On Human Nature by Roger Scruton (Princeton University Press, £18.95 (Church Times SPECIAL OFFER PRICE £16.95); 978-0-691-16875-3).
"In this short book, acclaimed writer and philosopher Roger Scruton presents an original and radical defense of human uniqueness. Confronting the views of evolutionary psychologists, utilitarian moralists, and philosophical materialists such as Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett, Scruton argues that human beings cannot be understood simply as biological objects."
Moses: A human life by Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg (Yale, £16.99 (£15.30); 978-0-300-20962-4).
"No figure looms larger in Jewish culture than Moses, and few have stories more enigmatic. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, acclaimed for her many books on Jewish thought, turns her attention to Moses in this remarkably rich, evocative book."
Apostle: Travels among the tombs of the twelve by Tom Bissell (Faber & Faber, £9.99 (£9); 978-0-571-23475-2).
"In his quest to understand the underpinnings of the world’s largest religion, Tom Bissell embarks on a years-long pilgrimage to the apostles’ supposed tombs, traveling from Jerusalem and Rome to Turkey, Greece, Spain, France, India, and Kyrgyzstan."
Thomas More: A very brief history by John Guy (SPCK, £12.99 (£11.70); 978-0-281-07738-0).
"This brief historical introduction to Thomas More explores the social, political and religious factors that formed the original context of his life and writings, and considers how those factors affected the way he was initially received. "
Jumble Sales of the Apocalypse by Simon Jenkins (SPCK, £9.99 (£9); 978-0-281-07721-2).
"With its gently satirical take on some of the weird ways in which people express their beliefs, it’s a book that will help you appreciate the true value of religion by exploring the comedy of its wilder excesses. Whether you’re a believer or a non-believer, fond of religion or a more than just a bit suspicious of it, you’ll find your assumptions are far from safe after reading it."
Selected by Frank Nugent, of the Church House Bookshop, which operates the Church Times Bookshop.
