Friday, March 5, 2010

This Just In: The Language God Talks (on science and religion)

I wasn't aware that best selling author Herman Wouk (The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War) wrote nonfiction and, more to the point, precisely the sort of nonfiction that I love to read ... about faith and God.

I am intrigued so far by my preliminary dip into this very readable book. Certainly, I'll have to look for his previous books on the subject later, but I am happy now to have the opportunity to read his latest work, described thusly:
"More years ago than I care to reckon up, I met Richard Feynman." So begins THE LANGUAGE GOD TALKS, Herman Wouk's gem on navigating the divide between science and religion. In one rich, compact volume, Wouk draws on stories from his life as well as on key events from the 20th century to address the eternal questions of why we are here, what purpose faith serves, and how scientific fact fits into the picture. He relates wonderful conversations he's had with scientists such as Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, Freeman Dyson, and Steven Weinberg, and brings to life such pivotal moments as the 1969 moon landing and the Challenger disaster.

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More on this work later, I'm sure.

3 comments:

  1. Herman Wouk also wrote a very readable and charming book re his Jewish faith -- alas that I can't remember the title!

    He was a real mensch.

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  2. He still is a real mensch, alive and apparently still quite vibrant at 94. One of the last great literary lives that spanned the 20th century. I think the book you must be referring to is This Is My God.

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  3. Two books, according to him in this one: This is My God, The Will to Live On.

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