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Stuff I've read

Recommended Books

Top recommendations from recent reads: On the Web

Islam Watch, a site written by ex-Muslims, is one of the best references I could find on issues like Multiculturalism and the relation between Science and Religion.

The list below includes my book recommendations.


History:
Jared Diamond Guns, Germs and Steel - There are some universal features of human cultures that are dictated by humanity's evolutionary past (see Donald Simmon's book "The Evolution of Human Sexuality"). However, most features in human cultures are highly variable. The central thesis of "Guns, Germs and Steel" is that these variable characteristics are determined to a very large extent by their environment, and also by their history. The ideas have such a large predictive power that this book could easily be put in the "Science" section (r. 2002).
Paul Kennedy The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers - Earlier study than "Guns, Germs and Steel", about more recent events, namely the competition between modern nation-states. The military success of individual states is very predictably based on their economic strength. There is some overlap with "Guns, Germs and Steel", notably the agreement that differing geographies of China and Europe were ultimately responsible for their differing historical evolutions.
Edward Gibbon Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - A classic book about a classic topic.
Francis Fukuyama The End of History - History from a philosophical perspective. Completely different from the previous works, but equally illuminating. Many of the points raised in this book (for instance, that the West has already achieved the optimal system of governance, with no room for fundamental improvement in the future, or its logical corollary: that Western - style democracy is the inevitable and desirable way of the future for all the Earth's population) are still controversial. Much food for thought here. Here is a Wikipedia link.

Science:

Sensitive readers are advised to vigorously exercise their virtues of caution when reading some of the items below (particularly the sections on life sciences and religion); as such reading might result in emotional shock.

General, history and philosophy of:
Carl Sagan Cosmos - I had to have this one here. It is mostly about astronomy, but really it has a bit of everything in it. I was very impressed when I first read it (I was 14). This book helped to bring me into science.

The Daemon Haunted World - The book that sums nicely my thoughts on astrologers and the supernatural. One of my friends, Scott Ransom, says it should be obligatory reading in school, I agree with him entirely.
Daniel Boorstin The Discoverers- A great masterpiece on the beginning of modern Western science.
Dava Sobel Longitude - If you ever read "Galileo's Daughter", I'll tell you: this is better. One of the great stories not covered in the previous volume. (r. 2001).

Life Sciences
James D. Watson The Double Helix - A great story on the discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule. Science can be great fun! (r. 2007)

DNA - This book answered a lot of questions I had about genetics. (r. 2003)
Richard Dawkins The Selfish Gene - Everyone should read this book, because it tells us about the real (an in my opinion, the only discernible) purpose of all life on Earth: gene replication. The appearance of the first molecule capable of reliable self-replication was the central event of Earth's history. Living organisms are merely the automatons that the direct descendants of these molecules use to compete with each other. This book is fundamental for a true understanding of ourselves and all remaining life on Earth. This is important because, if you understand what your genes programmed you to do, and why they did so, then you will no longer be their slave. Knowledge is liberating indeed! (r. 2005). Here is a Wikipedia link.

The Blind Watchmaker - Organized complexity, such as what is observed among living beings, is not proof of the existence of a Creator, as proposed centuries ago by William Paley. Evolution is not random, as some Creationists mistakenly believe. It is the opposite of random: small random changes in genetic content are filtered by natural selection in a very non-random way: genes promoting survival and a better ability at reproducing become automatically more abundant in the gene pool with each passing generation. After many generations, the many small changes can add to an impressive transformation. Evolution is the only scientific (i.e., non-magical) theory of life. It becomes mathematically inevitable as soon as we accept some well known and abundantly observed (to the point of appearing trivial) laws of nature: the existence of inheritance, the existence of small genetic variation and small random mutation, and the differential success of living beings at reproducing. Evolution is also the only theory can logically explain the world's existing complexity: the Creationist viewpoint fails to explain where a complex being like God came from in the first place (r. 2006).

The Ancestor's Tale - An absolutely delightful trip of exploration to both the near and extremely remote past of our evolution (r. 2005)
Andrew H. Knoll Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Years of Evolution on Earth - This book describes what happened from the origins of life to just before the Cambrian explosion. A lot more than what you would suppose from the scant fossil evidence! A fascinating view into a truly alien planet: The Earth before the emergence of animals. (r. 2007)
Stephen Jay Gould Bully for Brontosaurus - This is a wonderful collection of essays. Evolution is not a theory, is is the truth, whether you like it or not. This should be read in quick succession with Deborah Cadbury's "Terrible Lizard" (r. 2001).

Wonderful Life - This book describes the discovery and interpretation of the Burgess Shale, the most famous Cambrian fossils, and perhaps the most scientifically important fossils ever discovered. They document a time soon after the appearance of modern animal life on Earth. The animals are so strange as to seem alien, they are so removed from us in time and shape that they tell us of truly lost kingdoms of life. The Burgess Shale also tells is that, apart from gene replication, life has no purpose. Evolution has no pre-established direction, and form some reason, after reading this book, I thought that was wonderful.
Michael Benton Vertebrate Paleontology - A really fun book on the origin and evolution of vertebrates, despite (or perhaps because) is is somewhat technical. This really illuminates our direct origins! (r. 2007)
Jeniffer Clack Gaining Ground: The Origin and Early Evolution of Tetrapods - This book focuses on one of the events described by the previous book, the origin of Tetrapods and their adaptation to land, but with much more (technical) detail. A difficult read for non-specialists, but very rewarding (r. 2006).
Donald Simmons The Evolution of Human Sexuality - Again, everyone should read this book. The main rules of life's evolution presented in "The Selfish Gene" are here applied with full force to the Human species, i.e., this book concentrates on the "know thyself" part that was, to a large extent, left aside in the more general treatment of Dawkins (r. 2005).

Earth Sciences
Robert Kunzig Mapping the Deep - Also belongs to the "life sciences" section. An absolutely delightful book on oceanography (r. 2002).
Gabrielle Walker Snowball Earth - The Earth has been deep frozen on several occasions. A grand new idea (r. 2003). Here is a Wikipedia link.
Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee The Life and Death of Planet Earth - On the border between geology and astronomy. More concise, focused and well-argued than the better known "Rare Earth", and a better, more interesting read as well. Should be read in quick succession with the previous book (r. 2005).
Bjørn Lomborg
 The Skeptical Environmentalist - How I learned to stop worrying about global warming and love economic progress. Written by a former member of Greenpeace who has the nerve to say (based on ample evidence) that the world is not doing so bad after all. My favorite periodical, The Economist, gave it this review: "This is one of the most valuable books on public policy - not merely on environmental policy - to have been written for the intelligent general reader in the past ten years. ... The Skeptical Environmentalist is a triumph." (r. 2006). Here is the Wikipedia page on this book.

Planetary astronomy and space exploration
Andrew Chaikin Man on the Moon - Yes, we have been to the Moon. What a great time it was! This book is beautifully complemented by Michael Light's "Full Moon".
Robert Zubrin The case for Mars - Yes, we could go to Mars. I wish the great vision of hope contained in this book comes true.
William Sheehan The Planet Mars: A History of Observation & Discovery - A good account of Mars exploration before the space age (r. 2003)
Oliver Morton Mapping Mars: Science, Imagination, and the Birth of a World - A great description of the human side of Mars exploration (r. 2003)
William K. Hartmann A Traveler's Guide to Mars - The best account I've read about what has been learned so far about Mars, mainly focused on space age results (r. 2005).
Jim Bell Postcards from Mars: The First Photographer on the Red Planet - A photographical journal of the two first travelers on the Martian surface (r. 2007).

Astronomy
Marcia Bartusiak Archives of the Universe: 100 Discoveries That Transformed Our Understanding of the Cosmos - This book puts a lot of the subjects discussed in the works below in a nice, coherent historical perspective. It is a great summary of the history of astronomy, and it has improved my understanding of many areas of astronomy outside my direct expertise. One of the great things about this book is it use of the original sources. These are generally very well written, they make the text fresh and fast-paced. A treat! (r. 2007).
Galileo Galilei Sidereus Nuncius - One of the best original sources listed in the book above. Follow Galileo as he discovers the mountains on the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, that the Pleiades has far more stars than anyone had imagined... The writing is so clear and fresh that you are transported to those amazing, wonderful nights of discovery in 1610 (r. 2001).
Michael J. Crowe Modern Theories of the Universe: From Herschel to Hubble - An accessible, but rigorous and very informative book on astronomy from the 18th to the 20th centuries, with a particular focus on the Great Debate. Like Bartusiak's book, it resorts to many of the original sources, to excellent effect.
Dennis Overbye Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos : The Story of the Scientific Quest for the Secret of the Universe - What happened after Hubble, but with a greater emphasis on the human side of things. Very illuminating.

Physics
Clifford M. Will Was Einstein Right? - In the transition from astronomy to physics, this is the book that brought me to my field of research (pulsars).
Marcia Bartusiak Einstein's Unfinished Symphony - The search for gravitational waves - a great new endeavor of Physics and Astronomy in the 21st century! (r. 2006).
Richard L. Garwin and Georges Charpak Megawatts and Megatons - This is the best text I know on the uses of nuclear power (r. 2002).
Richard Rhodes The making of the Atomic Bomb - The definitive book on the Manhattan Project, with very clear descriptions of the physics and the political aspects of the project (r.2003).

Dark Sun - The definitive book on the start of the Cold War and the development of the hydrogen bomb. One thought that came to my head: even at its worst and most destructive, science has an enormous, unique advantage over all other belief systems - it damn works! Unfortunately, the people at Hiroshima and Nagasaki felt that more sharply than most.(r. 2004).

These books are beautifully complemented by Michael Light's 100 Suns.
Roger Penrose

The Emperor's New Mind - A lovely review of modern physics and many math concepts for everyone, although with a bit of a dodgy point at the end.

Math
Simon Singh The Code Book - This is a feast for the mind (r. 2002?).

Fermat's Last Theorem - A book similar to Dava Sobel's "Longitude", in the sense that it deals with a lifelong, all-consuming obsession, and ultimate triumph. A great tale of perseverance (r. 2001)

Science Fiction / Fantasy / Horror:
Edgar Allan Poe The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket - Teke lilit, teke lilit.
Herbert G. Wells The Time Machine - even better than War of the Worlds.
The War of the Worlds - a great classic - I really enjoyed it.
H. P. Lovecraft The Call of Cthulhu and other weird stories - The works of H.P. Lovecraft are a fascinating combination of Science Fiction with the sort of horror stories of Edgar Allan Poe (r. 2006-2007).

The Thing at the Doorstep and other weird stories - More Cosmic Horror, further elaboration of the Cthulhu Mythos. His story "At the Mountains of Madness" is directly inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's "Gordon Pym", and at least as amazing (r. 2006-2007).
J. R. R. Tolkien Silmarillion

The Lord of the Rings - The masterpieces of imagination.
Anne Rice Interview with the Vampire - A great story, which inspired a great movie (r. 2007).

The Vampire Lestat - In my opinion, this is even better than "Interview with the Vampire"!

The Queen of the Damned - The logical conclusion to "The Vampire Lestat". Also pretty good, but not as amazing as the preceding book.
Neal Stephenson Cryptonomycon - A great story, also with a science fiction feel to it, despite the fact that it happens in WW II.
Brian Aldiss The Long Afternoon of Earth

Helliconia (Spring, Summer, Winter) - Both H. G. Wells and B. Aldiss can take you to truly alien worlds (r. 2002)
Frank Herbert Dune - (r. 2004) - If you really like this, then you might also be interested in the many other books from the series. I liked the ones I have read: "Dune Messiah", "Children of Dune" and "God Emperor of Dune".
Douglas Adams The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - A barrel of laughs.
Kim Stanley Robertson Red Mars - Green and Blue Mars are good as well, but not as fresh as the first.

Fiction:

I should definitely expand this session. I have not been reading good fiction lately.

French language
Alexandre Dumas The Three Musketeers
Voltaire Short Stories - 18th Century philosophy at its best. Extremely funny! If you love this book as I loved it, then read Candide.
Victor Hugo Les Miserables
Emile Zola Nana - (r. 2002)
Flaubert Madame Bovary - A perfect work of art. Scenes like the "Agricultural Fair" are a laugh, although very cynical (r. 2001).

L'Education Sentimentale (r. 2004)
Albert Camus La Peste (The Plague) - One of the best writers ever, this is the best written book I've ever read (please read the French edition, if you understand the language!).

L'Etranger (The Stranger) - I am the stranger (r. 2002)
Michel Houellebecq The Elementary Particles - This is one of the funniest books I have ever read, but one of the most bleak and depressive as well. Overall, the best fiction book published in the world in the 1990's. I've read it four times so far. Towards the end there is some science fiction. Note: his other books (Plateforme, The possibility of an Island, Whatever) are very good too, but repeat the same subjects a bit too much.

English language
Emily Bronte Wuthering Heights
Oscar Wilde The picture of Dorian Gray (r. 2001)
Aldous Huxley A Brave New World - A great description of a world where suffering has been scientifically eliminated, and where everyone is happy. It turns out to be a nightmare, but a strangely pleasant one.
George Orwell Animal Farm - This book built my present perception of communism.

1984 - The ultimate nightmare.

Russian language
Leo Tolstoi War and Peace - A bit long, but very entertaining.
Alexander Soljenitsine The Gulag Archipelago - This is not a piece of cake... (r. 2001)

German language
Erich Maria Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front.
Patrick Susskind
 The Perfume

Iberian languages
Gabriel Garcia Marquez Cien Anos de Soledad (One hundred years of solitude) - Great story. Magic Realism has its definition here. This also did wonders for my Spanish (r. 2001).
Jose Saramago O Evangelho segundo Jesus Cristo (The Gospel According to Jesus Christ) - This book contains my opinions on religion. A very sophisticated text, written by a well known Portuguese (communist) writer that got the Nobel prize of literature for this one.

O ano da morte de Ricardo Reis

Memorial do Convento

Chinese language
Jung Chang The Wild Swans - Communism (again!) in China.

Religion:
Sam Harris The End of Faith - Sam Harris argues convincingly that organized religion and non-critical thought are among the main problems faced by humanity. After reading this book, I agree with that assessment. Religion could be a larger threat to our future than other more publicized problems (r. 2006). Here is a Wikipedia link.