* Inferno – Dante - One of those classics that would not make it in today's world. There are some humorous parts, but the America is so over the edge with its shock culture, such as shock rock, and shock news that it makes this book seem quite dated.
**** Einstein's God - Krista Tippett - I found the book to be very interesting. It is a good introduction to what some of modernity's best thinkers believe. It is important to know what scientists think about Gd, as these folks are usually very reasonable. In my book, reason is a virtue. Scientists generally don’t think like those that have faith. It is like their brains are wired differently. These viewpoints matter though, as we should look to knowledgeable people for information. Many Christians like to trumpet literal 7 day creationism to scientists. Why not let scientists give their opinion on religion? It’s a good idea. In fact, I think by knowing what other sides think and why, we are well on the way to forming a more perfect union.
***** Maimonides – Sherwin Nuland - Excellent! Nuland takes his atheism right out of the book and is a good reporter. I learned so much about the history of Jewish medicine through reading this book, especially that Maimonides was influenced to a great deal by Greek medicine. It was interesting to find that he would heal by any means necessary. His presentation of Maimonides is quite endearing, as this man understood that it was more important to save a life even if it caused the healer not to observe the Shabbat. Also, a big take home message for me is the association of healers with Judaism, and that the word rabbi, usually translated, “Teacher,” can also be translated as, “Healer.”
***** Mythology - Edith Hamilton I would say that this contains all the mythology that is important to know for the lay person. These are the gods that pop up all over the place in a lot of literature. The section on Norse mythology is somewhat lacking. By now most literate people would consider this one a classic.
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