A non-fiction feast
Discover a curated list of must-read non-fiction books in 'A Non-Fiction Feast.' Explore captivating titles that inform, inspire, and expand your knowledge across various genres.
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Stone Age Soundtracks
by Paul Devereux
Our Stone Age ancestors sang and played instruments, and ascribed magical qualities to many sounds. Exciting research—known as acoustic archaeology—has reconstructed this vanished aspect, and this new knowledge exposes both the origins of music and a lost world where echoes were considered spirit voices. Travel from chambered mounds in Ireland to French paleolithic caves, and listen to the past once more.
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The Archaic Revival
by Terence Mckenna
Cited by the L.A. Weekly as "the culture's foremost spokesman for the psychedelic experience," Terrence McKenna is an underground legend as a brilliant raconteur, adventurer, and expert on the experiential use of mind-altering plants. In these essays, interviews, and narrative adventures, McKenna takes us on a mesmerizing journey deep into the Amazon as well as into the hidden recesses of the human psyche and the outer limits of our culture, giving us startling visions of the past and future.
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Supernatural
by Graham Hancock
Hancock investigates extraordinary possibilities about human origins, and about the nature of consciousness and of reality.
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Signs in the Sky
by Adrian Gilbert
This riveting archeological detective story uses the same techniques that unlocked the secrets of the Egyptian pyramids to penetrate the mysteries of prophecies set forth in the Old and New Testaments. 8-page b&w photo insert.
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Epicenter
by Joel C. Rosenberg
10 new predictions about the state of affairs in the Middle East from the best selling author of The Copper Scroll.
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The Occult Tradition
by David S. Katz
Despite the growth of modern science and a general disenchantment of the world, the occult tradition has evolved in the West, manifesting itself in a variety of forms. This book describes the growth and meandering path of the occult tradition over the past 500 years, showing how the esoteric world view fits together.
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Infidel
by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ayaan Hirsi Ali tells her life story. An advocate for free speech and women's rights, Hirsi Ali lives under armed protection because of her outspoken criticism of the Islamic faith in which she was raised.
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Holidays in Hell
by P. J. O'Rourke
Having traveled to hot spots around the world in search of trouble, truth, and a good time, the author humorously recalls his experiences in Lebanon, Korea, the West Bank, El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Philippines, and Poland. Reprint.
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Open World
by Philippe Legrain
The former Economist correspondent argues that globalization is neither a label for Americanization nor an excuse for worldwide corporate domination, nor does it eliminate local cultures or make governments irrelevant. Mr. Legrain's balanced evaluation analyzes the major forces in the economic equation and makes a clear case that we are free to choose our future and to shape globalization for the benefit of all. "At last a good book on globalization...lucid and persuasive."-Financial Times.
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Endgame
by Thomas McInerney
The military advisors to Fox News discuss the role of high tech weapons in the War on Terror, debunking misconceptions about the potency of these weapons while outlining the strategy that must be followed in order to achieve victory.
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Film Technique and Film Acting
by P. J. O'Rourke
The author of Parliament of Whores takes a look at freedom around the world, discussing the Gorbachev-Reagan summit, the Berlin Wall, elections in Paraguay and Nicaragua, Russia after the aborted coup, Saddam Hussein, liberals, and more. Reprint.
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Hell to Pay
by Barbara Olson
A former congressional investigator discusses Hillary Clinton's radical political agenda, her role in the Clinton scandals, and her true personality.
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Dereliction of Duty
by Robert Patterson
Here is the ultimate insider's account from the highest and most sensitive levels of the Clinton administration, revealing how the irresponsible use of power can lead to a terrible price paid by all Americans.
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A World Without Walls
by Mike Moore
Mike Moore's insight as Director-General of the World Trade Organization contributes to the globalization debate.
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No One Left to Lie to
by Christopher Hitchens
Suggests that President Clinton's largest legacy may be the weakening of the presidency and of the Democratic Party.
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The Progress Paradox
by Gregg Easterbrook
aIn The Progress Paradox, Gregg Easterbrook draws upon three decades of wide-ranging research and thinking to make the persuasive assertion that almost all aspects of Western life have vastly improved in the past century--and yet today, most men and women feel less happy than in previous generations. Why this is so and what we should do about it is the subject of this book. Between contemporary emphasis on grievances and the fears engendered by 9/11, today it is common to hear it said that life has started downhill, or that our parents had it better. But objectively, almost everyone in today's United States or European Union lives better than his or her parents did. Still, studies show that the percentage of the population that is happy has not increased in fifty years, while depression and stress have become ever more prevalent. The Progress Paradox explores why ever-higher living standards don't seem to make us any happier. Detailing the emerging science of "positive psychology," which seeks to understand what causes a person's sense of well-being, Easterbrook offers an alternative to our culture of crisis and complaint. He makes a Compelling case that optimism, gratitude, and acts of forgiveness not only make modern life more fulfilling but are actually in our self-interest. Seemingly insoluble problems of the past, such as crime in New York City and smog in Los Angeles, have proved more tractable than they were thought to be. Likewise, today's "impossible" problems, such as global warming and Islamic terrorism, can be tackled too. Like The Tipping Point, this book offers an affirming and constructive way of seeing the world anew. The Progress Paradox will change theway you think about your place in the world, and about our collective ability to make it better.
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Hating America
by John Gibson
John Gibson is one of the Fox News Channel's most outspoken personalities. Now, as the aftershocks of the war in Iraq reverberate around the world, Gibson exposes the outrageous tenor of anti-American sentiment filling newsprint and airwaves beyond our borders and how disagreements over policy have mushroomed into poisonous hatred."I loathe America . . . and what it has done to Iraq and the rest of the helpless world." —Margaret Drabble, British novelist From the "Arab street" to the halls of even the most historically friendly foreign governments, extreme anti-Americanism has grown disturbingly pervasive throughout the world since the shell-shocking moment of 9/11. Over the year that followed, Gibson writes, "I began to watch the overseas press with a morbid fascination punctuated by bursts of outrage. The things that were being said about America and Americans were marked by an off-the-charts level of venom, a scandalous parade of mistaken assumptions, an endless font of suspicion, mistrust, and the promulgation of outright, willful lies. The viciousness of commentary on America was breathtaking." "Damn Americans. Hate those bastards." --Carolyn Parrish, Canadian parliament member And, as Gibson traces, the hate speech has gone well beyond the usual suspects in the Middle East, infecting our erstwhile allies in Europe, Asia, and even Canada. British Prime Minister Tony Blair complained that "some of the rhetoric I hear used about America is more savage than some of the rhetoric I hear about Saddam and the Iraqi regime." Presumptuous Belgian officials attempted to bring American officials up on war-crimes charges. And special hatred was reserved for President George W. Bush, whom one Australian newspaper dismissed as "the village idiot." As America defends its security in the ongoing war on terror, Gibson argues, we must be prepared to face this growing tide of resentment abroad, which will only result in serious consequences for the haters themselves. For the anti-Americans, he argues, would "like us to forget that those who hate us may eventually try to kill us -- because they now know that we will never allow that to happen without exacting a price on those who would attempt it."
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Conservatives are from Mars (liberals are from San Francisco)
by Burt Prelutsky
You think you have pet Peeves? America's Favorite Humorist, the man who invented political incorrectness, unloads on every annoying topic you can imagine.You think not? how about Bill and Hillary, cell phones, SUV's, the ACLU, Reverend Jesse, TV weathermen, the French, Al Sharpton, teenagers, affirmative action, Mexico, fishing, Tom Daschle, Flag-burners, gay pride, screenwriters, travel, Canada, Diet plans, how-to-books, Hollywood celebrities, cats, Islam, professors, Ed Bradley, lawyers, political debates, American Jews, Michael Moore, Angela Lansbury and my mother's cooking?!
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Rewriting History
by Dick Morris
Rebuttal to Hillary Clinton's autobiography by a former Clinton advisor.
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Red Star Over Hollywood
by Ronald Radosh
Using material from Hollywood insiders, the authors trace the growth of the Communist Party from the 1920s, when stars like Charlie Chaplin and Groucho Marx toured the Soviet Union and came back converted, through the 1930s and the war years, when the party achieved critical mass in Hollywood.
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Fear No Evil
by Natan Sharansky
The prison memoirs of the Soviet dissident and Jewish activist relate the harrowing events of his nine years in KGB custody, from interrogation to release.
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Why Are You Creative?
by HBI
This book offers a unique approach to the study of creativity by posing the title question to dozens of various creative professionals--actors, artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers and politicians--and then analyzing their ultimately revealing answers. Readers will discover fascinating insights into the nature of creativity and their favorite celebrities, including: Mel Gibson, Johnny Depp, Stephen Spielberg, George Bush, David Bowie, Salman Rushdie, Juliette Binoche, and more.Author Hermann Vaske has packed this extraordinary pop culture treasure with original sketches, scribblings and responses from and photos of each interviewee. Throughout, the hidden meanings and motivations of each subject reveal the wonder of individual creativity, and provide a foundation for the beginning of a fascinating dialogue about this aspect of being human.Hermann Vaske has been a successful advertiser, winning numerous awards and his work as a film maker has been seen in almost every country of the world. Currently he is the mastermind behind Hermann Vaske's Emotional Network, bringing together the creative talents of original thinkers from all over the world. He lives in Frankfurt, Germany.
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Emergency Sex and Other Desperate Measures
by Kenneth Cain
"This is a true story about three friends trying to bring a bit of decency to some of the most savage and indecent spots on our planet." Back cover.
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Deconstructing the Left
by Peter Collier
All over the world Marxism is a bankrupt political force, but not on American campuses where socialist fantasies and anti-American impulses are alive and well. On the faculties of American universities the reign of tenured radicals and the politically correct continues unbroken. Deconstructing the Left is a challenge to this radical orthodoxy by ex-radicals Peter Collier and David Horowitz.
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Why the Left Hates America
by Daniel J. Flynn
Argues that the American left has developed a dangerous anti-American attitude that promotes a cultural self-loathing that takes American liberty for granted and ignores the country's many contributions and benefits.
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The Caged Virgin
by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
A world-renowned activist and feminist pulls no punches in her efforts to reform Islam in this international bestseller, available for the first time in English.
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Ancient Iraq
by Georges Roux
Newly revised and containing information from recent excavations and discovered artifacts, Ancient Iraq covers the political, cultural, and socio-economic history from Mesopotamia days of prehistory to the Christian era.
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The Blue Nile
by Alan Moorehead
In the first half of the nineteenth century, only a small handful of Westerners had ventured into the regions watered by the Nile River on its long journey from Lake Tana in Abyssinia to the Mediterranean-lands that had been forgotten since Roman times, or had never been known at all. In The Blue Nile, Alan Moorehead continues the classic, thrilling narration of adventure he began in The White Nile, depicting this exotic place through the lives of four explorers so daring they can be considered among the world's original adventurers -- each acting and reacting in separate expeditions against a bewildering background of slavery and massacre, political upheaval and all-out war.
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Rogue Messiahs
by Colin Wilson
Throughout history, Western culture has been bedeviled by false prophets, charlatans, and self-appointed messianic figures. Their appetites for destruction and depravity have led to broken lives and worse-mass suicide and even mass murder. Why does this occur again and again? In Rogue Messiahs, Colin Wilson compellingly recounts the stories and outrageous claims, acts, and abuses of 25 self-proclaimed messiahs who have arisen in the last 300 years. He uncovers the probable factors that turn earnest religious leaders, mystics, or well-intentioned cult leaders into violent, abusive, murderous, and paranoid rogue messiahs. This gallery of spiritual fakers includes many familiar names and faces: David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidians; Shoko Asahara, founder of the Aum Supreme Truth cult; Rev. Jim Jones; founder of the infamous Jonestown; Jeffrey Don Lundgren, Mormon con man and murderer; Ervil LeBaron and family, deranged cultist, prophets, and murderers; Rock Theriault, late twentieth-century French Canadian self-proclaimed messiah. Further, Wilson includes a study of others who achieved spiritual insight instead of destruction, and demonstrates that mayhem and benevolence are often two sides of the same coin. These would-be messiahs, in Wilson's analysis, are all driven by a childish dream of absolute power. Almost always, they cross the line from inspiration to paranoia, and from the teaching to killing-genuine aspiration mixed with self-deception, says Wilson. This is an incisive review of the motives and madness of cult leaders, spiritual con men, and would-be saviors.
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Future Jihad
by Walid Phares
MSNBC terrorism expert Walid Phares offers a terrifying look into the future of jihad and reveals how the U.S. can win the war
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Salvation on Sand Mountain
by Dennis Covington
On assignment in Alabama to cover a murder trial, New York Times journalist Dennis Covington discovered the bizarre, mysterious, ultimately irresistible world of holiness snake handling. As he explored the lives and beliefs of the poor, white Southerners who practice this strange form of religion, he gradually began to explore his own soul. A National Book Award nominee. of photos.