New in the shop
If you weren’t able to see the production of The Last Priest last year at the Kings Head Theatre, the script has now been published and the production recorded on DVD. Both are available from our on-line shop.
The Last Priest tells the story of Jean Meslier, a priest in 18th century France who secretly wrote at night a damning testimony of the religion that he preached during the day. He lived in a time when apostasy or heresy could have fatal consequences, so he kept his thoughts to himself until after he was dead, when the testimony came to light. It’s a gripping story told in dramatic terms. The play script costs £7.50 plus £1.50 p&p and the DVD of the play costs £12.99 plus £1.00 p&p.
If you want to help promote the NSS, we have some campaigning materials that you can order —
leaflets, posters, annual reports and Bulletins are all available for distribution — see how to get them in the on-line shop, or call the office for more information.
New in the book department we have: The Quotable Atheist: Ammunition for Nonbelievers, Political Junkies, Gadflies and Those Generally Hell-bound by Jack Huberman. Sensing a backlash against the fundamentalism and ignorance that have made America a worldwide laughing stock, best-selling author Jack Huberman has collected a treasure trove of quotes by philosophers, scientists, poets, writers, artists, entertainers, and political figures.
These aphorisms will delight and hearten but also challenge non-believers, and perhaps even make believers think again. The colourful cast of atheist, agnostic, cynical, and spiritual characters includes Woody Allen, Lance Armstrong, Bjork, Buddha, George Carlin, Noam Chomsky, Larry Flynt, E.M. Forster, Benjamin Franklin, Sigmund Freud, Galileo, Matt Groening, Stephen Hawking, Christopher Hitchens, Thomas Jefferson, John Lennon, the Marquis de Sade, Carl Sagan, Sarah Silverman, Gertrude Stein, Howard Stern, Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf, and Frank Zappa. Each quote is accompanied by an explanatory note from the author – sometimes quite hilarious. £9.99 plus £1.50 p&p.
Defending the West: A Critique of Edward Said's 'Orientalism' by Ibn Warraq. This is the first systematic critique of Edward Said's influential work, Orientalism, a book that for almost three decades has received wide acclaim, voluminous commentary, and translation into more than fifteen languages. Said’s main thesis was that the Western image of the East was heavily biased by colonialist attitudes, racism, and more than two centuries of political exploitation. Although Said’s critique was controversial, the impact of his ideas has been a pervasive rethinking of Western perceptions of Eastern cultures, plus a tendency to view all scholarship in Oriental Studies as tainted by considerations of power and prejudice. In this thorough reconsideration of Said’s famous work, Ibn Warraq argues that Said’s case against the West is seriously flawed.
Warraq (author of Why I am not a Muslim) accuses Said of not only wilfully misinterpreting the work of many scholars, but also of systematically misrepresenting Western civilisation as a whole. With example after example, he shows that ever since the Greeks Western civilisation has always had a strand in its very makeup that has accepted non-Westerners with open arms and has ever been open to foreign ideas.
The author also criticises Said for inadequate methodology, incoherent arguments, and a faulty historical understanding. He points out, not only Said’s tendentious interpretations, but historical howlers that would make a sophomore blush. Warraq further looks at the destructive influence of Said’s study on the history of Western painting, especially of the 19th century, and shows how, once again, the epigones of Said have succeeded in relegating thousands of first-class paintings to the lofts and storage rooms of major museums. An extended appendix reconsiders the value of 18th- and 19th-century Orientalist scholars and artists, whose work fell into disrepute as a result of Said’s work. Hardback edition £20.00 plus £2.50 p&p.
Order on-line at www.secularism.org.uk or by post from NSS Books, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL.