Jonathan read and liked Folboteur's review of Doubt: A History:

"What is it they say? "History is written by the winners."

That is unless you're Howard Zinn ("People's History of the United States") or Jennifer Michael Hecht, writing "Doubt: A History." No, I'm not calli...more What is it they say? "History is written by the winners."

That is unless you're Howard Zinn ("People's History of the United States") or Jennifer Michael Hecht, writing "Doubt: A History." No, I'm not calling these two "losers," but they definitely adopted Quixotic missions in championing the unspoken viewpoint of "the other side" of history.

And both turned out encyclopedic tomes on their respective topics. But as much as I enjoyed Zinn's take on American History (recommended, by the way, by Matt Damon's off-hand line in "Good Will Hunting" -- How do you like THEM apples?), Hecht is superior in my view in delivering the more meaningful and important record of a branch of thought that is not only often ignored, but ostracized, pilloried, martyred and pogrommed.

The tale of humanity's ability to question is what is at stake here. This is the tale of all those through history who have said, "Now, wait a second... Could it be that your interpretation is incorrect?" It is the tale of all those inchoate scientists (even before the term) who looked at the empirical world and said, "Man, this does NOT jive with what the priests are telling us."

So, on topic alone, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. How about content, style, execution? Hecht is deft and witty, though over the course of 700+ pages she clearly has her favorite doubters, and they receive better writing and attention. The last chapter seemed a bit rushed, but then it is always hard to write history about the present... so little time for perspective to mature on what is happening.

This is a good introduction to a pantheon of philosophers through the ages. If you don't add at least 5 names to your list of "People whose writing I must read," then you are either a professor of philosophy already, or not reading very closely.

This book deserves a wider audience in (as Carl Sagan phrased it) this "demon haunted world." Hecht does her part to keep the flame of reason flickering, no doubt about it.(less) "