BookSpeak Network

GODS, PHILOSOPHERS, AND SCIENTISTS: Religion and Science in the West

According to Pew Research studies, most Americans think religion always conflicts with science. The popular writings of scientists such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Lawrence Krauss reinforce this idea, as do books by writers such as Christopher Hitchens and Daniel Dennet. Furthermore, the two versions of the enormously popular television show Cosmos, hosted by Carl Sagan in 1980 and Neil deGrasse Tyson in 2014, present a history of science in which religion has always acted as a barrier to scientific development.

Gods, Philosophers, and Scientists shows that just because an idea is popular, doesn’t mean it’s correct. By examining the historical record from the time of the Ancient Greeks to today, readers are able to see that religion and science have been allies more often than enemies, and when conflict does occur it’s too simplistic to view it as coming from something inherent to either science or religion. Anyone interested in the history of science or religion, who is curious about how science works, or who wants to have a better understanding of the world should read this book.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Scott E. Hendrix earned his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee in 2007, specializing in the history of science. Scott started teaching at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin, upon graduation, and over the years has taught classes about world, medieval, and early modern history, as well as the history and philosophy of science. Scott has maintained an active research agenda, publishing numerous books, articles, book chapters, and even an encyclopedia on The World’s Greatest Religious Leaders.

WHERE THE TREE FROGS TOOK ME: How encounters with strangers shaped a life of travel and beyond

We are all looking for ways to make our lives meaningful and often turn to those in our inner circles and communities for the direction. But what if that sense of meaning and perspective comes from complete strangers? And what if those random encounters were not so random after all? This book shows us how to embrace the messages and subsequent lessons we receive from the different people – often complete strangers – that we meet while out there in the world.

This collection of stories from over twenty years of travel shows what we can learn about the world we live in through greater empathy and understanding of the people we share it with. Each encounter we have, however, sad, humorous, strange or seemingly insignificant is part of the journey we are all on.

Where the Tree Frogs Took Me is for anyone who appreciates the diversity of the human experience and our reaction to it in all of its different forms. This book will resonate with people who are open to the notion of synchronicity and the significance of each encounter as meant to happen in order to create a change or shift in our lives.

About the Author:

Maia has been an avid solo traveller for over twenty years and is interested in people as much as the places they inhabit. She prefers a backpack for all her adventures and loves to climb mountains, despite a crippling fear of heights. She teaches ESL in Ontario, Canada where she lives with her young son. She is hoping he will inherit the same passion for adventure so that travelling the globe becomes a family affair. Her writing and contact information can be found at maiawilliamson.ca

THE RELUCTANT RV WIFE

Follow a reluctant wife and her excited husband through two humorously-conflicted years of RV travel. He wanted to go; she wanted to stay. They both learn, grow, and change as a new level of freedom evolves.

This book is light-hearted and humorous but at the same time serious. While not a How-To book, it gives lots of basic information about RVing. And while not a travelogue, it touches upon many travel destinations in the United States and Canada. On deeper levels, the book is about marital relationships, retiring and getting old, and finding a new kind of freedom through a minimalistic lifestyle.

After reading this book, you’ll never again look at one of those huge monstrosities driving down the road in quite the same way. The book answers questions for non-RVers and triggers chuckles of recognition from experienced RVers.

What Others Are Saying:

When his RV dream rear-ends her perfectly mapped-out retirement, navigating through their travails and travels - in life and on the road - spins a romantic and humorous adventure. - Doreen Orion, author of Queen of the Road 

About the Author:

Gerri is a retired social worker turned writer, storyteller, and speaker. Her husband’s retirement crisis, which included buying an RV and declaring they should see the world, has given her untold ammunition for writing material. With a permanent home address in Tampa, Florida, Gerri and her husband Michael Hamlin now switch off their reluctancies. She continues to feel quasi-reluctant on the road and he feels acutely-reluctant during their periods at home.

Sunbury Press Founder Lawrence Knorr joins Tory Gates to discuss the history of Sunbury Press, and the future of its varied imprints, and a look at independent publishing...

On this episode of The Milford House Mysteries, cohosts JM West and Sherry Knowlton interview author Pat LaMarche. LaMarche, who was a guest on a previous podcast, is back to talk about her first novel, Magic Diary, and her soon-to-be-released children's book, Princess of the Park.

An award-winning broadcaster and journalist, LaMarche has spent a lifetime traveling around the world and across the nation telling the tales of ordinary folks living through unimaginable hardship. Her two non-fiction books, Left Out in America andDaddy, What's the Middle Class?, exposed the harsh realities of life for the impoverished American and their ongoing struggle to survive. Frustrated by a lack of change, this social justice warrior stepped out in front of the pen and microphone to run for office and change things herself. In 2004, LaMarche took on both Dick Cheney and John Edwards as the Green Party's vice-presidential candidate. Now, she's a novelist.

Milford House Mysteries Hosts - Sherry Knowlton is the author of the Alexa Williams series of murder mysteries including Dead of Autumn, Dead of Summer, Dead of Spring, and Dead of Winter. Joan West is the author of the Carlisle Crime Cases series including Dying for Vengeance, Courting Doubt and Darkness, Darkness at First Light, Had a Dying Fall and Things Strangled.

The book's title is derived from an episode that occurred during George Washington's visit to the region in 1770. While attending a frontier social event at a locale in the upper Youghiogheny, he was challenged by a local rowdy to a wrestling match. Upon enduring this verbal abuse for over an hour, Washington finally obliged him. with devastating results. This story is among Washington's various adventures around the Monongahela and Youghiogheny Rivers. that are recounted in this book.Those two rivers are among the few natural waterways in the world which flow northward. Washington, though, was not the only notable figure to visit this area during the period between 1700 to 1900. For instance, Nicholas Roosevelt was the first scion of that notable family who became well-known in western Pennsylvania when steering one of the earliest steamboats upon the Monongahela. Moreover, the first British settlements west of the Allegheny Mountains were located along these rivers. Various of the essays within the work trace the evolution of the economy of these valleys from being an agricultural "breadbasket" to a heavy industrial powerhouse, specializing in basic steel production.The list of notable local personages appearing in these pages range from the legendary "Queen"Allaquippa of the Seneca to Philander Knox, a Brownsville native, who had become a prominent corporate attorney, as well as a prominent national Republican politician by 1900.

https://www.sunburypressstore.com/Wrestling-with-George-and-Other-Tales-of-Western-Pennsylvania-9781620063026.htm

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Miles S. RIchards is a retired history educator currently  residing in McKeesport, Pennsylvania.

Whether it’s to finish college or muster up the courage to talk to the cute girl in his class, Jonathan Barnes wants nothing more than to make something of himself. To be a man and make it on his own. That is, if his constantly questioning and racing mind lets him.

After a sudden, bloodied brawl on campus that leaves over half of White Haven College dead, Jon finds himself thrust into a world turned completely upside down by violence. The news is overwhelmed with reports of rioting across the country, plane crashes, and countless innocent lives lost. They say it is going global.

With no explanation as to the cause of the nationwide catastrophes and a cryptic phone message from his parents, Jon has no choice but to traverse into the horror to find his loved ones. His family may be dead or worse, turned into rage-filled maniacs that pay no mercy to anyone or anything when night falls.

Nothing is certain except for one thing: Jon wants to be inside when the sky goes dark.

About the Author:

Oliver C. Seneca was born and raised in the suburbs of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His first foray into storytelling came in high school when he was accepted to attend the Capital Area School for the Arts where he focused on filmmaking. Oliver became passionate about writing after reading The Long Walk by Stephen King. Oliver is a graduate of Penn State and, in addition to writing, he works at his family’s law practice. 

www.olivercseneca.com

https://www.sunburypressstore.com/When-the-Sky-Goes-Dark-9781620062241.htm

Ronald A. Mayer is the author of a number of baseball books: The 1932 Yankees, 1937 Newark Bears: A Baseball Legend, Perfect! 14 Pitchers of Perfect Games, Christy Mathewson: A Game-by-Game Profile of a Legendary Pitcher, The 1923 New York Yankees,  and The New Jersey Book of Lists. 

His latest book, Baseball Memories, is a collection of 101 poems celebrating America’s national pastime - - baseball. It recalls a number of outstanding players and their achievements.  For example, Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, Ted Williams .406 batting title in 1941 and the magical pitching of Orel Hershiser just to mention a few.  It also highlights some of the wild and zany events Major League Baseball would love to forget.  The night in Cleveland when the club ran a promotion selling 12 ounces of beer at the ridiculously low price of 10 cents or at Dodger Stadium when someone had the bright but eventual disastrous idea to hold Ball Night.  And then there are the classic games that are simply fun to recall and relive.  In 1993 when the Toronto Blue Jays won their second consecutive World Series in dramatic fashion or the more recent 2016 World Series when every baseball fan was watching two teams, the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians, both having failed to win a Fall Classic in many, many years.  The last World Series championship for Chicago was 1908 and for the Indians 1948.

Entrance and exit music courtesy of Capital recording artists BANG.

As the New Year begins, Sherry Knowlton and J.M. West devote this first podcast of 2020 to take a look back at 2019. In this episode of the Milford House Mysteries, they each pick five of the favorite books they read in 2019. Not all of these books were published in 2019. They are simply some of the top books that Sherry and Joan enjoyed reading during the past year. They include brand new books by well-known and not-so-well-known authors, some oldies but goodies that we reread during the year, and some books that have been out for a while but we finally got a chance to read them. Tune in to hear our lists and a little about each book. You may just find some books to add to your own To Read pile.

Milford House Mysteries Co-hosts - Sherry Knowlton is the author of the Alexa Williams series of murder mysteries including Dead of Autumn, Dead of Summer, Dead of Spring and Dead of Winter Joan West (JW West) is the author of the Carlisle Crime Cases series including Dying for Vengeance, Courting Doubt and Darkness, Darkness at First Light, Had a Dying Fall, and Things Strangled.

On this episode of The Milford House Mysteries, cohosts JM West and Sherry Knowlton interview mystery-suspense author JC Gatlin. Gatlin is the author of the new  Amateur Sleuth murder mystery, H_NGM_N.  Set in Florida, the book features heroine, Tori Younger, a journalist who is investigating the death of her childhood friend. The book features elements of suspense, humor, and a touch of paranormal.  Gatlin's earlier mystery-suspense novels are also set in Florida. 21 Dares, the most recent book before H_NGM_N, went to Number One on Amazon’s Top Mystery Suspense and Top Young Adult charts and was a Semi-Finalist in the Royal Palm Awards.   Join us to discuss Gatlin's books, why Florida is such a great setting for mystery novels and more.

Milford House Mysteries Hosts - Sherry Knowlton is the author of the Alexa Williams series of murder mysteries including Dead of Autumn, Dead of Summer, Dead of Spring, and Dead of Winter. Joan West is the author of the Carlisle Crime Cases series including Dying for Vengeance, Courting Doubt and Darkness, Darkness at First Light, Had a Dying Fall and Things Strangled.