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Monday, December 25, 2006

Thoughts on recent books on the intelligent design controversy: Some ways to spend your holiday cash

Excerpts from Denyse's comments on some recent books:

Of course, I have forgotten or omitted lots of worthy titles, but fundamentally it was much easier then [five years ago] than now to rhyme off the key titles you would need to read to really keep up with the ID controversy. Today, you need a library shelving cart and a budget to match.

Publishers who might have avoided the ID controversy in the past do not seem as afraid to touch it any more. ... (Note: Lots of dull rants have been published all across the board, but presumably you, gentle reader, are only interested in hearing about books that could conceivably be of interest to a lay public.)

So where are we now? We have arrived at the point where titles about the ID controversy clearly and obviously sell well, over a fifteen-year period. And therefore I must now write my first ever year-end book list on ID. The following are certainly not the only important books/DVDs published this year, but they are the ones I have read, on which I can offer some thoughts. The books are in alpha order by author; they are too disparate to rank in any order of excellence or usefulness.

For more go here.
My other blog is the Mindful Hack, which keeps tabs on neuroscience and the mind.

If you like this blog, check out my book on the intelligent design controversy, By Design or by Chance?. You can read excerpts as well.

Are you looking for one of the following stories?

My review of Francis Collins’ book The Language of God , my backgrounder about peer review issues, or the evolutionary biologist’s opinion that all students friendly to intelligent design should be flunked.

Lists of theoretical and applied scientists who doubt Darwin and of academic ID publications.

My U of Toronto talk on why there is an intelligent design controversy, or my talk on media coverage of the controversy at the University of Minnesota.

A summary of tech guru George Gilder's arguments for ID and against Darwinism

A critical look at why March of the Penguins was thought to be an ID film.

A summary of recent opinion columns on the ID controversy

A summary of recent polls of US public opinion on the ID controversy

A summary of the Catholic Church's entry into the controversy, essentially on the side of ID.

O'Leary's intro to non-Darwinian agnostic philosopher David Stove’s critique of Darwinism.

An ID Timeline: The ID folk seem always to win when they lose.

Why origin of life is such a difficult problem.
Why origin of life is such a difficult problem.
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