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Title: From the Wandering Jew to William F. Buckley, Jr. : On Science, Literature, and Religion by Martin Gardner ISBN: 1-57392-852-6 Publisher: Prometheus Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.88 (8 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Odd Assortment
Comment: I came to this book with the wrong idea. I had expected variations on a theme, but this turned out to be a bewildering hodge-podge. (I had hoped for a running dissection of the strange things people believe and why they believe them -- alas, not here. Much of this book is just 'inside baseball' for dedicated sci-fi fans.) Gardner's breadth is undeniable, as is his passion for the diverse topics he addresses here, but I found myself uncaptivated by his enthusiasm. If you are not a sci-fi fan and if you're not looking for detailed debunkings of obvious absurdities like 7th Day Adventism and astrology, then caveat emptor.
Rating: 5
Summary: Long live Martin Gardner!
Comment: Martin Gardner has done it again: Another fabulous jewel in his crown of critical and thought-provoking works.
I have been a fan of Gardner's since "Fads and Fallacies (In the Name of Science)". His strength is in taking an unflinching look at the foibles and farces that most people would prefer to pretend don't exist in our civilized world... But they do, and they're ugly, and they need to be looked at -- acknowledged -- as a first step to fixing them, much as an alcoholic or drug addict first needs to admit they have a problem.
Sure, Gardner packs a modicum of vitriol -- but in that, he merely mirrors what the masses actually feel when confronted by the nonsense that Gardner takes on. He's a brave, bold and straight-shooting warrior in the war for common sense, reason and rationality, and I wish him long life and many more books.
Interestingly the "reader from Pasadena", the only negative reviewer, gives himself (or herself) away by the list of books quoted as being "thoughtful, brilliant volumes one could profitably spend time with": This person obviously suffers from the Religion-is-the-only-correct-viewpoint syndrome. I find it even more interesting that this reviewer states that Gardner's "attacks are directed only at people who challenge human-based authority". "Human-based" as opposed to what? God-based? Yes, we certainly wouldn't ever want to question Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, now, would we? Or any other God-based authority, would we? I can only guess the reader from Pasadena means that religious-minded people should be allowed to "challenge" secular viewpoints, but never the reverse. How sad... and how eloquent a reminder that the world needs Martin Gardner, now more than ever.
Here's a tip: Whenever you're feeling like the world is a crazy, hopeless place, pick up a Martin Gardner book and start reading. It's always a nice feeling to know that there's at least one other sane person out there.
Long Live Martin Gardner!
Rating: 1
Summary: Library loaner or used paperback only (if you can't skip).
Comment: The first third of the book contains articles & biographies relating to children and science-fiction book authors, along with 3 chapters on the history of a religious group/cult (7th Day Adventist).
The first chapter ("Wandering Jew") was promising, once one makes peace with it being a history of the consequences of poor scholarship without actually correcting the scholarship. However, it was spoiled in the end by vitriol.
The last two-thirds contain book reviews; two chapters on the Wizard of Oz (more than most would care to know), the "Christian Science" cult, a look at social constructivist claims about mathematics, etc.
The book tends to undermine itself; gratuitous phrases like "moronic" and "tin brains" suddenly pop up. It seems like the author just can't get over the existence of human fallibility: the compulsion to instruct people on proper right-thinking seems irrepressible.
The common thread is that the attacks are directed only at people who challenge human-based authority. The modus operandi is to seek deviant examples for caricature and hope it carries over as a generalization in the reader's mind. Thus the extensive coverage of Jim and Tammy Faye Baker, bizarre religious cults, and so on. The innocent reader would never guess brilliant modern religious thinkers and writers like Alvin Plantinga, William Lane Craig, Norman Geisler, Gary Habermas or Kelly James Clarke exist -- not even a whisper about their work. Someone might find out thoguhtful and powerful answers exist to humanist charges. Analysis of Augustine or Aquinas or Calvin? No. Any serious knowledge of church history? No. Just a spotlight for the deviant.
For all the overt and covert attacks on religion, the book seems mostly informed on the subject by "60 minutes" or "20/20" segments and the garish cast of characters who show up there. The goal seems to be how long a sneer can be sustained.
There seems dissatisfaction that individuals cannot be prevented from wrestling with issues of God and existence. However, the topic can't be controlled like mathematics: restricted to an elite 1 out of a 100000. People with of all sorts of intellects and cognitive skills and sinful natures are drawn to these issues. I would think a person who claims an intellectual life would seek out the best thought, not dwell on the weakest. One can't help but think of the junior high-school student who likes to pick on the 3rd graders. Trying someone at his own level or higher means the risk of getting creamed.
There are dozens of thoughtful, brilliant volumes one could profitably spend time with. Why the author avoids them is an open question:
"6 Modern Myths About Christianity and Western Civilization" (Sampson). "Christianity on Trial: Arguments Against Anti-Religious Bigotry" (Carroll),"Inventing the Flat Earth" (Russell), "How Now Shall We Live" (Colson), "Church History in Plain Language" (Shelley), "Atheism and the Erosion of Freedom" (Morey), "Reasonable Faith" (Craig), "Christian Apologetics" (Geisler),"New Evidence That Demands a Verdict" (McDowell).
With all that is happening in the world, "The Wandering Jew" could leave one thinking the biggest problem out there is that someone somewhere might be taking an herb not approved by the FDA/AMA and "who-knows-what-might-happen-if-he-thinks-it-works?". Trivial stuff and a waste of the author's (and reader's) time.
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Title: The Night Is Large: Collected Essays 1938-1995 by Martin Gardner ISBN: 0312169493 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener by Martin Gardner ISBN: 0312206828 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 1999 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Weird Water & Fuzzy Logic: More Notes of a Fringe Watcher by Martin Gardner ISBN: 1573920967 Publisher: Prometheus Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1996 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: Are Universes Thicker Than Blackberries?: Discourses on Godel, Magic Hexagrams, Little Red Riding Hood, and Other Mathematical and Pseudoscientific Topics by Martin Gardner ISBN: 0393057429 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: July, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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