Books
Recommended Reading
Welcome to my book corner. The following list includes books on the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Religious Cults as well as subjects on Critical Thinking and Atheism.
If you have suggestions for this book list, please feel free to share by sending me an email.
Books on Jehovah’s Witnesses
 
Available at Amazon.com |
Crisis of Conscienceby Raymond Franz “If you have doubts about Jehovah’s Witnesses, THIS is the book to start with. Before I read this, I figured that the Watchtower Society might have some doctrinal problems, but I thought that they were decent, well-meaning folks. This book showed me just how controlling — even Machiavellian — they can be. The astonishing thing about this book is that its tone is so mild. Ray Franz was treated very badly indeed by the Watchtower power structure, but he never sounds nasty in his book. His gentle tone inspired me when I created my web site (Beyond Jehovah’s Witnesses); I decided that I would never sound bitter or take cheap shots. If you’re a Jehovah’s Witness, you are not supposed to read a book like this. The rule has its purpose: this book will let you see just how the Watchtower Society really operates — as seen by somebody who was at the very top of the organization. It’s not a pretty sight.” Review by: Timothy Campbell (Toronto, Ontario Canada) |
 
Available at Amazon.com |
Captives of a Concept
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Books about Cults
 
Available at Amazon.com |
The Anatomy of Illusion: Religious Cults and Destructive Persuasionby Thomas W. Keiser and Jacqueline L. Keiser Written in an easy-to-understand format with numerous quotes from ex-cult members, this book answers many questions people have aobut religious cults, brainwashing, destructive persuasion, belief and attitude change, and religion. Legal implications including the rights of cult members, remedies for parents, and the risks of coercive deprogramming are examined, as well. |
 
Available at Amazon.com |
Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Controlby Kathleen Taylor The term ‘brainwashing’ was first recorded in 1950, but it is an expression of a much older concept: the forcible and full-scale alteration of a person’s beliefs. Over the past 50 years the term has crept into popular culture, served as a topic for jokes, frightened the public in media headlines, and slandered innumerable people and institutions. It has also been the subject of learned discussion from many angles: history, sociology, psychology, psychotherapy, and marketing. Despite this variety, to date there has been one angle missing: any serious reference to real brains. Descriptions of how opinions can be changed, whether by persuasion, deceit, or force, have been almost entirely psychological. |
 
Available at Amazon.com |
Mind Control: The Ancient Art of Psychological Warfareby Haha Lung “I have read this author’s other books I think this book is by far his best book. He touches on many many different subjects, hypnosis,NLP, and verbal techniques. He’s certainly would wet someone’s appetite to want to search more in-depth on these subjects. Overall this book is excellent, one of the best books I’ve read on this type of subject. I have learned a lot of new ideas from this book and would really recommend it to someone who is in a situation with a need to know this information. To be quite honest this book incorporates most everything else in his previous books, so you really would only need this volume.” Review by: DMK (Las Vegas, Nevada) |
 
Available at Amazon.com |
Cults in Our Midst: The Continuing Fight Against Their Hidden Menaceby Margaret Thaler Singer Clinical psychologist Singer, emeritus professor at Berkeley, and former cult member Lalich (coauthor of Captive Hearts, Captive Minds) here present an instructive report on the cult phenomenon, which they regard as a growing menace around the world. They define cults as organizations that feature “coordinated programs of coercive influence and behavioral control,” many religiously or politically oriented and increasingly centered on New Age self-improvement techniques that they claim are now being peddled to businesses. They enumerate the dangers of cults to the individual, particularly the attack on the sense of self; they analyze the leaders’ techniques (almost all these groups are authoritarian), including isolation from family and friends, trance induction, guided imagery and indirect suggestion; they offer practical advice on methods of helping survivors to escape and recover. Includes an appendix of resources and organizations for those seeking help. |
Books about Critical Thinking and Atheism
 
Available at Amazon.com |
the Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbelieverby Christopher Hitchens Hitchens, an avowed atheist and author of the bestseller God Is Not Great, is a formidable intellectual who finds the notion of belief in God to be utter nonsense. The author is clear in his introduction that religion has caused more than its fair share of world problems. “Religion invents a problem where none exists by describing the wicked as also made in the image of god and the sexually nonconformist as existing in a state of incurable mortal sin that can incidentally cause floods and earthquakes.” The readings Hitchens chooses to bolster his atheist argument are indeed engaging and important. Hobbes, Spinoza, Mill and Marx are some of the heavyweights representing a philosophical viewpoint. From the world of literature the author assembles excerpts from Shelley, Twain, Conrad, Orwell and Updike. All are enjoyable to read and will make even religious believers envious of the talent gathered for this anthology. What these dynamic writers are railing against often enough, however, is a strawman: an immature, fundamentalist, outdated, and even embarrassing style of religion that many intelligent believers have long since cast off. It could be that Hitchens and his cast of nonbelievers are preaching to the choir and their message is tired and spent. However, this remains a fascinating collection of readings from some of the West’s greatest thinkers. from: Publishers Weekly |
 
Available at Amazon.com |
The Selfish Geneby Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins’ brilliant reformulation of the theory of natural selection has the rare distinction of having provoked as much excitement and interest outside the scientific community as within it. His theories have helped change the whole nature of the study of social biology, and have forced thousands of readers to rethink their beliefs about life. In his internationally bestselling, now classic volume, The Selfish Gene, Dawkins explains how the selfish gene can also be a subtle gene. The world of the selfish gene revolves around savage competition, ruthless exploitation, and deceit, and yet, Dawkins argues, acts of apparent altruism do exist in nature. Bees, for example, will commit suicide when they sting to protect the hive, and birds will risk their lives to warn the flock of an approaching hawk. This 30th anniversary edition of Dawkins’ fascinating book retains all original material, including the two enlightening chapters added in the second edition. In a new Introduction the author presents his thoughts thirty years after the publication of his first and most famous book, while the inclusion of the two-page original Foreword by brilliant American scientist Robert Trivers shows the enthusiastic reaction of the scientific community at that time. This edition is a celebration of a remarkable exposition of evolutionary thought, a work that has been widely hailed for its stylistic brilliance and deep scientific insights, and that continues to stimulate whole new areas of research today. |
 
Available at Amazon.com |
The God Delusionby Richard Dawkins In his sensational international bestseller, the preeminent scientist and outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins delivers a hard-hitting, impassioned, but humorous rebuttal of religious belief. With rigor and wit, Dawkins eviscerates the arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of the existence of a supreme being. He makes a compelling case that faith is not just irrational, but potentially deadly. In a preface written for the paperback edition, Dawkins responds to some of the controversies the book has incited. This brilliantly argued, provocative book challenges all of us to test our beliefs, no matter what beliefs we hold. About the Author |
 
Available at Amazon.com |
god is not Greatby Christopher Hitchens In the tradition of Bertrand Russell’s Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris’s recent bestseller, The End of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope’s awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty and symmetry of the double helix. About the Author |
 
Available at Amazon.com |
The “God” Part of the Brain: A Scientific Interpretation of Human Spirituality and Godby Matthew Alper First published in 1996, this is a minimally revised new edition of Alper’s manifesto against belief in God. Beginning with philosopher Kant’s supposition that humans cannot know a reality beyond their perception of reality, Alper uses his vast research into scientific phenomenon to build a case that humanity’s perception of a spiritual realm is, in fact, the biological result of thousands of years of evolution. Alper writes that this is “‘nature’s white lie’, a coping mechanism selected into our species to help alleviate debilitating anxiety caused by our unique awareness of death.” Alper’s theory is elegantly drawn, and he shows an admirable grasp of a wide range of scientific disciplines. However, generalizations weaken his case: Alper’s proof relies on readers’ agreement that all humans are equally spiritual creatures, whose “cross-cultural proclivity toward spiritualism suggests that we must be neuro-physiologically hardwired this way.” A harsh anti-religion tone (i.e. “How much longer will be slaves to destructive religious creeds… ?”), though not entirely inappropriate, provides the book’s main flaw; aside from the fact that his anti-faith proclamations themselves demonstrate a certain kind of blind faith, he gives no credence to others’ views, nor is he compassionate to the helpful role that spirituality plays in peoples’ lives. Ultimately, Alper is preaching to the choir, but in a time of renewed interest in the clash between religion and science, this cult classic will appeal to those caught up in the debate. |
 
Available at Amazon.com |
Letter to a Christian Nationby Sam Harris Humanity has had a long fascination with blood sacrifice. In fact, it has been by no means uncommon for a child to be born into this world only to be patiently and lovingly reared by religious maniacs, who believe that the best way to keep the sun on its course or to ensure a rich harvest is to lead him by tender hand into a field or to a mountaintop and bury, butcher, or burn him alive as offering to an invisible God. The notion that Jesus Christ died for our sins and that his death constitutes a successful propitiation of a “loving” God is a direct and undisguised inheritance of the superstitious bloodletting that has plagued bewildered people throughout history. . . “A breath of fresh fire.” —Wall Street Journal “I dare you to read this book…it will not leave you unchanged. Read it if it is the last thing you do.” —Richard Dawkins, author of The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion “It’s a shame that not everyone in this country will read Sam Harris’ marvelous little book Letter to a Christian Nation. They won’t but they should.” —Leonard Susskind, Felix Bloch Professor in theoretical physics, Stanford University |
 
Available at Amazon.com |
The Quotable Atheist: Ammunition for Non-Believers, Political Junkies, Gadflies, and Those Generally Hell-Boundby Jack Huberman Surprisingly, no book of quotations on God and religion by atheists and agnostics exists. Luckily, for the millions of American nonbelievers who have quietly stewed for years as the religious right made gains in politics and culture, the wait is over. Bestselling author Jack Huberman’s zeitgeist sense has honed into the backlash building against religious fundamentalism and collected a veritable treasure trove of quotes by philosophers, scientists, poets, writers, artists, entertainers, and political figures. His colorful cast of atheists includes Karen Armstrong, Lance Armstrong, Jules Feiffer, Federico Fellini, H. L. Mencken, Ian McKellen, Isaac Singer, Jonathan Swift, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Virginia Woolf and the Marquis de Sade. |
These are the diaries and musings of a woman who was raised as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, left the faith at eighteen and lives as a disfellowshipped adult, shunned by her family.
