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  Philosophy of Pseudoscience -...

  Massimo Pigliucci, Maarten Boudry

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  “A remarkable contribution to one of the most vexing problems in science: the ‘demarcation’ problem, or how to distinguish science from nonscience.” —Francisco J. Ayala, author of Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion 
   
  What sets the practice of rigorously tested, sound science apart from pseudoscience? In this volume, the contributors seek to answer this question, known to philosophers of science as “the demarcation problem.” This issue has a long history in philosophy, stretching as far back as the early twentieth century and the work of Karl Popper. But by the late 1980s, scholars in the field began to treat the demarcation problem as impossible to solve and futile to ponder. However, the essays that Massimo Pigliucci and Maarten Boudry have assembled in this volume make a rousing case for the unequivocal importance of reflecting on the separation between pseudoscience and sound science.  
   
  Moreover, the demarcation problem is not a purely theoretical dilemma of mere academic interest: it affects parents’ decisions to vaccinate children and governments’ willingness to adopt policies that prevent climate change. Pseudoscience often mimics science, using the superficial language and trappings of actual scientific research to seem more respectable. Even a well-informed public can be taken in by such questionable theories dressed up as science. Pseudoscientific beliefs compete with sound science on the health pages of newspapers for media coverage and in laboratories for research funding. Now more than ever the ability to separate genuine scientific findings from spurious ones is vital, and The Philosophy of Pseudoscience provides ground for philosophers, sociologists, historians, and laypeople to make decisions about what science is or isn’t. 
   
  “A manual to overcome our natural cognitive biases.” —Corriere della Sera (Italy)

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  Rush Limbaugh: The Life and...

  Charles River Editors

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  “Greetings, conversationalists across the fruited plain, this is Rush Limbaugh, the most dangerous man in America, with the largest hypothalamus in North America, serving humanity simply by opening my mouth, destined for my own wing in the Museum of Broadcasting, executing everything I do flawlessly with zero mistakes, doing this show with half my brain tied behind my back just to make it fair because I have talent on loan from…God. Rush Limbaugh. A man. A legend. A way of life.” – Rush Limbaugh, 1991 
  With the advent of several controversial social movements in subsequent decades, a non-traditional style of editorial persona began to take control of the news machinery in America. The weighing of ideas gave way to exclusive promotion of a specific world view, and the omission of all opposition within a devotee’s range of hearing. The general population, the branches of government, and the media entered an era of divisiveness as cable television and talk radio altered the equation by which we once interacted. These important social movements of the mid-20th century, intended to enhance the status of marginalized groups, factionalized the nation in the process. New battle lines between race, gender, and political ideology brought about a similarly fragmented group of media organizations, each catering to those sharing its worldview. Finessed shadings of mutual discussion were banished as opposing arguments were negated entirely, bringing about the current era of hyperpartisanship. Limbaugh’s radio extravaganza acts much like a restrictive social network itself, with informal pressure exerted upon listeners to conform. With other opinions excluded, the audience is given a “heightened sense” of being in the majority.

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  Going Rogue - An American Life

  Sarah Palin

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  Going Rogue is the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir from Sarah Palin, one of America’s most beloved and controversial political figures. Now with new material, Going Rogue offers plain talk from a true American original about her life, her career, and the future of the country she loves.

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  The Nativity Story

  Angela Hunt

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  Bestselling author Angela Hunt, who most recently wrote Magdalene, a historical fiction novel of the story of Mary Magdalene that was tied to The Da Vinci Code, now focuses on Mary, the mother of Jesus. She has adapted the screenplay for The Nativity Story into a powerful historical novel. Her moving novelization of this film tells the extraordinary tale of two common people, Mary and Joseph, a miraculous pregnancy, an arduous journey, and the history-defining birth of Jesus. Brought to life with an unprecedented attention to detail and commitment to historical accuracy, Hunt tells how from humble beginnings great things can come.

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  Patrick Pearse - 16Lives

  Ruán O'Donnell

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  On 24 April 1916, as President of the Provisional Government, Patrick Pearse appeared under the GPO Grand Portico on Dublin's O'Connell Street and read aloud the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. Nine days later, he was the first of the rebel leaders to be executed. 
  Pearse was born in Dublin on 11 November 1879, to an English father and an Irish mother. Considered the face of the 1916 Easter Rising, for many he was also its heart. In this definitive biography, using a wealth of primary sources, Dr Ruán O'Donnell establishes as never before the significance of Pearse's activism all across Ireland, as well as his dual roles as Director of Military Operations for the Irish Volunteers and member of the clandestine Military Council of the IRB.
  On 3 May 1916, Pearse was executed in the Stonebreakers Yard at Kilmainham Gaol, at the age of thirty-six.

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  The Letters of Lord Nelson to...

  Horatio Nelson

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  Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was an English flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He won several victories, including the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, during which he was killed. These are the letters that he wrote to Lady Hamilton, with whom he was having a notorious affair until his death in 1805. (Summary by Wikipedia)

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