenship at best.More »
1. Atheists: A Groundbreaking Study of America's Nonbelievers, by Bruce E. Hunsberg
It's common to see sociological studies or just opinion surveys which include information about the 'nonreligious,' but what about atheists? Atheists are usually lumped in with the nonreligious, but not all nonreligious people are atheists while some atheists are religious. Who are atheists, what do they think, and what sorts of attitudes do they hold? Very little has been done to study these questions.More »
2. Faiths of the Founding Fathers, by David L. Holmes
Debates about the role of religion in contemporary American politics and law invariably turn to questions about the beliefs and intentions of the 'Founding Fathers' - the political and social leaders of early America who led the revolution against Britain and constructed a new system of government. What did the authors of America's government think about religion and its place in the public square?More »3. Dictionary of Atheism, Skepticism, & Humanism, by Bill Cooke
Atheism is nothing more or less than the absence of belief in gods. This does not, however, exhaust the full scope of thought and philosophy which can be associated with atheists, freethinkers, humanists, and skeptics. There's a lot more that can be discussed - more than can be succinctly explained in a few sentences or even a few pages. The range of people, ideas, organizations, and philosophies requires a larger and more comprehensive resource.More »4. Don't Believe Everything You Think: The 6 Basic Mistakes We Make in Thinking
If you care about truth, then you have to care about being able to reliably differentiate between truth and falsehood. Figuring out how to do that, however, isn't always easy. A major problem with this is the fact that many of our normal habits of thinking which appear to serve us well in day-to-day matters don't really work when it comes to more complicated issues. There is little in modern culture which encourages people to do a better job with this task, and this harms us all.More »5. Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli-Arab Tragedy
Perhaps the most intractable political issue in the world today, and one which drives so many other international crises, is the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. These two groups have been at each other's throats for decades, each insisting that they alone have exclusive rights to control the same lands. Why has the situation gotten so bad, and is there anything that can be done about it?More »6. Catholic Theologians in Nazi Germany
The role of Christian theologians in Nazi Germany, including members of the Catholic Church, cannot be underestimated. The cooperation between Catholic leaders and Nazi leaders was conditioned in large part on the writings of Catholic theologians who paved the way for this to happen. Many theologians opposed the Nazis, but the writings of others helped make cooperation easier because they promoted a vision of Germany and Catholicism which fit the vision of the Nazis far too closely.More »7. Marriage, a History: From Obedience to Intimacy, or How Love Conquered Marriage
Debates about the legalization of gay marriage have forced society to take a closer look at the institution of marriage itself. Opponents of gay marriage insist that it must be preserved in its traditional form, but their arguments are completely ahistorical. Marriage has changed dramatically over the centuries, with some of the most significant changes occurring in the past one or two hundred years.More »8. Mothers in the Fatherland: Women, the Family and Nazi Politics
The Nazi party was about as misogynistic as any modern political party has ever been. Its views on women and women's proper roles in society were extreme; yet at the same time, the Nazi party was broadly and actively supported by large numbers of women. It's arguable that Hitler and the Nazis wouldn't have achieved what they did without the activism of devoutly religious women who were dedicated and committed to the cause -- a cause which promised them second-class citizenship at best.More »