Books

Millennial nerds and Gen Z nerds don’t know how good they’ve got it, with more Star Wars and Star Trek movies and TV series than they can count. It wasn’t always this easy to be a nerd! This memoir from a decorated veteran details the glory days of nerd-dom, when all we had was bad TV sci-fi and only the occasional silver screen gem, just after...

This collection of essays on religion and spirituality are drawn from other, more general collections, in order to focus on a number of questions their author wrestled with during years in the Evangelical Christian church – as the son of a Fundamentalist pastor, as an inquisitive and curious thinker, and as a naturally progressive personality....

Isaac Asimov was a legend, both as a science fiction author and science writer. He wrote over 500 books and countless articles during his lifetime - famously contributing to every topical category in the Dewey Decimal System, from science and technology to history to literature and religion. He amassed a vast following that spanned generations;...

Are you raising a nerd?

If so, this indispensible guide is just what you need! Bringing up a young nerd and preparing them for a nerd’s life in these complicated times is no small challenge - and Scott Robinson’s new book will equip you with everything you need to nurture your nerd kids in all the right ways!

A nerd, by definition, is...

What’s it like, growing up in a Fundamentalist church, a Fundamentalist home, with a Fundamentalist preacher for a dad? It’s a worldview like no other, especially for a Seventies kid reaching for the stars. This warm and humorous memoir explains what it’s like to love the Beatles from afar; to experience Rapture Terror and a sex talk about Debby...

The Outlander novels and TV series have awakened tens of millions to the romance, magic, and darkness of Scotland, a land of mystery and adventure. This wondrous, sometimes ominous, and often eerie corner of the world is the source of endless legends and tales - stories of ghosts and hauntings, fairies and giants, dreadful creatures; magic light...

The Outlander books of Diana Gabaldon (and the TV series by Ron B. Moore) awakened tens of millions of readers and viewers to the alluring romantic and sexual mores of historical Scotland, both fascinating and titillating in their awkward truce between traditional social order and the lusty spirit of the Highlands. But the real stories are just...

What the hell is Stoicism?

It’s what makes Mr. Spock Mr. Spock, of course - total cool under pressure, living rage- and tantrum-free, being rational and discerning in all things.

But it’s also about seeing ourselves, others, and the world in general in a new way, without the distortions of anxiety and fear and other corrosive emotions that hold us...

In the beginning, there was Heavy Metal. Well, really, in the beginning, there were the Beatles, but Heavy Metal soon followed - and peaked fairly quickly. In the land of its birth, a new form of hard rock emerged in the working-class towns of the north: the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which blended the intense, riff-driven blues rock of...

We are living today in a stupid, stupid world - a world where the people in charge are reckless, feckless, and unconcerned about the outcomes of decisions; a world where dissent is increasingly suppressed, debate and deliberation are increasingly rare; a world where loyalty and conformity are rewarded, and innovation and progress are...

To most people, the term indigenous critique means absolutely nothing.

In a nutshell, the Indigenous Critique summarizes Native American impressions of Western culture, once they’d been exposed to it and had a chance to observe and evaluate it.

The Indigenous Critique, issued by a Wendat diplomat named Kandiaronk, dispels three myths: the myth...

What exactly is oligarchy, where does it come from, and why does it matter? In this brief introduction, the nature of oligarchy - rule of the many by the wealthy few - is examined, along with its origins, its history in the United States, and its impact on the nation’s economy, politics, and society.

Several prominent historical writers,...

The word has been around for many decades now, but only recently has neoliberalism been a topic of interest in the American cultural mainstream.

Pundits and media observers have appealed to it with increasing frequency to describe the incessant march of oligarchs and right-wing politicians toward long-term control of the national and global...

At this writing – the summer of 2024, a few months before the next presidential election – it seems like we’re hearing and reading about Project 2025 from all sides.

Political pundits and media commentators are giving it as much time as they can squeeze in, between the legal woes of Donald Trump and discussion of President Biden’s age. And...

We hear the word authoritarian all the time these days, it seems: in the news, in pundit blog posts, all over social media. It’s an ominous word, usually offered in ominous context: it’s used in a way that carries a scent of danger.

Once we understand what an authoritarian is, and what authoritarianism itself really means, that ominous sense of...

In this latest What the Hell entry, the topic of Christian Nationalism is summarized. What is Christian Nationalism? How did it begin? What are its features, who embraces it, and what impact has it had on US politics and society?

In addressing these questions, this brief book references a number of experts, as well as insiders who have been part...

What the hell is ‘prog rock’???

It’s a term that’s been around forever, and may seem to have lost all relevance today, 25 years into the new millennium - a relic of another generation’s music, now hopelessly out of date and out of style.

But there’s a lot more going on here than most people realize. Progressive rock represented an unprecedented...