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[ Skepticism | Scientology
| Weird groups | Magic Exposure
| Philosophy | Humor | Computer
Science | Scary Stuff | Science-Fiction
| Children | Advice | Management
| Cool Stuff | CDs | Videos
]
Skepticism
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James Randi: Flim-Flam!
Psychics, Esp, Unicorns, and Other Delusions (also in audio)
Exposes all sort of super-natural frauds, including but not limited
to Uri Geller. Excellent book to begin with, also very useful for high
school, to teach students skepticism.
-
Martin Gardner: Fads
and Fallacies in the Name of Science
Another classic skepticism book. Although written 40 years ago, it
is still useful! And of course, it has a chapter on "Dianetics".
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M. Lamar Keene, Allen Spraggett, Ray Hyman: The
psychic mafia
A former "medium" exposes the methods of the spiritualist "churches".
This book appeared in 1976.
Scientology and other dangerous groups
Weird groups
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Christopher Hitchens: The
missionary position
exposes Mother Teresa's dilletantism ("you are suffering so much -
this is wonderful, like Jesus") and her shady money sources (Charles Keating!),
and her philosophy "lecture the poor and be friendly to the rich".
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Marvin J. Wolf: The
Japanese Conspiracy: The Plot to Dominate Industry Worldwide
Although this book is now decades old and out of print, I think it
shows wonderfully which dirty tricks the japanese industry used.
Magic exposure
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William Poundstone: Big
Secrets: The Uncensored Truth About All Sorts of Stuff You Are Never Supposed
to Know
This author exposes not only magic secrets, but also other things that
are not well-known.
Exposes Uri Geller and how-to-saw-a-lady-in-half.
-
William Poundstone: Bigger
Secrets: More Than 125 Things They Prayed You'd Never Find Out
Exposes Anthony Robbins, levitating lady, newspaper precognition, zig-zag-girl,
DC's vanishing of the statue of liberty, 3 card monte scam, Scientology
"Xenu" scam.
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William Poundstone: Biggest
Secrets: More Uncensored Truth About All Sorts of Stuff You Are Never Supposed
to Know
Exposes Houdini's escapes, vanishing elefant, metamorphosis
-
James Randi: Flim-Flam!
Psychics, Esp, Unicorns, and Other Delusions (also in audio)
Exposes all sort of super-natural frauds, including but not limited
to Uri Geller. Excellent book to begin with, also very useful for high
school, to teach students skepticism.
Here are books that I have bought but not (yet) read:
Recreational philosophy
Humor
Computer Science
-
Jacques Vallee: The
Network Revolution: Confessions of a Computer Scientist
A fun book from 1982 with stories from the past in computer science
(but I wouldn't call it an "history book"). My favourite parts are about
an evil computer consultant trying to pressure a young developer, and about
a company whose employees are told to get into EST.
Scary stuff
-
Stephen King: Needful
things (also Audio)
A guy comes into a town and sells "needful things" to people in exchange
for a prank against another person. Soon, the people in town begin to kill
each other as revenge. Much better than the HBO movie.
-
Philip K. Dick: Flow
My Tears, the Policeman Said
Harmless guy suddenly finds himself in a fascist state.
-
Lara Cardella: Good
Girls Don't Wear Trousers
The sad life of a girl in the conservative island of Sicily, Italy.
The author got in big trouble for writing this book and her family had
to relocate.
-
George Orwell: 1984
(also in Hardcover
and Audio)
In this book from 1948, the author describes a totalitarian state where
total obediance is required and no privacy exists - televisions are monitoring
every move. History is constantly rewritten, sex is forbidden, free speech
is non-existant. Except for the technology, the world described is similar
to scientology. This book is strongly recommended by Robert Vaughn Young,
former scientology media twister.
-
Stanley Milgram: Obedience
to Authority
A scary experiment
that showed how far people will go when they are "just following orders".
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Miep Gies: Anne
Frank remembered
This is the story by one of the secretaries of Otto Frank. It is a
very moving account of her life with the Frank family, and her time before
and after, and not just a "companion book" to the Anne Frank diary.
Science-Fiction
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Philip K. Dick: Do
Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (aka Blade Runner)
Like the movie, but much more, e.g. a new religion and a second (parallel)
police department.
-
Philip K. Dick: UBIK
The story of "Joe Chip", a guy who suffers from a pathological lack
of money in a money-hungry world investigates the death of his boss while
time and reality crumble. Will the mysterious product UBIK help him?
-
Aldous Huxley: Brave
New World (also in Hardcover
and Audio)
In a future world, everyone is happy and you get enough food, drugs,
entertainment and free sex. But what happens when an outside is introduced
in this world? I loved that book, and it didn't scare me at all (although
I don't take drugs).
Many years later, Huxley wrote Brave
New World Revisited, in which he compares today's life with the predictions
of his book.
For children and adults
-
Daisy Spedden: Titanic
the polar bear
The story of a little Steiff bear who was on board of the Titanic.
The story is told by the bear to his owner, a little boy. Wonderful book
with illustrations and fotos.
-
Paul Zindel: The
pigman
Two bored high school students befriend the scurrilous Mr. Pignati.
-
Akif Pirincci: Felidae
A novel written from the point of view of a cat who investigates various
cat murders. Hilarious because of the way the owner of the cat is named:
"can-opener".
Books that are useful
Management books
-
C. Northcote Parkinson: Parkinson's
Law
Parkinson was an english bureaucrat who sat on a lot of committees
and made a lot of funny observations. His most famous findings was that
work takes exactly the time that was scheduled for it.
-
Laurence J. Peter: The
Peter Principle
In an hierarchy, everyone rises to the level of his own incompetence.
Cool stuff
-
Patrick Süskind: Perfume:
The Story of a Murderer
In 18th century France, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born with no scent
of his own, but with with a supernatural ability to detect the scent of
others, is driven to murder in order to create the perfect perfume. [from
amazon.com review] What fascinated me that this is the first book ever
where
I have read the "description" segments, which I normally skip. I was hooked
after the second page.
Cool CDs
-
Pavarotti
Greatest Hits
Has many famous opera songs that you've heard "somewhere", even if
you're not an opera fan. Luciano Pavarotti is my favourite of the "three
tenors" because his singing brings me a feeling that he really puts his
heart and soul into it.
-
Paint
the Sky with Stars: The Best of Enya
Forget the fan sites who claim that this is some sort of "ethnic minority
music". It is just good music for romance and relaxation. I had good results
after being coerced to install Office 97 on my PC. The CD has five really
good songs - exactly those presented by amazon.com in RealAudio.
-
Leonard
Bernstein conducts "West Side Story", with Kiri Te Kanawa, José
Carreras
So you like West Side Story. Here's the opportunity to get it directed
from the Maestro himself, with high-quality professional singers.
-
Supertramp
live in Paris
-
A
night at the Ballet: French Ballets
This unexpensive CD contains segments of Giselle, Coppelia,
Sylvia
and Faust. Sylvia has a "funny" music that is often used
in cartoons; the other have a few good moments where you can actually imagine
the girls dancing.
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Peter
Tchaikowsky: The Sleeping Beauty / Swan Lake / The Nutcracker
Don't bother wasting your precious time with attending a complete ballet
to hear the music. Buy this CD instead, which contains all the good parts.
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The
Best Of John Williams and the Boston Pops
Has the music from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, ET "flying", etc.
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The
Simpsons: Songs In The Key of Springfield
A "must" for all Simpsons fans. This is a bit like a "musical" CD,
it has the original songs of the show.
Videos (NTSC only!)
-
The
Great Dictator, by Charlie Chaplin
An hilarious parody of Adolph Hitler and other small dictators
Books not on this list
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