Monday, January 19, 2009


Anthem by Ayn Rand. Signet 451-W7846. My copy of this book is much older than the one I linked to. I am guessing that I bought it sometime in the late 80's, but it was probably used. It doesn't have an ISBN. Probably dates to the 60s. I have four other books by her, maybe I'll get around to reading them someday. The story in this book is not very believable. It is contrived to allow the author to make the point of how great is individualism. It was written at a time when the Soviet Union was considered a success by some people. Clearly, those days are gone. This book is a poor example of a genre (dystopian science-fiction) that I would say includes books like Brave New World, 1984, Animal Farm. Read them before you read this.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Screwed, The Undeclared War Against The Middle Class, by Thom Hartman. ISBN 1-57675-414-6. I got this book at Powells for cheap. My copy is the first edition (2006.) There is a more recent second edition. The book is easy to read and well written. It appears to me to be well researched, many stated facts are sourced with notes/references. The book is a bit of a downer, because Hartmann paints a pretty bleak picture. He does end it with recommended actions that the reader can pursue.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Satan A Biography, by Henry Ansgar Kelly. ISBN 0-521-60402-8. This book provides a discussion of the character Satan as it occurs in (mainly) Christian literature. Jewish and Muslim ideas are considered only briefly. The main thrust is the "Old" vs. the "New" Satan. The Old Satan is found in the Old Testament and New Testament books while the New Satan is developed later by Christian writers like Justin Martyr. I found this book very interesting and was especially interested in the wide variety of books the author consulted to make his case concerning the Old vs. New Satan.