Books

SOME FEW ODD BOOKS I HAVE ENJOYED

BUTCHER'S CROSSING by John Williams. Williams only published three novels in his life-time. But this is one, dealing with the last days of commerical buffalo hunting, that you will not be able to forget.

THE DYNAMICS OF FAITH by Paul Tillich has been another seminal book for me. In it Tillich explains the difference between faith and belief. Faith is something we have that is largely undefinable, though we do attempt it, while belief involves statements that are arguable. We go to war over beliefs, but not over faith (this, of course, is my own addendum). But read the book: a truly intellectual approach to the subject, which you rarely get from "believers."

THE TRUE BELIEVER by Eric Hoffer. What a wonderful little book. It's about the fanatic. Hoffer was a stevedore, I understand, who published this one book when he was in his sixties. But I would guess he had made notes on the subject for years, and finally, after much reflection, finally published them.

VALUES IN A UNIVERSE OF CHANCE: Selected Writings of Charles S. Peirce (1839-1914), Edited by Philip P. Wiener and published by DoubledayAnchor in 1958 is an important book for me in as much as the philosophical values and beliefs it contains are pretty much those I also have come to after much reading of philosophy.

The first 50 pages of A HIGH WIND IN JAMAICA by Richard Hughes, the part that takes place on the island before the kids leave withs the pirates.

A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES by John Kennedy Toole. Such a marvelous sense of humor. Too bad that, turned down by 8 publishers, he committed suicide. His mother, who is marvelously caricatured in the novel, persisted and got it published after his death.

CARDS OF IDENTITY by Nigel Dennis. Wonderful spoof on Communism and the Church of England in the 50s. Probably out of date now.

THE ORIGIN OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE BREAKDOWN OF THE BICAMERAL MIND by Julian Jaynes. Such a seminal book for me! I always wondered why history only began about 4000 BC; this book answers the question -- at least to my satisfaction.