nnnaaattteeee's review against another edition
5.0
As a musician and scientist, this book really spoke to me. I felt like I could personally connect with a lot of what was said. However, did any one else feel like the book was preachy and self-righteous at times? I don’t even disagree with the points being laid out, but the tone seemed holier-than-thou to me.
mattnorthaudio's review against another edition
3.0
A great account and interesting read from Greg Graffin, with interesting anecdotes from Bad Religion's history tied in with his lifetime interest in nature and biology. He makes some interesting arguments against the existence of God and intelligently backs them up with his studies. Anyone who has an interest in Bad Religion and their lyrical message will enjoy this thoroughly.
rhiannatherad's review against another edition
5.0
It's been a while since I've read anything like this, and I don't think I've EVER read a combo of punk and science together. This waaaay exceeded my expectations and I think I'll go binge on Bad Religion now.
brockboland's review against another edition
2.0
This is essentially three books in one:
- A commentary on religion
- A discussion of evolutionary biology and conservation
- A collection of stories about Bad Religion over the years
I enjoy Graffin's writing style, and enjoyed each of these three topics, but the connections between them was tenuous, and the transition from one to another took me out of the story a bit each time as I adjusted to the new topic at hand. I would love to read three shorter books from Graffin about these topics, but trying to weave them together just didn't work for me.
- A commentary on religion
- A discussion of evolutionary biology and conservation
- A collection of stories about Bad Religion over the years
I enjoy Graffin's writing style, and enjoyed each of these three topics, but the connections between them was tenuous, and the transition from one to another took me out of the story a bit each time as I adjusted to the new topic at hand. I would love to read three shorter books from Graffin about these topics, but trying to weave them together just didn't work for me.
kawooreads's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
The quote on the cover "A worldview eloquently expressed" (Chicago Tribune) concisely conveys my thoughts about this book written by Bad Religion frontman, Greg Graffin. A pioneer of the 80s West coast punk rock scene and a college professor with a PhD in zoology, Graffin is quite the enigma. In this book, he delivers a compelling philosophy on what it means to live a full, meaningful life outside the confines of religion and intelligent design creationism. He discusses how we can learn so much about the human condition, defining faith, and understanding the natural world through scientific inquiry, specifically by studying our interconnectedness and evolution. His take on atheism and his discussion of finding morality and purpose without god particularly resonated with me. While I would categorize this as a book about science, throughout the text Graffin feeds the reader small anecdotal stories from the music industry, growing the seed that would become the monolith that is Bad Religion. I have always found Dr. Graffin to be a genius of his craft, after reading this I have discovered he is so much more. It definitely makes me want to crash one of his lectures some day and see him in his element at a podium, versus on stage killing it on the microphone.
melissasmountainofbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. I got it for P. Fisher and started reading the first few pages. Though it took me a while, I looked forward to reading a little bit every day. Quite prolific in expressing opinions (some that I share myself) in a way that I've always found difficult to put to words. Very good read of somewhat complex and thought provoking topics.
tiahey's review against another edition
4.0
Kind of hard to review as it's right up my lane. I enjoyed it. Bad Religion is one of my all time favorites so I'm hardly impartial here. Would recommend for non-religious people who want to learn something new about evolution and humankind and/or people who want to muse on the Big Questions. If you're offended or annoyed by Atheism, this is not for you.
haythem19's review against another edition
3.0
Mostly science which is related to Bad Religion and used as a substitute for religion, but not faith. Being a professor of evolution and paleontology, Graffin is a naturalist (not merely an atheist) and thus uses evolution rather than text-based religion to inform his worldview. However, despite his lack of belief in a god, this is not a Dawkins or Harris-style anti-religion/pro-atheism books. Rather, it is a breakdown of how nature and evolution can answer the same questions that religion has tried to answer over the past few millienia.
If you are looking for a book about Bad Religion, you are likely to be disappointed. While Graffin does chronicle some early parts of the band's history and detail the philosophy behind a few songs ("Come Join Us", "We're Only Gonna Die" and "God Song"), those snippets of band history serve mainly to demonstrate naturalist principles.
If you are looking for a book about Bad Religion, you are likely to be disappointed. While Graffin does chronicle some early parts of the band's history and detail the philosophy behind a few songs ("Come Join Us", "We're Only Gonna Die" and "God Song"), those snippets of band history serve mainly to demonstrate naturalist principles.
biktorrr's review against another edition
3.0
Anarchy Evolution van persoonlijke held Greg Graffin (samen met Steve Olson). Een dappere poging zijn twee carrieres -als voorman van punkgoeroes Bad Religion en als universitair docent biologie- te verenigen. Werkt helaas niet zo goed als ik had gehoopt, maar de beste man blijft een held dus ik geef m toch drie sterren. Wie houdt me tegen!