"The End of Faith: : Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason, " by Sam Harris, which got alot of plaudits last yr., is one of the two books I'm concentrating on right now. Makes most of the same points that have been made by a few here (irrationalism, anti-modernism, reactionary social norms, contradictory doctrine, dangers of Islamist, Christian, Hindu and Jewish violence) but, w/o any of the harsh invective. Looking forward to his pgs. on neuroscience and Buddhism.
The other book, "The Soviet Century, " by long time lefty historian of the fSU, Moshe Lewin, is a great read. Like the Harris book, makes solid points, (w/o the rhetorical bombast ) that I'd agree with...(but, if CB or CD here did and do, heh, my hackles get raised).
Choice quote from Stalin, taken from an early chapter on , "cadres and heretics, " from Lewin, which highlights Uncle Joe's early Orthodox seminary training. Pg. 33, "For us objective difficulties do not exist.The only problem is cadres.If things are not progressing, or if they go wrong, the cause is not to be sought in any objective conditions, it is the fault of the cadres."
-- Michael Pugliese