Books for a 17-yr old

Stardrive9@aol.com
Wed, 30 Dec 1998 02:42:47 EST

Sasha writes:


I am trying to suggest some good book to a 16yo correspondent

with a religious background who is trying to find interesting ways

to look at the world and see what's out there.

Do you have any suggestions of books that could open somebody's

mind to the marvels of science, provide interesting new views on

science, religion, world, and humans, or generally inspire, without

being too specialized, or difficult?

What books impressed you most when you were in high school?


The book I wish I'd received when I was that age would have been one that probably didn't exist then - a book that both explained and celebrated science and critical thinking while rationally examining the claims of pseudoscience and its allies. The two best books of that kind that I've read in recent years have been Carl Sagan's "The Demon Haunted World" and Michael Shermer's "Why People Believe Weird Things".