The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason

Amazon.com

Sam Harris cranks out blunt, hard-hitting chapters to make his case for why faith itself is the most dangerous element of modern life. And if the devil's in the details, then you'll find Satan waiting at the back of the book in the very substantial notes section where Harris saves his more esoteric discussions to avoid sidetracking the urgency of his message.

Interestingly, Harris is not just focused on debunking religious faith, though he makes his compelling arguments with verve and intellectual clarity. The End of Faith is also a bit of a philosophical Swiss Army knife. Once he has presented his arguments on why, in an age of Weapons of Mass Destruction, belief is now a hazard of great proportions, he focuses on proposing alternate approaches to the mysteries of life. Harris recognizes the truth of the human condition, that we fear death, and we often crave "something more" we cannot easily define, and which is not met by accumulating more material possessions. But by attempting to provide the cure for the ills it defines, the book bites off a bit more than it can comfortably chew in its modest page count (however the rich Bibliography provides more than enough background for an intrigued reader to follow up for months on any particular strand of the author' musings.)

Harris' heart is not as much in the latter chapters, though, but in presenting his main premise. Simply stated, any belief system that speaks with assurance about the hereafter has the potential to place far less value on the here and now. And thus the corollary -- when death is simply a door translating us from one existence to another, it loses its sting and finality. Harris pointedly asks us to consider that those who do not fear death for themselves, and who also revere ancient scriptures instructing them to mete it out generously to others, may soon have these weapons in their own hands. If thoughts along the same line haunt you, this is your book.--Ed Dobeas

Book Description

An impassioned plea for reason in a world divided by faith.

This important and timely book delivers a startling analysis of the clash of faith and reason in today's world. Harris offers a vivid historical tour of mankind's willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when those beliefs are used to justify harmful behavior and sometimes-heinous crimes. He asserts that in the shadow of weapons of mass destruction, we can no longer tolerate views that pit one true god against another. Most controversially, he argues that we cannot afford moderate lip service to religion—an accommodation that only blinds us to the real perils of fundamentalism. While warning against the encroachment of organized religion into world politics, Harris also draws on new evidence from neuroscience and insights from philosophy to explore spirituality as a biological, brain-based need. He calls on us to invoke that need in taking a secular humanistic approach to solving the problems of this world.

Natalie Angier wrote in the New York Times: "The End of Faith articulates the dangers and absurdities of organized religion so fiercely and so fearlessly that I felt relieved as I read it, vindicated….Harris writes what a sizable number of us think, but few are willing to say."

Customer Reviews:

A Guru for the 21st Century.......2007-10-08

Morally speaking, are Bronze-Age myths as good as it gets?

Sam Harris doesn't think so and he argues brilliantly for a
new religious paradigm to shepherd us through the 21st Century.

Like a Spanish Inquisitor Harris ruthlessly examines the shaky philosophical justification for Abrahamic theism and finds it wanting.

But Harris doesn't just convince us that there really is no Santa Claus, he offers us a new way forward. He proves conclusively that science and reason do not necessarily have to be divorced from spiritual inquiry and revelation.

Some of his detractors have said that Harris is angry at God, but
that of course assumes a fact not in evidence (the existence of God).

After hearing him speak at Aspen Colorado,
'angry' is not quite the adjective that comes to mind.
http://svayam8.blogspot.com/2007/07/sam-harris-at-aspen-ideas-festival.html

As hard as it may be for theists to accept, many disbelievers really are being intellectually honest.

Sam Harris is one of those. He isn't angry, he's just right.
Thank you Sam for being a beacon of reason in a dangerously
darkened world.

Letter to a Christian Nation

Something that will keep us pondering for a long time.......2007-10-07

Well, this book is one of those that you come across with an argument so solid that you cannot stop pondering about its ideas. Mr. Harris has laid down a set of ideas that for a long time will haunt us, and the generations to come. Mr. Harris exposition of his thesis is simply monumental. His lurid writing style and his exquisite manners have brought forth a fundamental issue.

Mr. Harris as in the moving The Kingdom have presented us a sordid reality. Either we continue with religions and destroy humanity or we dispose of religion and avoid genocide. Muslims wants us dead and we do not want Islamic doctrines in our life. Further, more 9-11 have presented us with the issue of Abrahamic Religions and their stupidity. Because of them we lost 500 years, The Dark Ages and because of them we are losing our freedom and technological progress.

Some rabble-rouser long ago hid truth from us. [...] God created man. [...] men create God. That is the way it is in the world - men make gods and worship their creation. It would be fitting for the gods to worship men! Gospel of Philip 71:34; 72:1-4 Nag Hammadi Texts

Fanaticism and Fundamentalism of the religious realm have ruin freedom and life itself! Both should be eliminated and replaced by logical processes, which will warrant freedom, progress, technological development, world peace and happiness to every single human being. Religious moral varies from religion to religion. Logical morality does not need to vary! 1+1=2 in USA and in China too! Morals should be in the same manner.

Mr. Harris has begun a movement that will be here long after he parts. It is a movement of personal right to live a life as one please and not as a few wants you to live. It is also a movement toward World Peace!

I do recommend this book to everyone!

Harris dares to imagine no religion.......2007-09-26

This book is so much fun to read I read it twice. Harris writes with passion, erudition, and razor-sharp wit. His book has forced so-called religious moderates to begin taking responsibility for the zealots they unintentionally shelter, and he has demonstrated that a world with powerfully destructive technologies, such as ours, can no longer afford the luxury of basing policy on tribal superstitions and on supernatural claims that cannot possibly be substantiated with evidence. Highly recommended.

About the same as fellow atheists Dawkins and Hitchens but a tad more reasonable.......2007-09-22

Sam Harris like Hitchens and Dawkins is a master at setting up religious straw-men and then knocking them down. It is more fun and sells more books than taking on the real thing. Then it becomes balanced and boring. The author looks at the great evils in the world, the cause of which many others have attributed to nationalism, capitalism, lack of "lebensraum" etc. and claims that religion was the real cause. "Knowingly or not Nazis were agents of religion."... "Stalin and Mao killed millions because "communism was little more than a political religion." Why are the millions killed by Paul Pot not mentioned was he not trying to please God like Stalin, Mao and Hitler? Looking at Webster's definition of religion it is clear that these three ruthless dictators were not great religious leaders.
The author is using words incorrectly to make false accusations. A "political religion" is not religion if it does not profess a belief in an after life and God. But the author ignores that fact, because he is out to pin as many bad things on the word "religion" as possible..
Unlike Hitchens Sam Harris is an atheist who does see bigger differences among religions. He thinks Islam, for example, is especially bad ("cult of death").
I did not know that Noam Chomsky was any kind of religious thinker but the author takes a swipe at Noam by stating that Chomsky's view of moral equivalence is a big mistake." It is not clear how that fits in with his attacks on religion, but he gets the third star for that anyway.

The End of Bad Arguments? Unfortunately Not.......2007-09-19

Sam Harris's "The End of Faith" is an assault upon religion, blind faith, and fundamentalist violence. However, clear thinking Christians have little to fear from Harris's social critique.

The majority of the book is an exposition of the evils, real or imagined, produced by religion. Harris discusses current atrocities, including September 11 and suicide bombings in Israel, as well as past atrocities, including the Inquisition and the Salem Witch Trials. This leads to the natural question- if Harris (an atheist) is so critical of religious horrors, how can he explain the atheistic regimes of Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot, which collectively were responsible for millions of deaths? Harris claims that, while they may not have been explicitly religious, these evil regimes were the result of poor thinking. He states in his afterword-

"While some of the most despicable political movements in human history have been explicitly irreligious, they were not especially rational. The public pronouncements of these regimes have been mere litanies of delusion- about race, economics, national identity, the march of history, or the moral dangers of intellectualism." [231]

Thus, we see that The End of Faith does not really support atheism or oppose religion, it simply supports reason and opposes blind faith. Otherwise, his critique of religion is completely arbitrary, as he admits in this quoted passage that the real enemy is not simply religious faith, but irrationality itself. Thus, Harris needs to demonstrate that Christianity inherently necessitates irrational faith if he wishes to demonstrate that it should be rejected. Throughout the book, Harris merely assumes that so-called "fundamentalist" Christians can only exist through blind faith, but his assumption is both unproven and incorrect. Despite railing on about the supposed irrationality of religion, Harris never once deals with any of the arguments offered by Christians either historically or in the present day. There is no critique of the Cosmological Argument, no consideration of the evidence for the empty tomb, no critique of biblical passages or doctrines. Harris simply assumes that Christianity requires blind faith, argues that blind faith is both stupid and dangerous, and declares victory. The problem is that he has never shown that Christianity requires blind faith.

The other problem with Harris's approach is a common one- he assumes that the misdeeds of religious followers invalidates the religion itself.

Thus, the majority of Harris's book is simply not relevant for intelligent Christians. Surprisingly, however, there is some value in The End of Faith. For example, he discusses morality and makes a good case for charitable giving, and discusses politics and law, and makes a good case for the legalization of (some) drugs as a matter of public policy. However, as a critique of religion in general, and Christianity in particular, "The End of Faith" fails quite miserably.

Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can't Stand Up to the Facts

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hey
Propaganda and a waste of money.
Reads like propaganda
Junk Science
Hint: don't drink fluoridated water.

Debunking 9/11 Myths: Why Conspiracy Theories Can't Stand Up to the Facts
The Editors of Popular Mechanics
Manufacturer: Hearst
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 158816635X

Book Description

Conspiracy theories about Sept. 11, 2001 continue to spread. Now, in a meticulous, scientific and groundbreaking new book, Popular Mechanics puts these rumors to rest. The magazine’s editors analyze the 20 most persistent claims underlying 9/11 conspiracy theories—and conclusively disprove each one. The result is a triumph of hard fact over conspiratorial fantasy.

Customer Reviews:

hey.......2007-09-20

so i haven't read the book, i will tell you that, but i think it's funny how John McCain helped write it. That guy needs to be off the balot and in jail for sure. Not all CT's are crazy either. They are family memebers who didn't get a proper investigation from the gov't. The Gov't doesn't care about them or the investigation and they call it a horrible attack on America. Bin Laden isn't even wanted for it. He i wanted for bombing in 198 or something on an american embassy killing maybe 200.
Anyway, read "Debunking 9/11 Debunking" wesome "truther" book

Propaganda and a waste of money. .......2007-09-20

Buy a copy of Debunking 9/11 Debunking by David Ray Griffin before buying this pack of lies. You can save your time and money and learn what Popular Mechanics says and OMITS in building their case against the truth. Hearst Publishing is still in the business of propaganda. Wake Up.

Reads like propaganda.......2007-09-14

I wish just once somebody would publish an objective book or collection of writings about this topic. The afterward is particularly insulting to the millions of concerned citizens with legitimate questions. Anyone can see that this book was written with an agenda. If this book doesn't give you ammo for you hate-spewing debunking arsenal, it might actually convince you that there are suspicious circumstances to consider.

Junk Science.......2007-08-29

This analysis doesn't even rise to the level of being wrong. You don't have to be a structural engineer to know that a steel-framed building cannot "pancake" at free-fall speed. You don't have to be a metallurgist to know that jet fuel won't leave pools of molten metal weeks after the fire is out. If you cherry-pick your "facts" you can make Stalin look like a boy scout or Mother Theresa look like the devil. This book starts with the conclusion and then tries to prove it. If you want an analysis that starts with the facts and works towards a logical conclusion, try any (or all) of David Ray Griffin's books.

Hint: don't drink fluoridated water........2007-08-24

I really wanted to fall for the "Official" fairytale. Sorry. Anyone who read this steaming terd and didn't find it insulting to their intelligence must be jacked up on fluoride. Do you know Prozac is 97% sodium fluoride? Do you know Hitler used it to sterilize and dumb down people? Do you know it is toxic waste from nuke power plants and aluminum production? You DO know your government puts it in YOUR water supply and toothpaste? Tell you what, figure out how MINOR structural damage and jet fuel pulverizes tons of concrete and EVERYTHING inside these giant skyscrapers into a fine dust before it can hit the ground, each with 47 welded and riveted massive core columns (approx 2/3 of its footprint!) Spraying sheitloads of human bone fragments atop the many adjacent buildings only to be discovered and reported years later and I will forget all about the bazillion lies, scandals and "coincidences", the complete failure of NORAD. Better stop, too much too list. Get a frikkin' clue retards, this is a cover-up hit piece AND do some homework to discover who owns Popular Mechanics Magazine. Better yet, buy the books of the great scholar David Ray Griffin instead, he easily destroys these brownshirt bootlickers using simple and sound logic.

Islam and Terrorism: What the Quran Really Teaches About Christianity, Violence and the Goals of the Islamic Jihad

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Essential Reading
Revealing the Koran and terrorists in simple language
Islam, Terrorism, Christianity, and how western Christians can understand what Muslims teach and how they get it from their Kora
Always check the references guys
Islam and Terrorism

Islam and Terrorism: What the Quran Really Teaches About Christianity, Violence and the Goals of the Islamic Jihad
Mark A., Ph.D. Gabriel
Manufacturer: Charisma House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0884198847

Customer Reviews:

Essential Reading.......2007-08-31

The main message is that Westerners have a fundamental misunderstanding of Islam. Islam is not about peace but submission, and where there is submission there is also dominance. I have purchased several copies and have distributed them to family members becuase I think the book's message is that important. It is also written very well so that it reads easily.

Revealing the Koran and terrorists in simple language.......2007-07-22

Dr Gabriel reveals the Koran and terrorists in simple language for what they stand for. He provides facts from his real life experiences. He was a devotee of Islam from childhood until he realized the teachings in the Koran were not the teachings of love and tolerance but the teachings of hate and intolerance. He was trained in Egypt's finest university in religion and Islamic history and thus knows first hand the hate and intolerance propagated by Muhammad's teachings. Because of his conversion to Christianity, he is able to make valid comparisons between the teachings in the Koran and teachings in the Bible.

This is a "must read" book for those looking for understanding about the conflicts throughout the world between Muslims and other peoples. You will understand that these conflicts have nothing to do with poverty and land but have everything to do with the Koran and its teachings.

Islam, Terrorism, Christianity, and how western Christians can understand what Muslims teach and how they get it from their Kora.......2007-06-27

First the book, "Islam and Terrorism, What the Quran really teaches etc.", Is written by a man brought up in Islam and formally educated at Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt with a Phd. and was an Imam of a Mosque in Giza Egypt. He knows the Quran and Islam fundamentally and historically.

He explains why Muslims have and fight their Jihad against any and all other religions and their practitioners in the entire world. All Jihad is based upon the historical actions of Muhammad and a process of (nasikh) in the interpretation of the Quran. (Nasikh) is a word used by Islamic scholars to name the process of giving later readings in the Quran more absolute weight in determining what the Quran actually teaches because the Quran meanders around teachings telling muslims to love their neighbors in its early writings but telling the Muslims to kill those same neighbors later because if they aren't Muslims then they are infidels.

Since the Quran contradicts itself the (nasikh) process allows the Muslims to override love, peace, and care and go straight to the later passages that condem nonmuslims (infidels) to death.

When Muhammad began to have his visions in the night desert he feared he was becomming insane but was encouraged by his wife and close friends that these visions were from God or Allah. Muhammad had spent many of his early years after the death of his father and then his mother, being taught by his uncle to run camel trains up and down the areas from above Jerusalem down to Egypt. Many an evening he spent around camp fires with Chrisitan and Jewish pilgrims discussing religious teachings. He borrowed both Christian and Jewish teachings when he began his religion. People close to him in Mecca encoraged him and his teachings which went into the Quran and were kind, hopeful, and caring, but later when the people of his town made him leave and he went to Medina, the teachings he made were about military power and invasion in the name of Islam. (jihad)

The book is straight forward and easy to understand and matches my own theological research in the past. I'm sure anyone who wants to understand Islam in today's world will find the book very informative.

Always check the references guys.......2007-05-24

Actually I viewed the first pages of this book. The simplest thing I am asking you is to check out the references he put .. he said in his book
"In one place alcohol was forbidden; in another it was allowed. (Compare Surah 5:90-91 with Surah 47:15)" The writer is trying to discover some sort of verses, Well, I don't see any verse here. Check them your self in a good translated Quran and you will see your self. Check Surah#47 Sequance#15 there is nothing with alcoholic there were description of the heaven that it has rivers of water, milk, wine, and honey. It is heaven what do you expect!!
the writer wrote "In one place the Quran says Christians are very good people who love and worship one God, so you may be friends with them (Surah 2:62, 3:113-114). Then you find other verse that say Christians must convert, pay tax or be killed by the sword (Surah 9:29)" .. he said "The Quran says" It is not the Quran who says "Allah says" .. the other thing is please check out the reference, It is not the exact meaning and he did not provide the full context. And he (the writer) knows that his comparison have been in two different period of time and he didn't mention that in his book.

Islam and Terrorism.......2007-05-13

This is a well written book explaining the core beliefs of Islam Religion. Mr. Gabriel taught at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Eygpt. He quotes passages from the Quran and references them to what is happening today. The history of Islamic Fundamentalism is reviewed. He explains why he converted to Christianity and the persecution he went through from his family.

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The creation of The Delta Force
Inside Delta Force
Good Book for Teens
Delta Force
HOLY CR@P!!!

Inside Delta Force
Eric Haney
Manufacturer: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 038573252X
Release Date: 2007-01-23

Book Description

They are the Army's most elite top-secret strike force. But you won't hear about their heroics on the news, no headlines about them can appear in the papers, and no one—not even their families—can know who they are. First Special Forces Operational Detachment-D—Delta Force, America's supersecret counterterrorist unit. On paper they do not exist, but without them, our lives wouldn't be the same.

In this exclusive behind-the-scenes account, founding member Eric L. Haney, Command Sergeant Major, USA (ret.), takes you into the grueling selection and training process of Delta Force. From learning how to open a padlock with a soda can to rescuing a hijacked airplane, these men are masters of espionage and warfare. They are the anonymous heroes who protect us every day from threats we'll never know existed.

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He is a master of espionage, trained to take on hijackers, terrorists, hostage takers, and enemy armies. He can deploy by parachute or arrive by commercial aircraft. Survive alone in hostile cities. Speak foreign languages fluently. Strike at enemy targets with stunning swiftness and extraordinary teamwork. He is the ultimate modern warrior: the Delta Force Operator.

In this dramatic behind-the-scenes chronicle, Eric Haney, one of the founding members of Delta Force, takes us inside this legendary counterterrorist unit. Here, for the first time, are details of the grueling selection process -- designed to break the strongest of men -- that singles out the best of the best: the Delta Force Operator.

With heart-stopping immediacy, Haney tells what it's really like to enter a hostage-held airplane. And from his days in Beirut, Haney tells an unforgettable tale of bodyguards and bombs, of a day-to-day life of madness and beauty, and of how he and a teammate are called on to kill two gunmen targeting U.S. Marines at the Beirut airport. As part of the team sent to rescue American hostages in Tehran, Haney offers a first-person description of that failed mission that is a chilling, compelling account of a bold maneuver undone by chance -- and a few fatal mistakes.

From fighting guerrilla warfare in Honduras to rescuing missionaries in Sudan and leading the way onto the island of Grenada, Eric Haney captures the daring and discipline that distinguish the men of Delta Force. Inside Delta Force brings honor to these singular men while it puts us in the middle of action that is sudden, frightening, and nonstop around the world.

"A book that could not be more timely, written by a warrior who knows what he's talking about.."
    JAMES WEBB, AUTHOR OF FIELDS OF FIRE AND LOST SOLDIERS

"A rousing chronicle of what it's really like to be a special-ops guy."
   ESQUIRE

"Compelling memoir... a book that you won't want to put down."
   PLAYBOY

"Perfect for military enthusiasts."
   KIRKUS REVIEWS

Customer Reviews:

The creation of The Delta Force.......2007-08-14

Eric Haney, tells his tale as one of the founding members of the Delta Force, and what it took to to become a member. This book is filled with tons of informative information, plus little trinkets Eric toss's in here and there(for instance fill a squirt gun with ammonia to knock a man out).

However there is nothing other, then the selection process to become a delta member, and training. There is not a journal from jungle missions, to desert ops(although Haney makes reference to comrades he later fights with, some of whom die).

Despite that, this book is still very appealing. It teaches you the stunning thing these men are capable of, such as boarding airplanes in flight and the rigourous training, that makes them as close to invincible as any man will ever become.

All in all, great book, great group of men it's based on.

Inside Delta Force.......2007-06-13

I enjoyed this book as an"intro" into how special forces work. I love the show "The Unit" and this book tells about how things work in the military that we as citizens never know exits. It was fascinating!

Good Book for Teens.......2007-05-07

This book gives the reader an in depth view of training for the most top secert/elite unit in the U.S. Army, the Special Forces (Delta). The author states several times that he will try to give as much detail as he can without breaching unit security. With the riggerous training and grulling psychological testing, there are some instances of humor, I will not go into any detail. To find out you will just have to read it for your self.

Delta Force.......2007-01-19

I purcahsed this book for a present and it came in quickly and in great shape.

HOLY CR@P!!!.......2007-01-11

i could not put this book down... front to back in one setting! personally, i have been waiting for this book for years, and i am so glad sgt. haney has led the way! i only wish i had an autographed copy so i could meet the man himself.
anyone who has heard stories about this unit, and has thought and pondered the challenges and sacrifices of our nation's best, will savor every detail and word in this book, as he reveals how much strength and determination these men apply. these men can overcome...anything!
sgt. haney has brought so much honor to those men who serve. anyone who reads this book will realize, that the only reason americans can sleep peacefully at night is because of men who are prepared to face the evil of the world at a moments notice! god bless em!

Albert Camus the Algerian: Colonialism, Terrorism, Justice

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Albert Camus the Algerian: Colonialism, Terrorism, Justice
David Carroll
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 023114086X

Book Description

In this original reading of Albert Camus' novels, short stories, and political essays, David Carroll concentrates on Camus' conflicted relationship with his Algerian background and finds important critical insights into questions of justice, the effects of colonial oppression, and the deadly cycle of terrorism and counterterrorism that characterized the Algerian War and continues to surface in the devastation of postcolonial wars today.

During France's "dirty war" in Algeria, Camus called for an end to the violence perpetrated against civilians by both France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) and supported the creation of a postcolonial, multicultural, and democratic Algeria. His position was rejected by most of his contemporaries on the Left and has, ironically, earned him the title of colonialist sympathizer as well as the scorn of important postcolonial critics.

Carroll rescues Camus' work from such criticism by emphasizing the Algerian dimensions of his literary and philosophical texts and by highlighting in his novels and short stories his understanding of both the injustice of colonialism and the tragic nature of Algeria's struggle for independence. By refusing to accept that the sacrifice of innocent human lives can ever be justified, even in the pursuit of noble political goals, and by rejecting simple, ideological binaries (West vs. East, Christian vs. Muslim, "us" vs. "them," good vs. evil), Camus' work offers an alternative to the stark choices that characterized his troubled times and continue to define our own.

"What they didn't like, was the Algerian, in him," Camus wrote of his fictional double in The First Man. Not only should "the Algerian" in Camus be "liked," Carroll argues, but the Algerian dimensions of his literary and political texts constitute a crucial part of their continuing interest. Carroll's reading also shows why Camus' critical perspective has much to contribute to contemporary debates stemming from the global "war on terror."

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Fahrenheit 451
Never Gets Old!
Not Free SF Reader
fantastic but realistic images of censorship and happiness
John Welte's Review

Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0345410017
Release Date: 1996-08-27

Amazon.com

In Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury's classic, frightening vision of the future, firemen don't put out fires--they start them in order to burn books. Bradbury's vividly painted society holds up the appearance of happiness as the highest goal--a place where trivial information is good, and knowledge and ideas are bad. Fire Captain Beatty explains it this way, "Give the people contests they win by remembering the words to more popular songs.... Don't give them slippery stuff like philosophy or sociology to tie things up with. That way lies melancholy."

Guy Montag is a book-burning fireman undergoing a crisis of faith. His wife spends all day with her television "family," imploring Montag to work harder so that they can afford a fourth TV wall. Their dull, empty life sharply contrasts with that of his next-door neighbor Clarisse, a young girl thrilled by the ideas in books, and more interested in what she can see in the world around her than in the mindless chatter of the tube. When Clarisse disappears mysteriously, Montag is moved to make some changes, and starts hiding books in his home. Eventually, his wife turns him in, and he must answer the call to burn his secret cache of books. After fleeing to avoid arrest, Montag winds up joining an outlaw band of scholars who keep the contents of books in their heads, waiting for the time society will once again need the wisdom of literature.

Bradbury--the author of more than 500 short stories, novels, plays, and poems, including The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man--is the winner of many awards, including the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America. Readers ages 13 to 93 will be swept up in the harrowing suspense of Fahrenheit 451, and no doubt will join the hordes of Bradbury fans worldwide. --Neil Roseman

Book Description

Nowadays firemen start fires. Fireman Guy Montag loves to rush to a fire and watch books burn up. Then he met a seventeen-year old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid, and a professor who told him of a future where people could think. And Guy Montag knew what he had to do....

From the Paperback edition.

Download Description

This is Bradbury's best-known novel. The science fiction tale concerns censorship and anti-intellectualism, carried on in an alternate society that conducts huge book burnings as part of the social agenda. It is a spooky and yet uplifting book.

Customer Reviews:

Fahrenheit 451.......2007-10-10

Timeless work on a futuristic society completely and utterly ignorant of any reality except their corporate jingles, giant TV's, and fake families. A look into a shallow desensitized self censored society where intellectuals are targeted as criminals, books are outlawed, and those who refuse to submit are tracked down by the mechanical hound.

Fahrenheit 451 is a frightening look inside of a corporate dystopian hell where there is no `We the People' just `we the market' and the State is omnipotent. Out on the fringes of the state's control remains a remnant of society, mostly hobos, who are dedicated to preserving the words that many will never read. A classic example when people stop thinking for themselves.

Never Gets Old!.......2007-09-20

With what is going on in Venezuela and the Government takeover of education this book rings true today! In fact, the Firemen would be burning this book too! A great read!

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Watch tv, sheeple.

In the future, books are banned, and drugs and the good old electronic screen are used to keep the population docile and uninformed. Firemen don't put out fires here, they burn books when they are found, in a big macho showy way. One such bloke begins to have doubts about his occupation and society, and breaks away.

fantastic but realistic images of censorship and happiness.......2007-08-21

If you are interested at all in literature, I think this is a must-read. To me, it centers around the notion of censorship and how culture can seemingly determine the sense of happiness which can only really be derived from within. The characters and events seem futuristic in a sense but completely current. The writing style is not 'heavy', but the content certainly is. I believe this book is extremely well written and organized, and very applicable in a time when few people examine the substance underlying the superficial perceptions that are shaped by external forces.

John Welte's Review.......2007-08-19

I started reading Fahrenheit 451 for a summer reading assignment. As I kept reading I really got in to the book. Ray Bradbury did a great job describing the characters. The book is about a future world that gives you a glimpse of what our world would be like without books. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a book with some action and a great story.

Breeding Bin Ladens: America, Islam, and the Future of Europe

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An important work for understanding muslems living in the west.
Document the problems and outline possible solutions.

Breeding Bin Ladens: America, Islam, and the Future of Europe
Zachary Shore
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0801885051

Book Description

While American leaders wage war on extremists in the Middle East, they are dangerously detached from a potentially greater threat closer to home. In Breeding Bin Ladens, Zachary Shore asserts that the growing ambivalence of Europe's Muslims poses risks to national identities, international security, and the transatlantic alliance.

Europe's failure to integrate its Muslim millions, combined with America's battered image in the Muslim world, have left too many Western Muslims easy prey for violent dogmas. Until America and Europe adopt new strategies, Shore argues, Europe will increasingly become the incubation ground for breeding new Bin Ladens.

The United States continues to spend billions of dollars and lose thousands of its young men and women to combat Islamic extremists, a group estimated to be as small as fifty thousand. What Western leaders have not done, says Shore, is seek to understand the millions of moderate Muslims who live peacefully in the United States and Europe. Many in this extraordinarily diverse group are deeply ambivalent toward perceived Western values. Although they may admire America's economic or technological might, many are appalled by its crass consumerism, sexualization of women, lack of social justice, and foreign policies.

Shore taps into this oft-ignored perspective through in-depth interviews with Muslims living across the European Union. He gives voice to people of deep faith who speak of the conflict between their desire to integrate into their adopted societies and the repulsion they feel toward some of what the West represents.

Shore offers a deeply nuanced and hopeful consideration of Islam's future in the West. Cautioning Western leaders against an anti-terrorist tunnel vision that could ultimately backfire, Shore proposes bold, creative, and controversial solutions for attracting the hearts and minds of moderate Muslims living in the West.

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An important work for understanding muslems living in the west........2007-01-10

Dr. Shore conducted interviews of muslems living in western Europe to try and understanding the way in which their experience of balancing their religious views in the context of Western European secular values can inform policy-makers and citizens alike about this important component of our community. The book is perhaps less apocolyptic than the title, but the content is no less fascinating for its insights. Shore introduces the reader to men and women who are primarily moderate muslems, who are nevertheless, wrestling with the challenges of Western cultural practices that are often offensive or harmful in their eyes. Shore also discusses various recent controversies, such as the battle of the veil iun France, the murder of Theo van Gough in Holland, and the publication of cartoons in a Danish newspaper.

Dr. Shore has a number of policy suggestions for how to keep this large segment of the muslem community in the fold of the West, and relatively immune to the calls of radical clerics. Overall Shore tone is one of concern, but tinged with optomism. He places in important historical context assimilation processies of earlier eras, when seemingly intractable, radical religious groups lived in the West, and yet did not wax more destructive or nilistic.

Anyone wishing to understand the cultural, political, and historical contexts of Islam in the West should read this book.

Document the problems and outline possible solutions........2006-11-07

BREEDING BIN LADENS: AMERICA, ISLAM AND THE FUTURE OF EUROPE covers the heart of terrorist activity: in the communities which foster and harbor Muslim militants: Europe itself. Here is associate professor Zachary Shore's argument that the growing ambivalence of Europe's Muslim community poses risks to international security and national alliances, and that Europe's failure to integrate its Muslim communities are leading to breeding grounds for terrorist activities. Interviews with Muslims living across Europe document the problems and outline possible solutions.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Narcotics and Terrorism: Links, Logic, and Looking Forward (Securing the Nation)

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Excellent Book

Narcotics and Terrorism: Links, Logic, and Looking Forward (Securing the Nation)
Robert B. Charles
Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 0791077012

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Excellent Book.......2006-09-23

This is a very informative and compelling book that illustrates why terrorism cannot be as effective, or in many cases even exist, without the sale and profits from the illegal drug trade. The book provides insight to what works, what doesn't work, and how the United States could cripple the various terrorists groups by stopping the illegal sale of narcotics.

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The Reluctant Revolutionary
Words are the greatest foes of reality
"All revolt is the expression of extreme individualism."
The Conscience of a Conservative
But each heart knows sorrow after its own kind

Under Western Eyes (Penguin Classics)
Joseph Conrad , and Paul Kirschner
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140188495

Book Description

'Whenever two Russians come together, the shadow of autocracy is with them...haunting the secret of their silences.' First published in 1911, Under Western Eyes traces the experiences of Razumov, a young Russian student of philosophy who is uninvolved in politics or protest. Against his will he finds himself caught up in the aftermath of a terrorist bombing directed against the Tsarist authorities. He is pulled in different directions - by his conscience and his ambitions, by powerful opposed political forces, but most of all by personal emotions he is unable to suppress. Set in St Petersburg and Geneva, the novel is in part a critical response to Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment but it is also a startlingly modern book. Viewed through the 'Western eyes' of Conrad's English narrator, Razumov's story forces the reader to confront the same moral issues: the defensibility of terrorist resistance to tyranny, the loss of individual privacy in a surveillance society, and the demands thrown up by the interplay of power and knowledge. This new edition is based on the first English edition text, and has a new chronology and bibliography.

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The task is not in truth the writing in the narrative form a _precis_ of a strange human document, but the rendering--I perceive it now clearly--of the moral conditions ruling over a large portion of this earth's surface; conditions not easily to be understood, much less discovered in the limits of a story, till some key-word is found; a word that could stand at the back of all the words covering the pages.

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The Reluctant Revolutionary.......2006-09-27

Joseph Conrad had famously hard feelings for the Russians, occupiers of his Polish homeland. In "Under Western Eyes" (1911), Conrad employs tough love in depicting the Russian character, hopelessly divided between reckless radicalism and reactionary reasonlessness, between devotion and despair.

Razumov is a college student in St. Petersberg content to labor under the Czarist system, under which he hopes to advance through study. Fate intervenes in the form of a fellow student, Victor Haldin, fresh from blowing up a secret police chief, who thinks Razumov is the man to aid his escape. Razumov is horrified instead, not at the murderous nature of the act but what it could mean to Razumov's future. Will he turn Haldin in, or try and get him out of the city?

The introduction of my Penguin edition notes a popular criticism of "Under Western Eyes" is that its characters "exist only for the sake of the ideas." That's a problem of much of Conrad's fiction, and after the very taut and thrilling first part is over, we are treated to a number of garden-path colloquies in Geneva that slow things down considerably. But the ideas Conrad deals with, about Russia's political and philosophical underpinnings, are often fascinating and certainly to the point, especially considering the novel was written as the real Russia stood ready to implode from the strife depicted here.

Conrad tended to view revolutionaries with cynical remove, especially when they employed violence as a means to an end, yet many of the revolutionaries we meet here are a more sympathetic lot than the nihilistic goons of "The Secret Agent." "You have either to rot or to burn," explains Sophia Antonovna, a genuinely good character who supports the revolution. She's not one to wither quietly while there's injustice to be fought.

Razumov might disagree. It's not that he believes in the system, just the futility of fighting it. "The exceptional could not prevail against the material contacts which make one day resemble another," he tells himself. "Tomorrow would be like yesterday." But as he is pushed into the world of revolution despite himself, he finds himself doubting more and more the shaky pillars of his prior existence.

It's not clear to me which point-of-view Conrad held; likely he saw the merits of every ideology depicted here, a relativism that made him doubtful of any one solution. Certainly "Under Western Eyes" is about as even-handed a book about revolutionary struggle as you might care to read, compelling, deep, and quotable from first page to last. One wishes that Conrad could have sustained the dramatic force of the Part First in the latter three-fourths of the novel, but what you get is one of Conrad's most important books.

Those thinking novels about Russians are reflexively depressing and opaque are not going to have their minds changed here, but they will enjoy the chance at seeing one of the world's most complicated nations through the prism of one of literature's most discerning, eloquent minds.

Words are the greatest foes of reality.......2006-05-22

An English teacher (the 'Western Eyes') tries to find the truth behind the autobiography of a Russian agent, for 'words are the greatest foes of reality', and 'speech has been given for the purpose of concealing our thought.'
The Russian agent betrayed a friend-terrorist and meets afterwards his sister and mother. His friend combatted autocratic despotism, the destroyer of the spirit of progress and truth, of freedom, law and justice.
This novel is Conrad's version of Dostoevsky's 'Crime and Punishment': 'A moral spectre is infinitely more effective than any visible apparition of death.'

Conrad was a visionary: 'A violent revolution falls into the hands of narrow minded fanatics and tyrannical hypocrites. The scrupulous and the just, the noble, humane and devoted natures, the unselfish and the intelligent may begin a movement but it passes away from them.'
His picture of the world of revolutionary conspirators is excellent: double agents, opportunists, naive idealists, hypocrites, rogues, agitators, fanatics and cynics. 'It did not matter what it was, vanity, despair, love, hate, greed, intelligent pride, a stupid conceit, it was all one to him as long as the man could be made to serve.'

But this book has many flaws: melodramatic overreactions (attack on Ziemianitch, secret love of Razumov), high improbabilities (confession of Razumov, interventions of 'Western Eyes') or the ultimate verdict ('he was the victim of an outrage. He had confessed voluntarily.')

Joseph Conrad was an ambitious writer, but this book has not the same high standard as his masterpieces 'Heart of Darkness' and 'Lord Jim'.
A worth-while read.

"All revolt is the expression of extreme individualism.".......2006-01-16

Impoverished Russian student Kirylo Razumov doesn't have a great deal in life to look forward to. From an obscure background--and possibly illegitimate--Razumov's one dream is to write a prize essay for an upcoming examination. Pathetically, he imagines that winning the coveted silver medal granted by the Ministry of Education will lead to an illustrious career. As Razumov daydreams about the contest, a few miles away, fellow student and revolutionary Victor Haldin throws a bomb on a politician. The politician is killed and Haldin seeks refuge with Razumov until he can safely leave St. Petersburg.

Razumov's solitary ways and quiet intensity have led Haldin to the mistaken conclusion that Razumov is a reflective person with similar political leanings. Razumov, however, sees Haldin's arrival as disastrous, and angrily worries that his unwilling involvement will cause him to seen as part of a revolutionary organization with which he has no sympathy. Razumov chooses to betray Haldin to the authorities and imagines that he will somehow then be free of the entire affair.

Once brought to the attention of the sinister Councillor Mikulin, Razumov is caught in a noose of intrigue and espionage. He becomes a tool for the state as he finds himself recruited as a spy and sent to Switzerland--here he is to report back on the activities of Haldin's mother and sister, Nathalie and any revolutionary contacts Haldin may have had. Razumov isn't motivated by idealism, or politics, nonetheless, he finds himself adrift in a nest of anarchists--with no moral guide, no convictions and no desire to be involved.

"Under Western Eyes" is one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century, and it's arguably Conrad's finest. It's to Conrad's credit that he ultimately creates sympathy for Razumov's character. At first, Razumov's desire to save his own hide seems despicable. But once the less-than-stellar motives of the violent anarchists are revealed, then he is seen caught between two opposing forces--a small insect about to be squashed in the political fanaticism of others. Nathalie Haldin acts as the moral centre of the novel as she refuses to become involved and used by the tainted politics of the "feminist" revolutionary Peter Ivanovitch. Ivanovitch and his decrepit, repulsive patron, Madame de S. spout fine speeches about revolution and equality while savagely and hypocritically mistreating their downtrodden servant, Tekla. Razumov is one of the few characters to recognize this servant as a fellow human being.

Once the story moves to Switzerland, the tale unfolds through the eyes of an English gentleman who admires Nathalie Haldin while remaining a perplexed observer of Russian politics. Conrad includes a few pages of commentary at the end of the novel in which he notes that "the ferocity and imbecility of an autocratic rule" creates an equivalent response--the "atrocious answer of a purely Utopian revolutionism encompassing destruction." "Under Western Eyes" is often overlooked on college curriculums in favour of the more accessible "Heart of Darkness." And that's unfortunate, as this is a marvelously complex novel--displacedhuman

The Conscience of a Conservative.......2005-03-30

You have to be around my age (i.e., older than dirt) to remember Barry Goldwater, a right-wing Republican from Arizona who wrote a book with the above title and spectacularly lost to Lyndon Johnson in the presidential race of '64. I invoke his long-dead phrase because, without the irony, it could be UWE's subtitle. Conrad actively hated leftists and self-proclaimed "revolutionaries," and this disgust shines through all of his best work, from the sniveling proto-unionist Donkin in "...Narcissus" through the bestial "generals" of "Nostromo" and, needless to say, the uber-hypocrite Kurtz. Razumov's moment of conservative illumination, in the snow on the night Haldin destroys his life, can be read as serious, humorous, or anywhere in between--but it is genuine. That fragment he pins to his wall (and which Councilor Mikulin finds so fascinating) sums up with Conradian depth and precision today's popular doctrine of personal responsibility. Peter Ivanovich, one of the slimiest characters on record (not to mention his "Egeria") could easily send major liberals over the wall. Naturally, all readers are free to interpret political novels as they see fit, but Conrad's biographers have documented his rightward tilt. UWE is wonderful proof that genius does not play politics. The novel's other virtues are too numerous to list here. I could read it every year for the rest of my life, and probably will.

But each heart knows sorrow after its own kind.......2004-11-01

Joseph Conrad is one of the most wonderful writers for me (although there are a couple of his novels that I am yet to come to grips with). Often novels give me cause to reflect on my life and my place in the universe, but this one is so personal to me that I wonder if my recommendation can be meaningful to others. You see, the narrator of Under Western Eyes is an English speaking man, an older man, an observer, who becomes a possessor of secret knowledge which reflects on the things he sees taking place around him - of the one holding the secret, of the ones ignorant of it. But the second most important character is a young woman, Natalie Haldin, living away from Russia with her mother (in Geneva). And by chance I have a work-based friendship with a colleague who happens to be a Russian woman living away from Russia (in Australia). The last chapter telling of the final meeting between Natalie and the narrator - for quite personal reasons (but it is so well written) was an emotional torment for me, my final meeting has yet to occur - I hope!
The most important character in the novel (I discount the narrator, as I would myself, although he is of great importance - you may think the greatest) is a young student, Razumov, who betrays Natalie's brother and then is imposed on by the powers to spy on Russian dissidents in Geneva. There he meets Natalie and others who are totally unaware of his role in Natalie's brother's betrayal and subsequent execution. But it is known that he was a fellow student of Natalie's brother so they are drawn to him. Would Natalie and Razumov become romantically allied? Only if the secret is kept?

I will not answer these questions. But I will say that Razumov, weak throughout the novel with the same sort of uncertainties that challenge me, turns out to be the most courageous of characters and, in fact, is afforded one tiny morsel of reward.

Conrad is a great user of words although he does say very early on that words are the great foes of reality (page 1). The title of this review is a quote. Here are two more):
The man who says he has no illusions has at least that one (page 188)
There is always something to weigh down the spiritual side in all of us (page 122)

While the novel may not have the same personal impact for you as it did for me, it is very engaging and rewarding. Typically for Conrad though, the writing is very dense, and for me at least, needed lots of time and reflection.

The Lucent Library of Homeland Security - Defending the Borders: The Role of Border and Immigration Control (The Lucent Library of Homeland Security)

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The Lucent Library of Homeland Security - Defending the Borders: The Role of Border and Immigration Control (The Lucent Library of Homeland Security)
Gail Stewart
Manufacturer: Lucent Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Board book

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ASIN: 1590183762

Book Description

Efforts to tighten homeland security have challenged the Untied States' traditional approach to immigration and border control. This book explores the dramatic changes to the country's borders and coasts, and offers valuable insight into the changing face of immigration.

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