Amazing, articulate analysis of what it means to be human
590816
I was surprised and impressed with the depths to which Heinlein probes fundamental questions about what it means to be human. By asking big important questions from the perspective of someone completely unfamiliar with humanity, Heinlein gets right to the difficult topics and does an excellent job of probing them without getting too bogged down in academic argument. Very insightful, and the story and characters do not seem dated or jaded in any way. It feels as though it could have been written just last year.
485614
Once I started reading this book, I couldn't stop. The structure of the book ( the narrator starts "in the middle" and only later tells us the beginning and end) makes sense in terms of the issues brought up by this book. Some reviewers mentioned that the narrator is not likeable, but she is honest, and her unsociable qualities make sense in light of what she has gone through. I found the writing to be wry and even funny at times, despite the seriousness of the topic. Characters are described pithily, and are alive and distinct. This is a book that says a lot about what it means to be human, and how we interact with the other inhabitants of our planet.
4237745
Rick Hanson eloquently simplifies the complex subject of our seemingly individual mind in terms of the evolution of a social being. This should be on the required reading list for all universities. It is a tribute to all mankind and their pursuit of self-actualization through the common realm of interpersonal - neuroscience.
954688
Great history of our species and insight on what it means to be "human". I highly recommend reading this book!
2220065
I call "Faith, Madness..." scientific poetry.  It is a work of humanity, written in earnest, baring its flaws and uncertainty to reveal a possible truth about WHY and maybe more importantly HOW we are what we are.  Callahan weaves snippets of insightful, passionate prose with personal ancedote to illustrate his theory that our immune systems help to define our individuality.  I have been touched by this book.  Not only does it speak to my thirst for scientific understanding but it lightly stroked my sense of spirituality.  Science books like this don't come around very often.
1385860
This book is one of the important "building blocks" that gird the large task of understanding what human development is.  This understanding, if it is not to result in meaningless opinionation, has to start from the beginning of what being human is all about, in so far as we may even postulate.  Having such books readily available through your resources is an appreciated boon to my endeavor.  Thanks, Allen Heacock
1920980
Dr. Purdy has not only written an enlightening and lucid history of American environmental policy and imagination beginning with our colonial days, but also an urgent and thoughtful call to action in a natural world that is destined be controlled by human decisions - the Anthropocene.  He asks us to re-invigorate a democratic politics that practices a self-restraint informed by post-humanist aesthetics and ethics.  Our politics must derive from love and beauty, an ecocentric worldview that honors the mystery and uncanniness of other lifeforms while also honoring the unique position of humans as creatures of meaning, imagination, and creativity.  'After Nature' is highly recommended reading for anyone who strives to be the change s/he wishes to see in the world, providing a solid historical and intellectual foundation for doing so.
3904412
Ryan has written a beautifully revealing memoir of the struggle and catharsis of being a transgendered human being. It begs the question, again, why any rational person would care enough to threaten and negate the way a soul within a body understands its own basis for self-expression, instead of honoring that soul. I would recommend this to anyone hoping to embrace a greater fullness of understanding of what some persist in calling "other".
1918139
This brief, articulate book provides insights into the politics of identity--by one who has seen quite a bit of it up close--and some suggestions for easing the friction of conflicting groups.

Maalouf's book is not intended to be definitive or exhaustive. Rather, he offers insights into the nature of identity--what is it? how does it manifest itself?--based on his own observations, using a few telling examples. His central point is that the individual identity of each of us is exactly the sum of all the group identities that we possess, this sum being unique for each individual. I'm an adult male British Columbian of (partly) Latvian descent, an English-speaker, a chess-player, and so on. Each of those characteristics I share with others. The sum of them all I hold alone.

Maalouf makes the point that identity is not really an issue until we feel it is threatened. If the French-speakers in an English-speaking society feel that they are being discriminated against due to their language, suddenly that language becomes the most important thing about them, and voila the politics of identity is born. Calming identity conflicts will mean making people, especially minorities, feel included.

Maalouf's book is conversational rather than rigorous--the type of thing you could hear from an intelligent, well-spoken friend opening up on a topic he has given considerable thought. There is no bibliography, no footnotes; but there are little asides and direct addresses to the reader.

Maalouf offers no panaceas. His most important suggestion is that each of us learn to accept our own diversity, and not give in to the temptation or pressure to identify with only one aspect of our identity.

On the social and political level, Maalouf's suggestions seemed a bit weaker to me. His suggestion that we, the world, should exert ourselves to preserve every single living culture and language from extinction, in the same way we would exert ourselves to preserve animal species, while understandable, struck me as being quixotic and even a bit paternalistic. The world becomes a living museum of quaint cultures and languages.

All of Maalouf's thoughts, though, are carefully considered, mature, nonpolemical, and respectful of his fellow human beings, wheresoever they are. In that way, he is an exemplary citizen of planet earth. Put another way: if everyone thought and felt as Amin Maalouf thinks and feels, there would be no terrorism, no genocide, and no racism. He is setting out the attitudes we will all need to adopt in order to put an end to those things.

If you want to listen to the considered thoughts of a sane neighbor on an important topic, read this book.
3863408
In "The human condition", Arendt distinguishes three kinds of activities the human being is capable of: labor, action and work. I will attempt to explain the first two, and I will leave the third to you so as to motivate you to read the book :)
Labor is, according to Arendt, those human activities whose main aim is to allow men to survive, for example eating, drinking and sleeping. These activities belong to the private sphere, and while the human being strives painstakingly to perform them, he is not free.
On the other hand, Action is the moment when the human being develops the capacity that distinguishes him, the ability of being free. This is the public sphere, where men, after having provided for themselves and their families what was needed to "continue in existence", can at last be free.
Arendt shows us the historical evolution of these concepts, and how that evolution is connected to the evolution of the concept of work. At the end of this book, you will have analyzed with her the human condition, from the point of view of the activities that the human being is capable of. What is more, you will be able to have a valid view regarding the past, and an interesting perspective on what is happening now, and on what the future may bring to us. Yes, it is true that this book was released a long time ago, but I believe that it is still as important now as it was then.

Arendt (1906-1975) was a respected professor and thinker, who wrote books that greatly influenced quite a few of her contemporaries. Even though her more significant book was "Origins of Totalitarianism" (1951), "The human condition" is also essential in order to understand her ideas. Not only that, it will probably help you to understand our society, or at least to contemplate it through the eyes of a remarkably good political scientist.
I must warn you that "The human condition" isn't overly easy to read, and that you might find yourself re-reading a paragraph a few times before understanding what it means. However, at the end of the book you will realize that the effort is worthwhile, because then all you have read makes sense and leaves you with the sensation of having understood some concepts that you will find useful.
On the whole, recommended. You aren't likely to "have fun" reading this book, but it will be useful to you, and if you manage to finish it, you will realize that you benefited from it. So, PERSEVERANCE ):
Belen Alcat
4058759
Jane Goodall's very personal account of her life, values, convictions and evolving insights results in a compelling case for human spirituality and its role in shaping a better world. Eloquently written, from the heart, and underscored with gems of her poetry, the autobiography compels the reader to introspection and self-reflection, to visualize your own life purpose and become a better person. Because that is what Earth needs, what people, animals and the environment need. In this particular book, it is rather Jane, more than the chimps, who becomes the window to a better understanding of our human nature and its potential to rise above evil. A must-read source of hope.
1001130
If you're a Martian, or in the far end of the autism spectrum, or a cockroach archeologist from the future, you need to read this book.  It's the best description I've ever seen of human beings, of how they go about living and why.  Ever had the inkling that everyone is faking it all the time--at such a fundamental level that the moral charge of "faking" stops making sense? Then read this book.  It's one of those Weltanschauung-changing treatises that manage to single out and name, with seemingly magical explanatory powers, dozens of crucial phenomena that you always knew were there, but couldn't think about clearly because they had no names.  By the end of the book I had neck pain, because I was nodding the entire time.  A path to knowledge this clear and enlightening could only be created by the author's commendable commitment to honesty: he isn't here to judge, preach, or lecture; his one unwavering desire is to find out what IS.

Goffman's prose is not obscure as some have claimed, but it's dense--often enough, a single paragraph or sentence is heavy with meaning, and you'll find yourself coming back to ruminate.  It's the kind of book that requires one to climb the walls of words with icepicks--but every meter climbed opens new, fascinating vistas.  Totally worth it.
2000008
In Phantoms of the Brain V.S. Ramachandran paints a picture of the duality of neuropathology that arises between the troubling or inspiring stories of people who have had their lives decimated by damage to their brain or senses and the fascinating inferences one can draw when you carefully study just how the brain both succeeds and fails at its job. In its time of publication 10 years ago these stories must have been nearly unbelievable, and even today -- where many of these anecdotes have filtered their way into the public consciousness via explosions in pop psychology -- the sense of both compassion and indomitable curiosity that Ramachandran's writing exudes can inspire someone to look further.

Phantoms of the Brain is divided into twelve chapters each diving into the plight of a particular subject (or group) and the peculiar facet of our mind's operation that underlies the situation. Notable examples are the numerous cases of phantom limbs (the titular concern) treated using mirror trickery, the oddly specific and vivid hallucinations people with visual scotomas sometimes accrue, the crushing completeness of mental neglect, and the incredible link between mind and body. Throughout this all Ramachandran both provides clear lay explanations and ample contextualization to the larger, drier, but more precise world of academic papers (referenced in 35 pages of footnotes).

More personally, Ramachandran uses neuroscience as a vehicle to explore the physical foundation of human moral or philosophical concerns. He makes these expeditions under welcoming auspices of patient, scientific curiosity but manages to eventually end up adding extra dimensions to these questions, leaving the reader no longer just able to question what self is, but what parts of our brain support it; no longer able to just question the existence or meaning of god but whether these very questions are somehow a quintessential, biological part of human existence. Ramachandran's treatment is gentle but designed to inspire further questioning as he simultaneously expresses his own views on the softer side of these questions which becomes a respectful and peaceful mix of Eastern philosophy and appreciation of the beautiful complexity of our reality.

In the end, Phantoms is a fantastic combination of harder scientific observation and softer scientific thought. Ramachandran's writing exemplifies the curiosity that drives our investigation and delivers the musings, beliefs, and infant hypotheses that live inside a scientific mind though rarely are shown outside of the very most daring of conclusions of academic papers. This serves as a wonderful lay foundation to the neuroscientific experiences Ramachandran has had a part in and thus leaves the reader with a curiosity toward the unknown ignited and appreciation of that 3lb blob of grey renewed. One only wishes it were written in light of today's knowledge.
4095123
This amazing book of essays showed up in my Amazon recommends for some reason - unknown to me - and I am very glad it did. I recommend this to all with an interest in analysis, the psyche, grief, the soul, recovery from trauma, what else? - for all who have an interest in life, in living fully. Make no mistake, Ragen is well versed in her subject matter, she is an intellectual, a thinker, but it was heartening to read words that also made reference to the soul. She addresses the difficulties a person can face when trying to realign oneself with life, with living as opposed to fear. Anyone who has experienced trauma in childhood or in adulthood will understand how one's own instincts can thereafter lead one astray. One's instincts can lead to a shutting down. I have sought through analysis a way to counter this shutting down, to learn how to be in relationship to others, to the world. To love - one wouldn't assume this to be a terrifying prospect and yet this is simply what is, in terms of the aftermath of trauma.
Ragen presents the idea of how a person can re-form relationship(s) with others through the analyst/analysand relationship. I realize this will be old news to anyone versed even a bit in psychological knowledge. But reading about this from the analyst's viewpoint was both eye opening and very touching. Much analysis is tinged with coldness. Not so for Ragen. I was incredibly moved by the way she depicted her care and caring for her patients. The essay entitled "Longing" was a revelation and I thank her for her words. I have often thought of a breakdown in the psyche as in fact a crisis of the soul. Ragen explicates this as well, and beautifully.
4839523
The brilliance of Saramago's work lies beyond the story, the characters, etc. (which are described below by other reviewers). Blindness provides a framework to understand the foundations of modern civilization and social evolution. It forces the reader to understand the tenuous nature of our collective existence, in much the same way that Americans (and many others around the world) were forced to understand the tenuous nature of our existence following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. If you are a person with even the slightest imagination, you will after reading this book be compelled to reflect on (and likely fear) the endless possibilities for rapid societal mutation.
4067917
I love this book. Not only did it explain scientific concepts in a way that a non-scientific layman like me can understand, but that it enriched human history with many other disciplines holistically, as it should. Most of all, I was touched by how humanistic the conclusions drawn by this book are. It's really encouraging to know that the progress of science can provide hope to humanity. Thanks so much, professor Sforza.
1170812
A mandatory reading for everyone concerned about current human issues in the USA and the world.  An excellent perspective on  why human beings long to be relevant as individuals while at the same time they yearn to belong and to be guided by others. Erich Fromm describes how fear acts as drive and direction for the masses to behave the way they do even when at times it seems to be a contradiction to their individual and collective "freedom."  For anyone wondering the whys of our recent elections, this book is an absolute must.