Skeptics and True Believers: The Extraordinary Connection Between Science and Religion

Raymo, Chet

ISBN 10: 0802713386 / ISBN 13: 9780802713384

Published by Walker & Company, New York, 1998

About this Item

First printing, full number line. Inscribed and signed by the author on the front endpaper: "For Matt, / With best wishes, / Chet Raymo." The book is unmarked; spine slant; bottom corners, spine ends bumped. The dust jacket is not price-clipped (original price $23.00); edgewear; a small piece missing from bottom of front edge; Brodart protected. Seller Inventory # 008825

Bibliographic Details

Title: Skeptics and True Believers: The ...

Publisher: Walker & Company, New York

Publication Date: 1998

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good -

Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good -

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: First Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

Years ago, noted science teacher and writer Chet Raymo embarked upon his own quest to reconcile the miracle stories he learned as a child with the science he learned as an adult. Skeptics and True Believersis the culmination of that search―a passionate, ever-inquisitive statement that science and religion can mutually reinforce the way we experience the world.

Acknowledging that the scientific and the spiritual communities are increasingly split, Raymo builds strong bridges between them. He illustrates his argument with an array of thought-provoking stories, such as the remarkable migratory flight of a small bird called the red knot; the long, glorious glide of the Comet Hyakutake across the night sky; a hilarious alien abduction that didn't happen. Together, they are compelling evidence that religion should embrace the reliable knowledge of the world that science provides, while at the same time science should respect and nourish humankind's need for spiritual sustenance. "Miracles are explainable," Raymo paraphrases the writer Tim Robinson, "it is the explanations that are miraculous."

For anyone drawn to reflect on life's meaning and purpose, Chet Raymo's uncompromising skepticism and reverence for mystery will affirm and inspire.

About the Author:

For nearly forty years, Chet Raymo has been exploring the relationship between science, nature, and the humanities as a professor, writer, illustrator and naturalist. In The Path: A One-Mile Walk Through the Universe, he uses the one-mile path he has walked to work for the past four decades as a means of discovering the extraordinary in everyday life.

A professor emeritus of astronomy and physics at Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusetts, Raymo is the noted author of more than eight books on science, including the highly-praised An Intimate Look at the Night Sky, 365 Starry Nights, The Soul of the Night, Honey from Stone, and Skeptics and True Believers. In 1998, he won a prestigious Lannan Literary Award for the body of his non-fiction work. Raymo is also the author of two novels, In the Falcon's Claw (1990) and The Dork of Cork (1993), which has been sold in twelve languages.

Since 1985, he has written "Science Musings" for the Boston Globe , a weekly science and nature column reflecting upon the human side of science. He is also a frequent contributor to popular science and nature publications.

Chet Raymo and his wife Maureen live in North Easton, Massachusetts.