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Alice Roberts

Andrew Copson

The Little Book of Humanism: Universal lessons on finding purpose, meaning and joy Hardcover – 24 November 2020

by Alice Roberts (Author), Andrew Copson (Author)

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THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

We all want to lead a happy life. Traditionally, when in need of guidance, comfort or inspiration, many people turn to religion. But there has been another way to learn how to live well - the humanist way - and in today's more secular world, it is more relevant than ever.

In THE LITTLE BOOK OF HUMANISM, Alice Roberts and Andrew Copson share over two thousand years of humanist wisdom through an uplifting collection of stories, quotes and meditations on how to live an ethical and fulfilling life, grounded in reason and humanity.

With universal insights and beautiful original illustrations, THE LITTLE BOOK OF HUMANISM is a perfect introduction to and a timeless anthology of humanist thought from some of history and today's greatest thinkers.

Print length

256 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Piatkus
Publication date

24 November 2020
Dimensions

11.75 x 2.22 x 18.73 cm
ISBN-10

0349425469
ISBN-13

978-0349425467
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Review

Gorgeous and full of wise quotes and stories that we would all do well to heed in today's crazy world -- Jim Al-Khalili

This beautiful little book is, well, beautiful. The perfect antidote to a great deal of nonsense -- Shappi Khorsandi

A wonderful source of wisdom and calm -- Frank Turner

THE LITTLE BOOK OF HUMANISM by Andrew Copson & Alice Roberts is a delight. Give it like a bunch of flowers to someone you love. A compendium of uplifting quotations woven together by the two leading figures in today's Humanists UK -- Richard Dawkins

This is a delightful book to dip into, to give comfort, stimulation and guidance. It puts humanism right into the mainstream of enlightened thinking -- Janet Whitaker

Anytime my head feels heavy this book seems to find me and pick me up ... A fantastic introduction to a new way of thinking ― GalwayNow

Book Description

An approachable, uplifting guide to finding happiness and leading a fulfilling life through the wisdom of famous humanists from the past and present

From the Publisher

Professor Alice Roberts is a writer, broadcaster, and President of Humanists UK. She is the bestselling author of eight popular science books including Evolution: The Human Story, the Incredible Unlikeliness of Being and Tamed: Ten Species that Changed Our World. Making her television debut on Time Team in 2001, she has become one of Britain's best-known broadcasters and has written and presented a huge range of television series for BBC2, BBC4 and Channel 4, including The Incredible Human Journey, Origins of Us and Ice Age Giants, and several Horizon programmes. Her humanist 'mini-sermons' on Twitter have been liked and shared many thousands of times.

Andrew Copson is the Chief Executive of Humanists UK and President of Humanists International. He has provided a humanist voice on many television and radio programmes and written on humanism for publications including The Economist, New Statesman, Guardian, Prospect, The Times and Buzzfeed. With AC Grayling, he edited the Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Humanism and his most recent book is Secularism: A Very Short Introduction. He has been the humanist contributor to many compendiums and anthologies of quotations such as Wisdom for Life and numerous resources for schools.

About the Author

Professor Alice Roberts is a writer, broadcaster, and President of Humanists UK. She is the bestselling author of eight popular science books including Evolution: The Human Story, the Incredible Unlikeliness of Being and Tamed: Ten Species that Changed Our World. Making her television debut on Time Team in 2001, she has become one of Britain's best-known broadcasters and has written and presented a huge range of television series for BBC2, BBC4 and Channel 4, including The Incredible Human Journey, Origins of Us and Ice Age Giants, and several Horizon programmes. Her humanist 'mini-sermons' on Twitter have been liked and shared many thousands of times.

Andrew Copson is the Chief Executive of Humanists UK and President of Humanists International. He has provided a humanist voice on many television and radio programmes and written on humanism for publications including The Economist, New Statesman, Guardian, Prospect, The Times and Buzzfeed. With AC Grayling, he edited the Wiley Blackwell Handbook of Humanism and his most recent book is Secularism: A Very Short Introduction. He has been the humanist contributor to many compendiums and anthologies of quotations such as Wisdom for Life and numerous resources for schools.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Piatkus; 1st edition (24 November 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0349425469
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0349425467
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 11.75 x 2.22 x 18.73 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 81,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 123 in Humanist Philosophy
- 683 in Ethics & Morality (Books)
- 8,614 in Motivational Self-Help (Books)

Customer Reviews:
1,209 ratings

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R Chan

Inspirational introduction to Humanism

Reviewed in Australia on 4 April 2021

This is an outstanding primer on the humanist worldview. It consists of prefatory remarks on humanist themes, inspirational quotes from famous humanists and illustrations. Its virtues are that it is simple, easy to read, and focusses on the positive points of humanism. I even read it aloud to my 10 year old!

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Sam Woodward

Wise words, beautifully presented

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 September 2020

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I seem to get asked by friends & acquaintances to come to their churches a lot more often than anyone else I know. Apparently I come across as somebody who gives a lot of thought to ‘spiritual’ matters. The weird thing is, I’ve been tempted to go a couple of times, despite not believing in God or anything supernatural of any kind. I just liked the thought of becoming part of a considered, compassionate community whose social life doesn’t revolve around drinking. But of course it never worked out. Despite having actually been told that believing in God isn’t a necessity for attending church (presumably they reckoned that if they got my bum on a pew then I would come to believe) the whole ‘adherence to blind faith’ thing did not sit well with me. So I’m very grateful to the Humanist Society for making this book – even if I can’t find a community in my area which shares my views, then at least the authors’ essays & the quotes they have compiled have helped me feel connected to like-minded people.

And what stellar company it is, containing such charming & erudite luminaries as Stephen Fry, David Attenborough, Bertrand Russell & David Hume, right back to the ancient Greek philosophers. It also seems that there are indeed many such like-minded people, given that an increasing number of people describe themselves as non-religious & it has been revealed that to meet demand this book was reprinted twice prior to publication.

As the ‘little book of’ part of the name implies, it’s a collection of short essays & quotes grouped together by topic & beautifully illustrated. It’s the perfect introduction for this ethical & philosophical framework for people who want to divorce such things from supernatural beings beyond our ken. Indeed, by encouraging the act of thinking for ourselves in a logical way, it makes such deities seem superfluous.

This is a wonderful collection which is a joy to flick through. This little book contains a lot of wisdom & a equally generous measure of charm.

74 people found this helpful

Reebi

Essential reading

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 August 2020

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Whether you are a Humanist or not this is a must read. So inspiring and makes you realise what life is REALLY about. Will stay by my bed or in my bag to pick up and dip into.
Want to buy this for all my family and friends.
Bought as a hardback which I think works better than a kindle option.

37 people found this helpful

Anna Banana

A beautiful timely book, full of hope for the human capacity to see us through to a brighter future

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 September 2020

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This is a wonderful little book, a real pleasure to experience aesthetically, emotionally and intellectually.

It is skilfully curated by Andrew Copson and Alice Roberts, a great collaboration of young, modern humanists who are equally wise and deeply knowledgable.

There is nothing in this of the usual apple pie and corny cheesiness sometimes found in ‘little’ books.

It is full of the relatable human struggles and wisdom of the most influential humanist thinkers and activists.
It is serious realistic food for thought and encouragement to everyone to have the strength and confidence to make up our own minds and find our own values. It is a balm of hope to soothe our weariness as we battle through this pandemic.

A book to share with others. It will be a Christmas gift for all my closest friends.

26 people found this helpful

Bob Churchill

A great source of ideas and inspiration in a beautiful format

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 September 2020

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With insightful commentary from the authors, this selection of quotes represents ideas and inspiring thoughts from humanists across time and place. With illustrations by Alice Roberts, and art and photography from other contributors besides, it all comes in a beautiful package.

The book is divided into nine thematic sections, including "The unique you", "Being good", and "Thinking clearly". I can well imagine turning to the book again when I want to dip in and refresh myself on a particular topic. It may become well-thumbed in time!

It would make an excellent gift for someone who was curious or new to humanism - or in fact to any thoughtful person. As the subtitle says, these are "universal" ideas. It is also informative enough and accessible enough that I imagine it could even help someone who was hostile on principle to non-religious worldviews to understand where a humanist is coming from.

The quotes include longer passages that really elaborate on an idea, though never longer than a few paragraphs, and from varied sources (the thoughts of philosopher Bertrand Russel sit alongside those of actor Kristen Bell in the section on "Being good"). And there are other quotes that are pithy single lines, the kind that kick off ideas, or have become the foundation of entire ways of thinking (such as Hume's "A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence"). And as befits humanism, these quotes are not simply truisms or platitudes; this "Little Book" is not intended as and is by no means an academic treatise, but there is meat here enough that a critical thinker will be able to "um" and "ah" and grapple with ideas, as opposed to simply nodding along.

The book also serves as a rejoinder to those who criticise humanism itself as a label given to disparate views. There is a consistency here, across the ages, the quotes cohering alongside each other to present a more or less unified worldview. But unified to just the right degree! Because nor is it dogmatic or monolithic - indeed the format helps to show that this broad attitude to life called humanism is one that is evolving and... polylithic.

Also interesting, given the other criticism of humanism that it is obsessed with religion or defines itself only in response to religion, is that it is the section on "Religion and faith" where the selected quotes demonstrate perhaps the most variety of response, a point noted by the authors ("Other humanists have a different reaction to religion..."). Responses range from the indifferent or apathetic, to the overtly hostile, or simply tolerant but suspicious (as in Forster's warning: "I dread them all, without exception, when they become powerful").

This is a thoughtful selection, expertly framed by the authors, and beautifully presented.

16 people found this helpful

Master & Commander

A great Humanist book to carry with you.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 September 2020

Verified Purchase

This book is a great collection of Humanist thoughts and quotes. Whilst reading it, I have learned some fine comments from Eleanor Roosevelt, Bertrand Russell and others, plus some great words written by Noel Coward.
The A5 size makes it handy to carry, travel with and hold when reading. I will likely buy several more copies as gifts for family members who, like I used to be before joining Humanists UK, are not aware of the scope and size of Humanists UK and what great work they do and what values they stand for.
Thoroughly recommend this publication and the purchase of it also helps the work of Humanists UK. Enjoy!

10 people found this helpful

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