• The Selfless Gene: Living with God and Darwin © 2009
• Thomas Nelson
• 283 pages

The Selfless Gene is a side-splitting call for moderation. Foster contends that it’s possible to believe in God without sticking your head in the sand when it comes to science. In pursuit of this belief, he disarms and jabs young earth creationists and uber-Darwinists like Richard Dawkins with equal ease.

One of the most interesting themes Foster dealt with was the charge that God is a sadist. Animal violence in the natural world cannot stem from the Fall—indeed, it predated it (Some might not agree with the preceding sentence—read the book and rethink the data). I won’t give away the solution to this quandary in a review—suffice to say it’s quite inspiring.

Another fascinating chapter concerned the idea of altruism and natural selection. The process is inherently selfish—how could it promote a creature who acts for the benefits of others? Foster doesn’t only give his opinion, he surveys the mains schools of thought in the process. You can make up your own mind.

“This book will have something in it to frustrate and annoy everyone,” said Foster in the introduction. He was right. Fortunately, he doesn’t stop there. This book provides fuel for thought and progression in the relationship between science and religion. Anyone who’s interested in these ideas should give this compelling book a try.

Disclaimer: I received this book as a member of Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze program.

• The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature © 2008
• Viking Canada/Penguin
• 354 pages

I respect anyone with a more diverse taste in music that me, and Levitin fits the bill. In fact, having read the first sentence of the book, I wonder if anyone alive listens to a broader array of tunes than he does.

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t what I expected. Given his vocation (Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Music at McGill University), I expected more science and less conjecture. This book relies quite heavily on personal anecdotes and conversations with musicians to move it along. There were times when the length of some stories felt like he was grasping for content.

The most fascinating part of the book was how he reached cross-genre to provide examples for his various categories—friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion and love. If only he had more killer and less filler!

• The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman © 1999
• Pereus Publishing
• 270 pages

This book was a pleasure to read. The topics ranged from nanotechnology to covert pranks in the Manhattan Project! On every page, Feynman’s sense of humor and love for truth and discovery shine through.

It might sound odd hearing a devout Christian recommend the collected works of a devout atheist—but we share something in common: a love for finding things out. I obviously don’t agree with his conclusions when it comes to the meeting of science and religion, but I respect his curiosity.

If you’re at all interested in science, biographies, or humour, this book is worth the read.