100 books like Science Ideated

For a very long time, Dr. Larry Dossey has been fascinated by the outer reaches of human consciousness.

In this inspiring and important book, he examines a wide range of phenomena (e.g. epiphanies and creative breakthroughs, remote healing, premonitions of danger, near-death experiences, reincarnation, communication with the dead). These phenomena are presented through anecdotal stories, as well as in connection with captivating scientific research.

Taken together, they suggest that all individual minds are part of an infinite, collective dimension of consciousness Dossey calls the One Mind. This view represents a major shift in our understanding of mind and consciousness.

Kenneth R. Miller is a professor of cell biology at Brown University who’s co-written several widely-used biology textbooks and contributed to journals including Nature, Cell, and Scientific American. 

In 2000, I attended a conference on Intelligent Design, with leading speakers both for and against. Miller was unique as a believing Catholic who opposed Intelligent Design in favor of Darwinian evolution. I was predisposed against him, but wound up being convinced by his arguments.

Finding Darwin's God is an excellent book for explaining why no outside “Designer” is necessary to explain the origin of species, and also why this shouldn’t cause anyone to lose their faith in God or conclude that life is meaningless.

If you read only one book on this list, make it this one. Bernard Haisch is an astrophysicist who’s worked with NASA and published papers in Nature, Science, and the Astrophysical Journal (for which he served as scientific editor for a decade). 

In this slim, powerful volume, Haisch makes difficult concepts in quantum physics and astrophysics easy to grasp, then shows how they harmonize with the “Perennial Philosophy”—the sum of humanity’s mystical insights.

For several decades Dr. Rupert Sheldrake has been prodding us to awaken beyond the limitations of western science as we know it.

Trained as a scientist at some of the world’s top institutions, he began to understand that science itself needed to be set free from its own dogma that has accumulated over the centuries. He shows the ways in which science is being constricted by its own assumptions that are not only limiting but dangerous for the future of humanity.

Should science be a belief system or simply a method of inquiry? In the skeptical spirit of true science, Dr. Sheldrake turns the 10 fundamental dogmas of materialism into exciting questions and shows how all of them open to startling new possibilities for discovery.

This book was a very compelling read and resonated with me, as the author was a professional and idealist who was drawn into a war that he was not in control of. His casual and all matter of fact style of writing made it a pleasure to read, while still hitting home with his underlying theme. Jennings is an Englishman with few prospects for a prosperous future so he throws his lot in with a motley bunch of foreigners in the service of france. He writes with hilarity and frankness that I was immediately drawn to.

I was fortunate to have met Eva Kasaya at a writing retreat in Kenya shortly after she wrote this book. Part novel, part biography, Tale of Kasaya is the astonishing story of Eva Kasaya’s journey from a 13-year-old village girl in rural Kenya to a published author in Nairobi. Kasaya, who leaves her family’s farm for a job as a domestic worker in the city recounts the horrific situation some domestic workers undergo. Sexually assaulted, she overcomes her trauma and finds solace in the written word. A beautifully written book that deserves to be a classic.

Prolific author and intellectual Francis Mading Deng became South Sudan’s first ambassador to the United Nations. Meeting Dr. Deng in person was one of the highlights of my life. To read any of his 40-some books is a privilege. It is possible to read Dinka Folktales as astonishing anthropological events, but Francis Mading Deng provides an introduction that reveals the “truth” in storytelling. These folktales contain the philosophical, religious, and day-to-day practices of the Dinka, who are the largest ethnic tribe in South Sudan. Given the civil war with north Sudan and the south’s dramatic victory in establishing their own country, these extraordinary stories belong in the ranks of world literature. 

This book is one of my all-time favorites. The Death of Artemio Cruz is a historical novel by one of the most acclaimed literary figures of the Spanish language, Carlos Fuentes. It is a captivating narrative of intertwined memories experienced by Cruz while on his deathbed; this novel is a harsh condemnation of the post-revolutionary political class. It shows the path of idealist revolutionaries becoming corrupt politicians once in power. While a work of fiction, the book describes real corrupt and abusive attitudes and straight-out crimes committed by numerous revolutionary leaders turned politicians. There were many Artemio Cruz among the revolution leaders, which helps explain why the revolution failed to achieve real social change. 

Jake's Magical Market has become one of my standout favourites because of how many different ideas can all (logically and cohesively) fit into one story. The initial premise promised a magic system based on internalized decks of cards, but the unfolding story reveals a much more sinister universe filled with mystery, corruption, and intrigue than I could have ever expected from its humble start. Jake meets each challenge head-on, growing stronger along the way, and each new arc in the story is crafted with creativity and very well thought out. A special shoutout to the author’s second series ‘A portal to nova roma,’ which some argue is even better, but Jake’s is still the more memorable read.

Accounts of the common soldier are part of a long tradition in Civil War history—but this is not your typical study. Carmichael sets out not to examine motivations or ideology, but to explore "the life of the rank and file as it was lived." The war forced soldiers in the North and South to bridge the gulf between two competing impulses. "Sentimentalism" helped soldiers understand war as a series of hardships and sacrifices that could be endured through faith, courage, and patriotism. Confronting this conventional approach was a "pragmatism" that guided soldiers desperately seeking to survive with honor the filth, blood, and despair that they actually experienced. Carmichael makes his argument through careful, moving, and fascinating narratives of men trying to explain the war to their loved ones and to themselves.