Some Non-Fiction Books I Recommend

1. The Chalice and The Blade, by Riane Eisler.

The way I described this book to my husband was that it is more important than the Bible. His response was “No, The Lord of the Rings is.” What can I say, we are a heretical household.

This book was written in the ’80s, as I’ve noticed so many great non-fiction books were. I have my theories as to why that might be the case. They usually involve the War on Drugs, and how that crusade has altered society.

I found the historical and cultural connections made in this book so compelling. It’s written on another level. Basically, the Blade represents Dominator Society, and the Chalice represents Partnership Society. I was first introduced to the dualities of these two mindsets while listening to Terence McKenna on YouTube, and now I can connect this concept to so many aspects of culture on both micro and macro levels. Once you read about dominator society mindset vs. partnership society mindset, you will also notice examples everywhere.

In my early 30’s my SIL ripped her copy of The Pillars of the Earth in half because it was so thick and she wanted to make it easier to read. I clutched my pearls when she did that. It seemed sacrilegious. But since then, I have worked for a used bookstore that had to throw away, trade, and recycle so many books. Hence, I have become a little more apathetic to the idea of the sanctity of any old book. I also learned while working there that there is an actual term for writing in the margins. It’s called “marginalia”.

At one point in my life, I would never consider contaminating a perfect book with my musings in the margins. But not anymore!! The Chalice and the Blade is absolutely infested with my ideas in the margins! I want to look back and see what dots I connected while reading this book. It’s kind of a form of journaling.

This exquisite book details the transition from a better-balanced partnership society where women’s ideas and values are considered and honored, to a patriarchal society where women are silenced and controlled.

Despite the fact that it was written decades ago, this book is completely pertinent to current affairs. Including the current affairs of this very day. Books that manage to do that are so impressive to me.

Please read it.

2. Mind Magic, by Bill Harvey. Illustrated by Isaac Abrams.

Written in the ‘70s! This book is a miracle. I know that self-help style books have been around for many a millennia, but I still think of this book as the prototype of the modern style of self-help books. Some people tend to shun self-help books. But I dare you to read this particular book to challenge your assumptions. It is truly helpful!

The main premise found in this book revolves around active self-awareness so that you can break the chains of culturally-indoctrinated thinking. It is not a self-help book geared towards a specific life struggle, such as divorce or grieving. It is a book that teaches you to study how your own mind works. In this regard, you can potentially address problems in your life from a self-reflecting perspective. It teaches you how culture infiltrates your thinking processes to benefit the powers that be, rather than you as an individual…and gives you tools to reverse that programming.

Another great aspect of this book is the extensive illustrations found throughout it’s pages. I find them to be the perfect accompaniment to the text. Even the smaller illustrations found on page corners are very appropriate to the text and pleasing to the eye. It had me searching the internet for more information about this interesting artist.

3. The Meaning of Human Existence, by E. O. Wilson.

This book is scientific and yet easy to read. He studies human existence and culture from an interesting angle…the study of ants.

Wilson is a biologist and an entomologist, and he spent many years studying the behaviors of insect colonies. He compares their behaviors to those of humans.

This book addresses selfishness vs. selflessness from an interesting perspective. It isn’t as easy as one is “evil” and one is “good”. It points out instances where selfishness is conducive to survival, resulting in potential for future selflessness…and how selflessness usually only goes as far as survival will allow. It details the balance between the two, rather than simplifying the dualities in a shallow, non-nuanced way that one can easily find in religious texts.

And he does all of this while unashamedly displaying his atheism.

One of the reasons I admire this book is because Wilson is so effective at explaining scientific concepts to people who are not scientists. He aims to teach efficiently, rather than to impress. This is what the best teachers are good at. When I watch a Jordan Peterson lecture, I get the feeling his main goal is to impress people. He acts like we are lucky to get to watch him pacing back and forth thinking. E.O. Wilson, on the other hand, aims to get people to grasp topics in direct, understandable terms, without demeaning his readers. Or acting as if he is superior to them.

I am a member of several philosophy-based social media sites. The questions posed by these groups are oftentimes uninteresting to me. The reason they are usually uninteresting to me is because the answers can easily be revealed simply by reading this book.

I read this book when it came out in 2014. I read The Chalice and the Blade only a few months ago. I was shocked to read Raina Eisler’s opinion about “sociobiologists” trying to reinforce dominator society mindset by citing “insect societies to support their theories”, thereby perpetuating models of rigid hierarchic social rankings.

A book I love, calling me to question my devotion to another book I love. Aahh… I live for this stuff!

Even if Eisler’s postulations are on target, I still hold much value in Wilson’s insightful book. It inspects the ideas of good and evil from a fully scientific perspective.

It will undoubtedly change the way you view human behavior.

4. Return of the Bird Tribes, by Ken Carey.

Another book from the ‘80s!

I realize this book is not for everybody. It is dream-like and incorporates folk tales and mythos. I personally received this book as a gift from my son the night before he moved away. So yeah, I am partial to this book.

This book is insightful. It offers messages from the outersphere to help guide us humans through this thing called life. The best way I can describe it is as a perfect alternative to the Book of Revelation. Instead of doom and gloom, and only a few select humans enjoying long-lasting happiness, the author of this book digs deep for ways that we can all work and live together to make earthly existence so much better-balanced and enjoyable.

One concept found in this book that really stuck with me is the thought that the ego isn’t all that terrible for the psyche. The ego tries to make sure you eat enough and don’t fall victim to avoidable accidents. The ego aims to keep your worldly self alive. But still, it should be viewed not as your primary sense of self…your inner Spirit should be seen as primary, while your ego should be seen as secondary. Thanks for this perspective, Mr. Carey!!

Another take-away from this book is the concept that goes something like this…while many different “races” of people may have come together in the Americas under negative circumstances, it has given us the opportunity to all come together as one community and heal and celebrate our shared humanity through respect and cooperation.

So, you can see why I view the messages in this book as a far more inspirational and useful than Revelation…a book I see as pushing narratives that will only result in more conflict and hardships for our future as a society. Return of the Bird Tribes has caused me to take notice of which books I myself can choose to deem “holy”, and which “holy” books I can decide are not holy after all.

5. Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari.

As you may know, this book is wildly popular. It is a summary of human existence from our nostalgic hominid days, up through today. Harari’s style of writing reminds me of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s style of communication. It is serious science, yet presented in a way that a common person can understand.

But it’s not only science…it is a combination of biology, philosophy and anthropology.

So many people who have read this book claim that their way of thinking of life on Earth has been transformed after reading it. Teachers use this book for entire curriculums. You might as well read it and come to your own conclusions!

My favorite chapter is 8. It addresses race, gender, and societal rankings. So interesting. So much to contemplate. I did side-eye chapter 4 a little. And apparently, I’m not alone…it was difficult to find that chapter in the audio-book version on YouTube. I think that chapter ruffled some feathers. It blames the extinction of mammoths on Indigenous peoples hunting tactics, rather than on a changing climate. I have heard several scientists make opposing arguments to this assertion since this book came out.

But in general, this book tackles so many of society’s issues. And makes them digestible and easier to analyze from a historical angle.

My copy is also the most beautiful book I own. It has thick, glossy pages that seem expensive. The book is heavy. It’s the only book I will not marginalia. I did it…I made marginalia a verb. The book is just too pretty! And this is coming from a person who regularly marginalise my bible, for heaven’s sake!

Whatever viewpoints you agree or disagree with inside covers of this book, it will undoubtedly alter your mindset to human existence on this planet.

6. The Burning Times, by Jeanne Kalogridis.

Here we have a historical fiction book that contemplates what life must have been like during the centuries in Europe when women were persecuted and executed by the church. These were the “witch hunts” of the Inquisition. Women, and some of the men who tried to protect them, were burned alive at the stake in public, after being terribly tortured by those nightmarish devices we’ve all read about, such as the Rack and the Breast Ripper.

Many of these atrocities occurred during a time in European history referred to as “The Age of Enlightenment”.

“The men of this culture suffered a psychosis so extreme, that they thought their women were so dangerous they needed to murder them” is how Leonard Shlain describes those times. It was madness. Prolonged madness.

The Burning Times imagines the fear and misery that permeated through society during that time. Women were in a state of fear at all times. Even if you were a truly devout Christian, you weren’t entirely safe because anyone could accuse you of witchcraft for any reason and that, alone, could be the end of you.

This book pointed out something that I hadn’t really thought about before…that throughout many of those years, the Plague was a constant concern for people in the villages of Europe. And with a lack of medical and scientific knowledge, “witches” were often to blame for the intentional spread of the disease. I never correlated those two historical events before reading this book.

7. Signs & Symbols Sourcebook, by Adele Nozedar.

I had very low expectations for this book, but it was discounted at Barns & Noble, so I gave it a try. I am so glad I did! Oftentimes, these types of books are silly and just for fun. I was surprised to discover that it is actually a serious and well-researched encyclopedia of interesting information and beautiful imagery.

I once took this book into the car with me so that I could read it wherever it was I was going. I went to retrieve it from my car a week or two later, but it was nowhere to be found. I searched for weeks, to no avail. About a year later, I saw it on the self at the bookstore and bought it again. That’s how much I loved it and missed it! Alas, I eventually found the original copy, and now I have two!

The book covers many hundreds of topics, but one that really stuck with me is the section about “sacred groves”. Tree groves were some of humankind’s first specific places of worship all around the world. When Christianity swept through Europe, most of these scared groves were destroyed in an effort to remove pagan sources of spirituality. That makes my blood boil!

It is said that sacred groves were destroyed in part because they were often dedicated to goddesses. Quite often, these locations would be turned into church grounds. If a yew tree is to be found in a church cemetery, it could be the case that the tree is the only survivor of the destruction of the original sacred grove that was once in that location.

As a matter of fact, a sacred grove dedicated to a goddess was a reoccurring theme in the previously mentioned book…The Burning Times!

8. The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, by Leonard Shlain.

Before I read The Chalice and the Blade, this book by neurosurgeon Dr. Shlain was my favorite book for years. It was the first book I had ever read where every page or two, I would have to stand up and walk around to process what mind-blowing concept I had just been exposed to.

In a nutshell, Shlain explains in-depth how our right and left brain hemispheres can be altered and adjusted by outside imagery, resulting in massive cultural shifts.

He also has several fascinating video uploads of his lectures on YouTube which I highly recommend you look up. I watch them while working out or cooking dinner. He was an incredible man. He also wrote several other books. I recently found a copy of his “Art and Physics” at the used bookstore. Imagine my surprise when I realized weeks later, twenty years after Leonard Shlain’s death, that my book was actually signed by the author himself!

How star-struck I was!

I hope you get around to acquiring and reading one of these books on my list. These are the books that have had the biggest impact on my life so far. Hopefully, we all continue to discover books that change and improve our perspectives.

Happy reading!