Rebel to His Last Breath: Joseph McCabe and Rationalism

by Bill Cooke, John Roy Burr, John R. Burr (Foreword by)

This is the first biography of Joseph McCabe (1867-1955), a former Catholic preist who became one of the best-known champions and a prolific popularizer of freethought and rationalism in the first half of the 20th century. McCabe's encyclopedic curiosity, rigorous scholarship, and above all his unswerving intellectual honesty led him through a tumultuous career of public lecturing and debating, and an incredible output of over 200 books. He tackled the most controversial issues of the modern evolution, biblical errancy, belief in God, immorality, spiritualism, capitalism vs. socialism, women's rights, and many other topics. Much of his writing was published in the form of the "Little Blue Books" by E. Haldeman-Julius, who declared McCabe to be "the world's greatest scholar."


Today in our postmodern period, where Enlightenment values are being questioned and irrationalism in many guises has become fashionable, McCabe's gift for rational inquiry, respect for scientific evidence, and lucid, no-nonsense prose are both relevant and welcome.

332 pages, Hardcover

First published August 24, 2001

About the author

Bill Cooke is Professor of Management and Society at Lancaster University Management School. Previously he worked at the Institute for Development Policy and Management, Manchester School of Management, and Manchester Business School, all within what is now the University of Manchester; and at Teesside University.

Reviews

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting biography and history of the thought of a 19th and early 20th century Catholic priest who quit the ministry and became a public propagator of rationalism. Whether or not one agrees with him, l find this a valuable insight into the history of modern atheism. One also gets tantalising glimpses into the church at the time, a church he left behind.