When I checked my mailbox this morning, I discovered a common sort of delivery, a pamphlet from a publisher listing their releases in a specific subject. What was unusual is the subject of the list from Random House: Evolutionary Theory & Intelligent Design. Bleh — that dignifies ID far too much, and I was feeling a bit peevish about the bogus category. Then I opened it up, and it’s even weirder. The section titled “Evolutionary Theory” lists books like David Sloan Wilson’s Evolution for Everyone, a selection of books by Darwin, Darwin’s Ghost by Steve Jones, etc., all perfectly respectable stuff.
There is no section titled “Intelligent Design.”
Instead, there’s a section called “Evolution and the debate over science and religion.” It contains dreck — McGrath and Unwin and Hamer, for instance — and notably, Rocks of Ages by SJ Gould (which in my opinion is the worst book he ever wrote, and is ridiculous from page one onwards), and the only actual ID book, Creation by Grant Jeffrey. The latter is amusing because the ad copy claims that it contains “new information that supports the theory of Intelligent Design”, but the subtitle is “Remarkable Evidence of God’s Design.” I thought ID wasn’t a religious theory?
I hate to encourage Random House in their unwarranted promotion of ID with evolutionary biology, but I may have to pick up a few of their titles, so I can add them to my Shelf of Wretchedness, where I keep my little collection of the bad guys’ work.
Perhaps see if you can find them used (the older ones, anyway)?
That way you have them, but the publisher/author/anyone else responsible for their creation doesn’t get any more ‘encouragement’ than they already have…
The section title is not that well chosen. It’s really “religion and science”, not “ID v. evolution”. But I’m perfectly happy to see ID used as a synonym for religion ;-)
Something of a similar nature upsets me in Ithaca’s “Borders”. They have all this creationist ID woo with the science books! To make things worse, they have “The God Delusion” *hidden* in the religion aisle. They only had one copy of it hidden behind some crappy books. Has anyone seen this in other Borders?
Random House manages both to give too much credit to “Intelligent Design”, putting it on a par with real science, and to give too little credit to the actual science, saying “evolutionary theory” instead of “evolutionary biology” or straight-up “evolution”.
Tinni:
I recall the Borders in the CambridgeSide Galleria had a big display of The God Delusion, but a few weeks ago it was taken down. Stenger’s God: The Failed Hypothesis was displayed pretty prominently in the “new arrivals”, and I’ve seen Harris’s books also given good treatment.
They’ve got some dreck in their science section (Darwin’s Black Box, some Tao of Physics-esque crap), but on the whole it looks pretty reasonable.
A bookstore (since closed and replaced by a Starbucks) in Alhambra, California, had astronomy books on the shelf marked “Astrology & Occult”.
But you’re right, PZ, RH should know better.
PZ — I guess you probably meant to say “collection of the bad guys’ work”. Of course, Denise O’Leary et al. would probably say that you’re doing “the bad guy’s work.”
Too bad there isn’t a way to get the bad guy books without supporting the bad guys. A sort of Consciences Objector status whereby you pay only the cost of printing and not a cent more, for the publisher or the author.
Greg, buying used is probably a good way. Or stealing from libraries :)
PZ, I suggest writing to Random House. Point out that you’re a professor of biology, and that any publisher who lumps science in with religion, or creationism with biology, is no longer trustworthy. Tell them that you won’t buy from them, and that you’ll advise all students and fellow professors to refrain from buying from them.
Barry: That’s what I do, I buy these books used. I don’t steal them from libraries, but Christian Bookstores are good for that … (only kidding of course, I would NEVER do anything like that. I’m not a religious person, so I find unethical behavior hard to justify.)
I have actually already written to Random House. I didn’t threaten them as you suggest (though it was certainly an option I considered). Instead I gave them a reasoned and passionate argument. I’ll post it on my blog later this evening. (I’m told I should not post too often in a short period, it annoys my readers, so I timestamped the letter for four hours from now).
I only buy books that would fall in to the ‘stupid’ category used or if they are in my local deep-discount bookshop (I have got some fantastic books there – Jean Gayon’s book on the history of the Modern Synthesis, which is $120/£70 on Amazon, I managed to buy for £4 in aformenetioned bargain hut).
I did once buy a book by a Stupid at full price, new, but felt so guilty about financially supporting idiocy that I took it back and got a refund. The book? ‘No Free Lunch’ by Isaac Newton – I mean, William Dembski.
Tinni: I’ve noticed this too. In my local Waldenbooks, I had to ASK where the science section was. The answer: “You’ll find the science books under ‘Nature and Pets'”. Sure enough, there they were, two measly shelves and maybe 30 random books. You couldn’t miss the floor to ceiling “New Age” section, or the several shelves packed full of several flavors of bibles. It’s no wonder the state of education on science is where it is.
Stupid Books I’ve got without supporting the idiots who wrote them (or their publishers):
– Darwin’s Black Box, on the clearance table at a local bookstore (also scored the emphatically non-idiotic Sober’s Philosophy of Biology and Dennett’s Darwin’s Dangerous Idea on that trip.) (OK, maybe the author did get his cut, but at least I didn’t pay full price).
– Some colorful ICR book for kids about dinosaurs, from a used book sale
– From the same booksale: Harry Rimmer’s The Harmony of Science and Scripture — a classic (1936) work of creationist crankery. I’ve only skimmed it; some day I should waste the time to do a proper fisking on my blog, just for the amusement value.
– Just last week, from another used booksale, A.E. Wilder-Smith’s Man’s Origin, Man’s Destiny. Haven’t had a chance to crack it open yet.
I’m doing the world a big favour by taking this dreck out of circulation. Don’t all thank me at once.
Good on you, Eamon. The creationist book I took out of circulation is “Creation Rediscovered”, a very strange Catholic anti-evolution book. Yes, a Catholic creationist book. Found it second hand. It cites our pals Johnson and Behe along with such fine examples of insanity as the ‘vapor canopy’.
Does anyone else turn certain books over or cover them with other books in the book store? Or is it just me.
Not that I would do that or anything…
I guess the author of the pamphlet did a good job – we’re talking about it and Random House. Any publicity…
About five or six years ago, I worked at a Barnes & Noble. It was the same there–IDiot books mixed in with the science shelves. I used to regularly move the “Woo-woo Physics” books to the New Age section, and stick Behe, et al, in with “Religious Fiction”. A small, but deeply satisfying gesture.
What SJ Gould books ARE good? And which Dawkins (other than God Delusion)? Just top 3 of each?
My favorite Gould book is actually Time’s Arrow, Time’s Cycle. Full House and Wonderful Life are pretty good, too. I have an autographed copy of Questioning the Millennium that I treasure, though not because the book itself is any great shakes. I had read that he was working with his wife (artist Rhonada Shearer) on a book about Marcel Duchamp before he died. I hope some version of it eventually gets published.
1. Ever Since Darwin: thereafter Gould gradually lost the virtue of brevity
2. Wonderful Life (if only for the great phrase ‘Oh fuck, not another phylum’)
3. Dinosaur in a Haystack (especially for the essay of the evolution of whales).
–Does anyone else turn certain books over or cover them with other books in the book store? Or is it just me–
I do this all the time. I consider it more of a prank than anything. When Princess Diana was killed and one of the B&N’s had a huge display up about her, I placed a copy of JG Ballard’s novel “Crash” front and center (it’s a ’70s classic about folks who get sexually aroused by horrible car accidents).
I have, also, rearranged Science sections so all the ID stuff was upside down & the Darwin friendly stuff faced out. I know I’m not the only one–I once found a copy of “Origin of Species” in the Mythology section. I laughed, then walked over to the Bible shelf and placed a copy of George Smith’s “Atheism: The Case Against God” on top of the huge KJV that was opened. Ha!
Thanks mothworm and Peter McGrath!
I have not worked in a book store, but as I recall the LoC and Dewey classifications of pseudoscience books are in the nearby genuine science. Maybe that’s what book stores (etc.) are making use of?