"Essential reading for the devout, the agnostic, and the atheist. In tackling the question of the religious brain, Graziano is respectful, sincere, and scientifically plausible. This might even be an Important Book."—Sam Wang, author of Welcome to Your Brain"A beautifully crafted, tightly scripted account of how the far-flung legions of the brain's neurons give rise to social awareness and our notions of soul, religion and God."—Christof Koch, author of The Quest for Consciousness"Lucid and engaging. . . . Moves with pace and humor."—Philip Johnson-Laird, author of Mental Models"Do we know the origins of Gods and ghosts? This well-written book makes the bold case that new discoveries in social neuroscience can illuminate human spiritual experience."—Terry Sejnowski, PhD, Salk Institute/UC San DiegoWriting for the general public, Michael S. A. Graziano explores the controversial relationship between science and religion, first dismissing the «science versus religion» debate as outdated. The cutting-edge field of social neuroscience explains how our perceptions of our own consciousness, of other minds, and of spirits and gods depend on machinery in the brain that evolved to make us socially intelligent animals. In clear prose without technical jargon, Graziano discusses his and others' findings in this twenty-year-old science and the implications for human spirituality and religion.Michael S. A. Graziano, professor of neuroscience, Princeton University, is the author of numerous articles on the functioning of the brain. He is internationally known for fundamental discoveries about sensory-motor coordination. His previous book on the brain, The Intelligent Movement Machine, was published by Oxford University Press in 2008.
“A Dante/Beckett reduction of human struggle to its lowest common denominator.”—Michael Mirolla, author of The Formal Logic of Emotion and Berlin “One of the most original and thought-provoking stories I have ever read…true literary art…Not a word is wasted in this masterpiece. Yes, I call it that. I have read many classics, and I can tell you that The Divine Farce should be counted among them; the finest in American literature.”—Geekscribe Three strangers are condemned to live together in darkness, crushed together in a concrete stall so small that they can never sit down. Liquid food drips down from above. Waste drains through a grid on the floor. So begins one of the strangest, most surreal comments on the human experience, on love and hatred and the human ability to find good in any situation, no matter how difficult. Michael S. A. Graziano delights in the macabre and surreal, yet it is his optimism that lifts this little novel. Like The Love Song of Monkey, this book is deeply thought provoking, horrifying, and funny. Praise for The Love Song of Monkey: “Imaginative, intelligent narrative. Twin ideas of forgiveness and mercy twist through this strange, moving, patiently wrought novel.”—Publishers Weekly “Fabulously imagined, seriously considered, and very funny. A kind of fairytale antithesis on the meaning of existence. . . . Fantastic.”—Spirituality and Health Books “Strange but wonderful . . . like nothing I’ve read before. A very short book, but the scope is epic in detail. . . . I enjoyed the heck out of this book.”—Geekscribe “Should be required reading in the writing grad schools. . . . There’s nary a word wasted. What’s left is comedy, retrospection, betrayal, tenderness, meditations on loneliness, a love story that survives all attempts to suppress it . . . not bad within 149 pages.”—Barnstable Patriot Michael S. A. Graziano, Princeton University neuroscientist, is the author of the novella Hiding Places (New England Review, 1997), the novel The Love Song of Monkey (Leapfrog Press, 2008), and The Intelligent Movement Machine (Oxford University Press, 2008).
–Differs from nearly all other dinosaur fiction in that the reader is brought into the past rather than dinosaurs being brought to our time. –Unlike most other dinosaur fiction, Hell Creek portrays the Cretaceous Period with great realism, so the reader feels that he/she is actually there. –The book was written by two novelists who are also scientists, and the science (painstakingly reviewed by three paleontologists)is dead-on accurate and current. –This book is of interest to professional and amateur paleontologists as well as to the general population. –One of the only dinosaur mysteries on the market (NOTE: the plot involves a detective story and a mystery). –Has been used by a paleontology professor as assigned reading for students in a college course. –Has already had successful limited edition special sales: 1. Museum bookstore. 2. Two professional geological societies (American Geophysical Union and Geological Society of America).
For fans of Gibran and CavinoThe Love Song of Monkey (2008) and The Divine Farce (2009) have created a small but very dedicated following of readers, including online and weekly print reviewers, who are eagerly awaiting this novel. A philosophical take on life and the end of lifeLike the last two novellas, should appeal to GeekScribe, BookFetish, Spirituality & Health Books, etc.
Graziano is contracted to publish four more titles in a similar genre, including The Seclusion Zone, The God Machine, and two yet-to-be announced titles.