Doubt: A History: The Great Doubters and Their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson by Jennifer Michael Hecht

"Doubt: A History" is about the history of religious doubt, from all over the world, and from all recorded history. This ambitious and comprehensive book takes us up close and personal with those who have grappled with the ultimate questions of life and found possible answers contrary to traditional faith. Jennifer Hecht provides freethinkers with a reference-quality book that captures the essence of doubt. This is an excellent and commendable book that I will cherish for years to come because it succeeds at providing a broad and insightful coverage of the history of doubt. This 576-page book is composed of the following ten chapters: 1. Whatever Happened to Zeus and Hera?, 600 BCE-1CE, Greek Doubt 2. Smacking the Temple, 600 BCE-1 CE, Doubt and the Ancient Jews3. What the Buddha Saw, 600 BCE-1 CE, Ancient Doubt in Asia, 4. When in Rome in Doubt, 50 BCE-200 CE, Empire of Reason 5. Christian Doubt, Zen, Elisha, and Hypatia, 1-800 CE, Late Classical Mix 6. Medieval Doubt Loops-the-Loop, 800-1400, Muslims to Jews to Christians 7. The Printing Press and the Age of Martyrs, 1400-1600, Renaissance and Inquisition 8. Sunspots and White House Doubters, 1600-1800, Revolutions in the Authority of Reason 9. Doubt's Bid for a Better World, 1800-1900, and Freethinking in the Age of Science and Reform 10. Principles of Uncertainty, 1900-.

Positives:
1. Fascinating topic in the master hands of an author who cared.
2. As well-researched a book as you will find.
3. Accessible prose.
4. This is a very comprehensive and thorough book. The author meticulously covers a broad history of doubters and periods. Commendable effort for sure.
5. Fair and even-handed. The author really treats the subject with utmost care and respect. I trust her assessment based on the overall treatment of this topic.
6. A look at the worldview of many of the doubters within the context of the time in which they lived in.
7. I like how the author explains how doubters were influenced by the works of their predecessors. Also, the particular contributions of each doubter. In some cases, some of the doubters borrow literary works and add their own particular flare.
8. The impact of the Greeks to the history of the world even to this day is really remarkable. Aristotle just amazes me.
9. The author does a great job of giving us the background of the most important terms, such as agnosticism, skepticism, etc...
10. A fascinating look at Job and Ecclesiastes.
11. The history of religious beliefs. The author masterfully provides the history of doubt within all the major religions including those from the Far East.
12. The relation between women and religion.
13. A look at some of the religious practices and what they represent.
14. Wisdom from some of the greatest minds ever. Great stuff!
15. The evolution of religious movements.
16. The fascinating look at the afterlife, souls, infinity...
17. An interesting look at "Atheistic" religions.
18. Gods and Goddesses.
19. So many great doubters...Epicurus seems to stand out.
20. Great philosophy throughout book. You get the viewpoints from so many great minds.
21. Jewish history is always fascinating.
22. The impact of Paul to Christianity can never be underestimated.
23. The terrible story of Hypatia.
24. Martyrs of the cause...Bruno, Vanini
25. The Copernican heliocentric system.
26. The travels of the Jesuits.
27. Galileo never gets old.
28. So many perspectives of doubt..."Bayle upheld Montaigne's that religious claims are not confirmed by any inner knowledge, but instead were fed to us in our childhoods".
29. Hume masterfully debunks popular arguments for gods.
30. Franklin, Paine, Jefferson, and Adams highlight the founding doubters.
31. The women of doubt: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Emma Goldman, Anne Newport Royall, Harriet Taylor, Harriet Martineau, Frances Wright, Ernestine Rose, Susan B. Anthony...
32. The funniest statement in the history of doubt, belongs to...
33. The icon of biology, Darwin always makes his presence felt. His undeniable contribution to doubt. Darwinism.
34. Great quotes, "If by any possibility the existence of a power superior to, and independent of, nature shall be demonstrated, there will be time enough to kneel. Until then let us stand erect." Robert Ingersoll.
35. Doubt and the antislavery movement.
36. Doubt in the twentieth century included doubting authority and custom.
37. I really enjoyed the section on secular nations.
38. I also loved the section on Americana doubters. Thomas Edison was truly "enlightening".
39. The "Monkey Trial" enduring impact to doubt.
40. An excellent chapter titled, "Conclusion" that does a wonderful job of summarizing the book.
41. Links to notes worked great on Kindle version.
42. Comprehensive bibliography.

Negatives:
1. Requires an investment of time. The book can be exhaustive at times but ultimately it rewards you with so much history.
2. Because of my scientific/engineering background I'm always wanting for charts and this book is no different. I would have liked to have seen a timeline chart covering the most influential doubters.
3. Repetitive at times.

In summary, this is reference-quality book regarding the history of doubt. The author must be commended for such an achievement. This book covers so much and does it quite well. To use perhaps a weak baseball analogy, there are two well know ways for a baseball player to make the hall-of-fame: produce spectacular numbers in a few years like Sandy Koufax or accumulate consistent numbers over a productive long career ala Carl Yastrzemski. I feel this book is the latter, a consistent hit of information. I highly recommend it!

Further recommendations: "Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism" by Susan Jacoby, "Man Made God: A Collection of Essays" by Barbara G. Walker, "A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present" by Howard Zinn, and "The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever" by Christopher Hitchens,

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Rating	4.4 (354 ratings)
Price	$11.11
Category	Atheism