FullReviews Index - page 17

Supreme Injustice: How the High Court Hijacked Election 2000
Did the United States Supreme Court cheat in its decision in the case of Bush v. Gore, which ultimately led to George W. Bush's election as president of the United States? Alan Dershowitz argues "yes" to that question and offers some impressive arguments to support his case.

Last Night in Paradise: Sex and Morals at the Century's End
In contemporary America, dialogue about sex has become characterized by an attitude of caution and fear - something which would have been unthinkable when the sexual revolution began in the '60s. Why and how this has happened is the subject of Roiphe's book, and anyone who wonders about why sexuality is treated as it is will benefit from her discussions.

Created Equal: Why Gay Rights Matter to America
Should heterosexual Americans even care about the rights of gays? Michael Nava and Robert Dawidoff argue well that the movement for gay rights is of fundamental importance to the continuing maintenance and growth of individual liberties of all Americans.

Why the Religious Right is Wrong about the Separation of Church and State
Book Review: Why the Religious Right is Wrong about the Separation of Church and State. by Robert Boston. Published by Prometheus Books. Is the separation of church and state really just a myth, something the founders never actually intended? Was the United States founded as a "Christian Nation," thus meaning that the current trend towards secularism represents an unacceptable break with our own history? According to the Religious Right, the answers to these questions are an unqualified "Yes."

Review: Sacred Choices: Right to Contraception and Abortion in World Religions
Family planning, contraception and abortion are all intimately related issues which are often subject to rancorous debates in modern society and international politics. According to conventional wisdom, traditional religious beliefs and institutions are opposed to all three. According to conventional wisdom, religion is inevitably anti-choice in such matters. What if conventional wisdom is wrong?

Roswell: Inconvenient Facts and the Will to Believe
Book Review: 'Roswell: Inconvenient Facts and the Will to Believe,' by Karl T. Pflock, Jerry Pournelle. So what really did happen in Roswell, New Mexico back in 1947? According to popular legend, a UFO crashed, and from the wreckage, the United States government obtained the bodies of dead aliens and all sorts of advanced technology. Ever since, the government has been involved in a complicated cover-up and a conspiracy of silence regarding the truth.

Sartre, by Neil Levy
Sartre: Jean-Paul Sartre was acclaimed by the people of France in ways normally reserved for rock stars in other countries. When he died in 1980, fifty thousand people lined the streets of Paris to watch his coffin go by. What did he do to merit such respect and attention?

Culture Wars and the Global Village: A Diplomat's Perspective
People often claim that they are interested in living in peace, but why then do we continue to have so much conflict in areas like the Balkans, the Middle East, Africa and other areas? Is there something about human nature which makes conflict inevitable and peace impossible? According to Carl Coon, the answers lie not so much in human biology, but in the development of human culture.

All the Pope's Men: The Inside Story of How the Vatican Really Works
Book Review: 'All the Pope's Men: The Inside Story of How the Vatican Really Works,' by John L. Allen, Jr. Publisher: Doubleday. The Vatican in Rome can be described as the world's oldest and most mysterious institution. What really goes on behind its walls? How are decisions which affect over a billion Catholics arrived at? What motivates the people who work there - power? Greed? Duty?

Unintelligent Design
Book Review: One of the most popular forms of "scientific" creationism in America today goes under the label "Intelligent Design." According to supporters, this provides scientific validity to the belief that the universe was created by an intelligent being. Most working scientists disagree with this and even find the "Intelligent Design" movement to be laughable. What, really, is this fight all about?

Religion Without God
Among both believers and nonbelievers, there are people who tend to assume that there must exist some essential tension between religion and atheism. For whatever reason, it is simply taken for granted that the two do not and cannot mix. But what if this assumption is wrong? What is atheism is readily compatible with religion?

Understanding the Bible: An Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers
Christian fundamentalists can always find some portion of the Bible to support their views on topics like abortion, homosexuality, the role of women in society, and so on. It is hardly surprising, then, that many would come to regard the Bible as a manifesto of oppression which is of use only to those who seek to retard the moral development of modern society. But if what an alternative understanding of the Bible were possible?

Religion for Dummies
Religions give people reasons for why they exist, but different religions give different reasons. Religions help people answer moral questions, but different religions provide different structures for understanding moral issues. There are a lot of similarities between religions, but also a lot of variation.

The Role of Complementary and Alternative Medicine
The Role of Complementary and Alternative Medicine: On the one hand, Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) has become increasingly popular over the past years. On the other hand, much of the medical establishment continues to be at least skeptical, if not outright hostile, to CAM treatments. Why does this difference exist? Is the public simply ignorant of science, or is the scientific establishment trying to protect its power?

Restoring the Goddess: Equal Rites for Modern Women
Is traditional religion inherently patriarchal and hence damaging to women? Is it possible to reconstruct a female-centered religious system? Would such a religion be free of superstition and damaging imagery, making it inherently better than a traditional religion centered on a male god?

Understanding the Hadith
People's interest in learning more about Islam has grown in recent years. The question is, do people know where to go in order to learn what they need to know? There is a lot of good secondary literature, but people need to take a look at primary sources as well. Most of the information people get in both types of sources tends to revolve around the Qur'an - but that isn't the only source of Muslim tradition and belief.

Roe v. Wade: The Abortion Rights Controversy
Why has the Roe v. Wade decision become so important in American history? Why has the debate on both sides of the abortion question become so intractable? What does this debate reveal about American history, society and politics? No one who observes the American political arena can fail to notice the problems which accompany discussions about abortion - but do we really understand what is going on?

Religious Liberty in America: Political Safeguards
Religious liberty is important in the American political system and to the American conception of itself as a free nation. Although religious liberties may be established in the American Constitution, mere words cannot guarantee that freedoms will be protected. But to whom should we turn when liberty is threatened?

Unintelligent Design
Book Review: One of the most popular forms of "scientific" creationism in America today goes under the label "Intelligent Design." According to supporters, this provides scientific validity to the belief that the universe was created by an intelligent being. Most working scientists disagree with this and even find the "Intelligent Design" movement to be laughable. What, really, is this fight all about?

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