CHARLES' BOOKS
Turning Point: From the Divine Rights of Kings to the Inalienable Rights to Man
History may be “just one damn thing after another” but as we reflect on the past, patterns emerge. Scholars give those special times names like The Golden Age of Greece or The Renaissance. In that sense the 17th Century stands out as a humanitarian Turning Point of epic proportions: science started to subdue the occult, reason allowed religious pluralism to dampen religious conflict and representative governments began to replace repressive ones.
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The 17th century marked the twilight of the divine right of kings and the dawn of the inalienable rights of humans. Turning Point chronicles humanitarian triumphs in The Netherlands and England and details the philosophies of Baruch Spinoza and John Locke who drove them. These two philosophers were battlers and beacons for human advancement. What they and their respective countries did in the 17th century should be extolled. In the words of Winston Churchill; “The future is unknowable but the past should give us hope.”
Read The Review:
"Progress in human history is never easy; nor is it predictable, linear, or a certainty. Rather, the road is defined by leaps forward and backward, and too many bumps and turns to comprehend. We identify noteworthy eras with names -- Enlightenment, Renaissance, or the Dark Ages, and so on -- and Charles Block is right to note that one period worthy of study is the 17th century, one of history's most consequential and fascinating times. Turning Point takes the reader on concise and accessible yet important journey through this pivotal period and is both well-written and easy to read!"
Robert Watson, Ph.D., award-winning author of George Washington's Final Battle, When Washington Burned, America's First Plague, Escape! and many other history books
Humanism: The What, Who, Why, When & Where
Humanism: The What, Who, Why, When and Where validates that about three hundred years ago the world pivoted. It turned from a place where most people were excessively poor and powerless and with only one autocratic religious option to world with a huge thriving middle class, enjoying broad political and religious freedoms. Humanism addresses why the old world dominated most of history, where and when did this pivot start and what was the seminal cause.
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Blocks' book asserts that the catalyst for this consequential turn is humanism, an idea spawned in Antiquity, redeemed in the Renaissance, and made “self-evident” in the Enlightenment.
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Humanism stresses the power of ideas in shaping history. It takes the reader on a journey to the dawn of the ideals of human conduct to the emergence of the modern world, highlighting moral contours and historical landmarks.
Read The Reviews:
Morality: Whose Idea Was It Anyway?
Morality: Whose Idea Was It, Anyhow? searches for the roots of moral development from the dawn of man to the present. The author's reflections on family, religion, philosophy, science, and the arts provides answers to these and other puzzling questions:
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Are we moral because it wins us social approval?
Do religious beliefs make us moral?
Is morality a natural impulse or must we rise above our nature to be moral?
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Are morals universal or do they vary by time and place?
This book provides a fresh and intelligent approach to the people and events that produced a rich and relevant moral legacy. It is well researched and well organized and couldn't be coming out at a better time. It will appeal to serious readers who are dismayed by an erosion of moral concepts and conduct and are outraged by corporate, religious, and civic leaders who tailor morality to taste.
