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Carl Sagan muses on the current state of scientific thought, which offers him marvelous opportunities to entertain us with his own childhood experiences, the newspaper morgues, UFO stories, and the assorted flotsam and jetsam of pseudoscience. Along the way he debunks alien abduction, faith-healing, and channeling; refutes the arguments that scienc... (See the whole review)

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The story of people finding the moral conviction to live their own lives, and of a man who stops the motor of the world to pave the way.  This is Ayn Rand's magnum opus. It is her comprehensive philosophical novel, dealing with each of the major categories of philosophy. This book lays down the basis of her entire philosophy in a compelling story. ...

This is Ayn Rand's first popular novel which brought her fame and a large following. "It is the story of a gifted young architect, his violent battle against conventional standards, and his explosive love affair with a beautiful woman who struggled to defeat him." (back cover) It shows man as a heroic being: Howard Roark, the perfect Egoist.

A short novella about a man trapped in a future society that has taken collectivism to its full and natural course. He struggles against that society and eventually breaks free and discovers the most glorious word in the english language, "I".

I am happy to announce Objectivity Archive. This site is an archive and library of Objectivity, now freely open to all readers and researchers.   Objectivity is a journal of metaphysics, epistemology, and theory of value informed by modern science. It consists of two volumes, each with six issues. It was a hardcopy journal, for subscribers, p... (See the whole review)

This is my favorite Ayn Rand novel. Not as overtly philosophical nor as monumental in scope as her later works, strictly as a novel qua novel, it excels those later works. And compared to the work of other authors, it is monumental. Rand tells us a love story set against the background of communist Russia in the 1920's. In part two, chapter 8, s... (See the whole review)

Here's a book allegedly about junk science, and it devotes an entire chapter on the "myth" that free market medicine (as in the US) is better than socialized medicine.  Evidently "science" proves that socialized medicine is actually better.  By what standard, you ask?  Not to fear.  He starts with the assumption that universal healthcare and equali... (See the whole review)

This is the true story of a man’s heroic struggle against monumental difficulties, a man whose motto throughout life was “crashing through,” who, at the age of 46, faced his greatest challenge: to acquire sight, and learn to see, after having been blind since the age of three as the result of an accident. ... (See the whole review)

As a bookstore employee, I've often wondered about the space dedicated to the many useless books on self-help, many of them by the same authors. If each has the answer, why do they need to keep writing books? Obviously it's the failure of the reader to achieve his potential. More likely the need of the author to make more money at the expense of t... (See the whole review)

Years ago, when I began engaging others in Internet discussion forums, I found myself groping for tools to analyze arguments.  As a sad statement of my college education, the logic course I took as a freshman only focused on "truth table" construction and never discussed the powerful body of informal fallacies compiled over the centuries.  A trip t... (See the whole review)

This book is a fantastic introduction to economics. It explains a simple but important idea, and the entire rest of the book is an elaboration on the idea. The "one lesson" is the need to look beyond the first order effect of an action or policy, and see the many different consequences.  Each subsequent chapter goes on to apply that lesson to diffe... (See the whole review)

1984 is a dystopian story set in the future of a statist world. The main character, Winston Smith, struggles to live in a world where there is no privacy, and the government controls every aspect of your life. The symbol of the government is Big Brother, a fictitious leader who is said to benevolently watch over his people. In practice, the citizen... (See the whole review)

Book Description After the publication of Atlas Shrugged in 1957, Ayn Rand occasionally lectured in order bring her philosophy of Objectivism to a wider audience and apply it to current cultural and political issues. These taped lectures and the question-and-answer sessions that followed not only added an eloquent new dimension to Ayn Rand's ide... (See the whole review)

While I have only just begun reading it, this book further proves that there is no prose writer alive with more wit, acumen, erudition, or clarity. Even when you disagree with him on minor points, you do so with enjoyment, because Hitchens always makes himself so clear that you cannot help but know both where and why you differ with him. A small ex... (See the whole review)

A marvellous, small book on atheism for children and adults alike, wonderfully written. May I recommend everybody at Rebirth of Reason to read it (and, perhaps, even give some copies away as a gift to relatives and friends?) See more of it and view some of its pages in http://www.amazon.com/What-About-Gods-Skeptics-Bookshelf/dp/0879751061 ... (See the whole review)

This Hugo and Nebula award winning masterpiece captures the world from a small child's point of view amazingly well.  Ender is a little boy who is smaller than everyone else his age and smarter than most everyone else of any age.  His very existence is due solely to the hope that he might one day save the world.  He is persecuted by his jealous cla... (See the whole review)

http://www.larryelder.com/larrysbooks.html I highly recommend this book by libertarian author, Larry Elder. He has courage and confronts racists of all colors.   (See the whole review)

Barbara Branden commented sometime ago that she hadn’t known much writings about the lives in Communist China. I have since discovered Ha Jin, a Chinese born author and Professor of English Literature at Boston University. Ha Jin writes both poetry and fiction, in English. The subject matter of his fictions so far (except his latest novel War Trash... (See the whole review)

This was an interesting read.  For a number of years in the late 1970's, Reagan had a radio show where have gave what appears to be about a 5 minute speech.  He wrote most of them, and this book is full of them.  Each one shows the text, including edits.  It has a few copies of the originals as well. ... (See the whole review)

Occasionally a book will appear on the scene that embodies the written equivalent of jewels among feces.  This book represents such an example.  I found it both enlightening and infuriating at the same time.  I only read it back in late 1999 because I received it at no charge as a bonus "best seller" for joining a book club. ... (See the whole review)

In this book, Bastiat defends free markets by crushing the arguments for intervention.  He goes through one economic fallacy after another, demolishing them with logic and especially wit.  Bastiat explains his ideas through stories and examples, always showing the absurdity of these bad ideas.  The style is funny and light-hearted, and he makes the... (See the whole review)

Roger Dawson delineates the attributes of a successful negotiation and explains in detail how to make the people with whom you negotiate feel good about the deal you want to make.  When he overhears a person accuse him of wanting to snatch the gold fillings from people's teeth, he explains that such an action would amount to stealing, not power neg... (See the whole review)

The newest Harry Potter book went on sale this morning at midnight.  My daughter was one of those silly people lining up to buy a copy at midnight and she stayed up all night reading the entire book.  She told me that the books are getting darker and Hogwarts isn't the fun escape it used to be.  Someone very important dies in this book.  (She told ... (See the whole review)

I have found this book to be more beneficial as an introduction to "Objectivist Thought" for the layman than any of her other writings. I have tried to talk to people at the ARI and TOC, but the minute I mention this title the subject is changed or the communication terminated. "For the New Intellectual", "A Time For Truth" by William E. ... (See the whole review)

Theology professor Dr. Robert Price has written a chapter by chapter refutation of evangelical Christian Rick Warren's best seller The Purpose-Driven Life.  Following Warren's format of 40 days of meditation, Price focuses on dissecting Warren's message by carefully examining the actual meanings of the Biblical passages Warren quotes.  In effect, P... (See the whole review)

Upon rereading Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose for the first time since I read it at age 16, I am struck by the obvious influence of Jorge Luis Borges on the work. When I first read the book in 1984 I was not aware of Borges, and had only just put down my first reading of Atlas Shrugged. The book itself is presented, in Borgesian manner, as a ... (See the whole review)

This is the magnum opus of Ludwig von Mises. Being one of the best books on economics ever written, its philosophical content is often ignored. This is applied philosophy at its best, and a careful analysis will show a variety of ideas useful outside of this particular field.

In 1958, Ayn Rand, already the world-famous author of such bestselling books as "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead", gave a private series of extemporaneous lectures in her own living room on the art of fiction. Tore Boeckmann and Leonard Peikoff for the first time now bring readers the edited transcript of these exciting personal statements. "... (See the whole review)

This book critically examines the Objectivist position on such major thinkers as Plato, Augustine, Hume, Kant and Nietzsche and finds them wanting. It includes 3 appendixes; one that provides an overview of Objectivism.

I've just finished reading this wonderful collection of writing exercises, previously unpublished stories and plays and unpublished excerpts from We the Living and The Fountainhead. It is delightful to witness Rand's progress, both as writer and philosopher, in these works written between 1926 and 1938. One of the things I find amazing about... (See the whole review)

To my knowledge, I am the first SOLOist to change my mind about the war in Iraq. My unease with my anti-war position had been going on for some time and a discussion with SOLOist Joe Rowlands when he last visited New Zealand was crucial. But I have to say, this book was what really did it. If you thought Lindsay Perigo hated Saddam and the anti-war... (See the whole review)

A fascinating portrait of the minds that have shaped the modern world. In an intriguing series of case studies, Rousseau, Shelley, Marx, Ibsen, Tolstoy, Hemingway, Bertrand Russell, Brecht, Sarte, Edmund Wilson, Victor Gollancz, Lillan Hellman, Cyril Connolly, Norman Mailer, James Baldwin, Kenneth Tyan, Noam Chomsky, and others are revealed as inte... (See the whole review)

The classic world history of the events, ideas and personalities of the twentieth century. While you are unlikely to agree with Johnson all of the time, his understanding of statism and capitalism make this book a refreshing departure from Marxist interpretations of history.

Based on interviews with Rand and discussions with those close to her, this biography describes her life from her youth in Russia, to her stint in Hollywood as a screenwriter, and through her marriage, the publication of her novels, and the evolution of her philosophy.

If you like John Stossel, you'll like this book.  It's the story of his intellectual and professional development.  He explains what evidence he ran into that made him a strong advocate of free-markets.  He reviews the major ideas and issues he's dealt with, going over many of his television specials. ... (See the whole review)

This is the first novel in Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, comprised so far of eight books following the life of Richard, The Seeker of Truth.  Wizard's First Rule begins with Richard as a simple woods-guide, but quickly transforms into a face-paced action/fantasy read that spans a massive continent made up of three realms of varying magical qual... (See the whole review)

Whether you love him or hate him, Leonard Peikoff has written a definitive, bottom to top, tour de force treatment of Objectivism in this publication.  Newcomers to the ideas of Ayn Rand will appreciate this systematic, integrated, "big picture" overview of her philosophy for living on Earth.  Detractors will complain that this book merely uncritic... (See the whole review)

Objectivists with children eventually want to discuss with them the right of an individual to his own mind, body and property -- regardless of "majority vote."  Such parents can use this book to their advantage.  The author's acid wit burns to the end when he serves to the antagonists large helpings of their "just deserts." The book centers ... (See the whole review)

This is a recent collection in the Marvel Visionaries series (others include Stan Lee and Jim Steranko). ... (See the whole review)

This sweeping text opens with the author recounting how human civilization and its economies have progressed through a series of ages: ... (See the whole review)

While Unrugged Individualism is only 65 pages long, the information inside is so succinct and essential that this is one of the best books around. This book explores the topic of benevolence -- why it's a virtue and what it consists of. But it is not just about benevolence. In order to discuss such things as the difference between benevolence and a... (See the whole review)

In "Philosophy in a New Key", Suzanne Langer developed a theory of symbolism, there applied to music, which she felt could be developed to embrace all the arts. In "Feeling and Form" she did just that. It offers the reader nothing less than a systematic, comprehensive theory of art, applied in turn to painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, ... (See the whole review)

Literally encyclopedic -- almost the length of a volume of the Britannica in terms both of number of pages and content per page --" Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics" is regarded by some as philosophically and intellectually the strongest and most comprehensive book in the defense of laissez-faire capitalism that can be found anywhere in the worl... (See the whole review)

The complete text of several of Aristotle's most important and influential works, in the famous and authoritative Oxford translations by W. Rhys Roberts and Ingram Bywater. Complete texts include: "Categories," "On Interpretation," "The Posterior Analytics," "On the Soul," "Metaphysics," "Nicomachean Ethics," "Politics" and "Poetics." It also has t... (See the whole review)

A remarkable series of lectures on the art of creating effective nonfiction by one of the 20th century's most profound writers and thinkers-now available for the first time in print. Culled from sixteen informal lectures Ayn Rand delivered to a select audience in the late 1960s, this remarkable work offers indispensable guidance to the aspi... (See the whole review)

Jefferson's theory and practice have often been seen as inconsistent or contradictory. Mayer attempts to show that much of Jefferson's views and actions are consistent with a contextual view of the Constitution. The contextual view, as explained in this book, provides an interesting way of understanding the purpose and structure of the Constitution... (See the whole review)

This is one of the milestone comic stories of this era. Written by Frank Miller, the story shows a brooding, old and retired Bruce Wayne. The world is in chaos and Bruce Wayne decides to take back the world by donning the mantel of the Bat. But his second coming is met with opposition from all classes, the mutant gangs and its leader, the Gotham Ci... (See the whole review)

Capitalism and Commerce provides an outstanding and accessible introduction to the best philosophical , moral, and economic arguments for capitalism. This excellent and interesting work makes a convincing case that capitalism is the only moral social system because it protects a man's mind, his primary means of survival and flourishing.Younkins tho... (See the whole review)

Frank Miller made his start as a writer on Daredevil, so it was fitting that he returned to the character that made him famous to do the definitive origin. ... (See the whole review)