Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work


Matthew B. Crawford - 2009
    On both economic and psychological grounds, author Matthew B. Crawford questions the educational imperative of turning everyone into a "knowledge worker," based on a misguided separation of thinking from doing. Using his own experience as an electrician and mechanic, Crawford presents a wonderfully articulated call for self-reliance and a moving reflection on how we can live concretely in an ever more abstract world.

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business


Neil Postman - 1985
    In this eloquent, persuasive book, Neil Postman alerts us to the real and present dangers of this state of affairs, and offers compelling suggestions as to how to withstand the media onslaught. Before we hand over politics, education, religion, and journalism to the show business demands of the television age, we must recognize the ways in which the media shape our lives and the ways we can, in turn, shape them to serve out highest goals.

The Religion of Ancient Egypt


William Matthew Flinders Petrie - 1906
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Human Errors: A Panorama of Our Glitches, from Pointless Bones to Broken Genes


Nathan H. Lents - 2018
    But if we are supposedly evolution’s greatest creation, why do we have such bad knees? Why do we catch head colds so often—two hundred times more often than a dog does? How come our wrists have so many useless bones? Why is the vast majority of our genetic code pointless? And are we really supposed to swallow and breathe through the same narrow tube? Surely there’s been some kind of mistake. As professor of biology Nathan H. Lents explains in Human Errors, our evolutionary history is nothing if not a litany of mistakes, each more entertaining and enlightening than the last. The human body is one big pile of compromises. But that is also a testament to our greatness: as Lents shows, humans have so many design flaws precisely because we are very, very good at getting around them.   A rollicking, deeply informative tour of humans’ four billion year long evolutionary saga, Human Errors both celebrates our imperfections and offers an unconventional accounting of the cost of our success.

Secrets in the Fields: The Science and Mysticism of Crop Circles


Freddy Silva - 2002
    In the 1890s farmers and military personnel witnessed them being created in seconds by tubes of light and other luminosities. But around 1980 the phenomenon went into overdrive and exploded worldwide, with some10,000 reports spread over 29 countries. A major controversy erupted followed by a pre-designed debunking campaign through the media. But the 80 eyewitness accounts clearly tell another story--that a genuine phenomenon is at work. So what are crop circles, why are they here and what is responsible? This book by veteran researcher and international best-selling author Freddy Silva is the most comprehensive account of the mystery ever published, much of it from personal and hands-on experience. Written at enormous personal sacrifice, Silva brings you the complete history of the phenomenon, the anomalies that defy the present boundaries of science, and the deliberate official efforts to discredit it and manipulate the public's opinion. Copiously illustrated with over 400 images and diagrams, he delves into the hard evidence and describes how the designs may be created by sound, plasma and the manipulation of local magnetic fields. He dissects their sacred geometry, their known meanings, hidden messages, connections with ancient symbols, and how they are energetically linked to ancient sacred sites such as Stonehenge and the Giza pyramids. Ultimately he comes face-to-face with the source of the real crop circles--including a photo of a Circle-maker--and discovers how the glyphs are associated with the upcoming cycle of earth changes, and how they are working energetically to influence the future direction of human consciousness. The message in this comprehensive and critically-acclaimed work will surprise and humble you. For the crop circles are a guide to where we have been, and a signpost to where we are headed.Further info at www.cropcirclesecrets.org

What Dreams May Come


Richard Matheson - 1978
    Now Chris must discover the true nature of life after death.But even Heaven is not complete without Annie, and when tragedy threatens to divide them forever, Chris risks his very soul to save Annie from an eternity of despair.Richard Matheson's powerful tale of life---and love---after death was the basis for the Oscar-winning film starring Robin Williams.