Category Archives: Book Notes

Donald Hoffman: THE CASE AGAINST REALITY

Posted on Friday 20 March 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitle: Why evolution hid the truth from our eyes (Norton, 2019, 250pp, plus color plates, including 45pp acknowledgements, notes, and index.) This is the first of three books I read in January, all with ostensibly similar themes, but actually quite … Continue reading →

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Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan: SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS

Posted on Monday 16 March 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: A Search for Who We Are (Random House, Oct 1992, xvi + 505pp, including 85pp of notes, permissions acknowledgements, and index.) This is perhaps Carl Sagan’s most substantial book, on the grounds that it’s through-written as a single composition; … Continue reading →

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Whiteson & Warner, DO ALIENS SPEAK PHYSICS?

Posted on Thursday 12 March 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitle: “And other questions about science and the nature of reality” (Norton, 2025, 254pp, including 12pp of bibliography and index) Here’s a book that’s remarkable in an unusual way: I didn’t hear about it from anywhere, not in a review, … Continue reading →

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Malcolm Gladwell, THE TIPPING POINT

Posted on Tuesday 10 March 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” (Little, Brown, March 2000, 279pp, including 20pp endnotes, acknowledgements, and index) This was a popular and well-received book when published back in 2000, and launched Gladwell‘s book career. Most of his books … Continue reading →

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Johan Norberg, PROGRESS

Posted on Tuesday 3 March 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future (UK: Oneworld, Oct 2016, 246pp, including 28pp notes, acknowledgements, and index) Rather as I did with Rutger Bregman a few days, here’s an author who has a new book out recently, … Continue reading →

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Rutger Bregman: HUMANKIND

Posted on Wednesday 25 February 2026 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “A Hopeful History” (2019 Dutch; 2020 Little, Brown, xviii+461pp, including 64pp acknowledgements, notes, and index) Still catching up posting about big books I’ve read in recent years. This book came out in 2020 (in the US) and I blogged … Continue reading →

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Steven Pinker, ENLIGHTENMENT NOW, post 6

Posted on Tuesday 23 December 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress” (Viking, Feb. 2018, xix+556pp, including 102pp of notes, references, and index.) Posts about this book: Post 1; Post 2; Post 3; Post 4; Post 5; Post 6. The final chapter considers humanism as the … Continue reading →

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Steven Pinker, ENLIGHTENMENT NOW, post 5

Posted on Monday 22 December 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress” (Viking, Feb. 2018, xix+556pp, including 102pp of notes, references, and index.) Posts about this book: Post 1; Post 2; Post 3; Post 4; Post 5. Expanded below. Part I of this book outlined the … Continue reading →

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Steven Pinker, ENLIGHTENMENT NOW, post 4

Posted on Sunday 21 December 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress” (Viking, Feb. 2018, xix+556pp, including 102pp of notes, references, and index.) Here are the remaining ten chapters in the long middle section of the book that focuses on Progress. Some of these … Continue reading →

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Steven Pinker, ENLIGHTENMENT NOW, post 3

Posted on Friday 19 December 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled “The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress” (Viking, Feb. 2018, xix+556pp, including 102pp of notes, references, and index.) Here are the first seven of the 17 chapters in the long middle section of the book.  The first one … Continue reading →

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