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Rating: 
Summary: Bracing Critique of Materialist perspective and Modernity
Review: I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is the modernist or skeptic's assault on modernity in general and the regime of science specifically. As limited as this view must be relative to a traditional or symbolist perspective (i.e., from someone not using the methods criticized to criticize them), I have not read a more accessible book on the subject. If you want to know how much and in what ways our present time (as all times) are an 'Age' with peculiar blind spots, graces, and misconceptions, this is the place to start. Ignore the two reviews below that offer apologies for the regime and accuse Applyard of pessimism; the man who sees the train about to roll over him - rolling over him? - is not a pessimist. Guenon's The Reign of Quantity and Upton's System of AntiChrist are this book's betters but they assume much more on the reader's part; please find this book and delight in his illumination of the ideas that frame our shallow and narrow worldview in the present time. Then read Swift's Battle of the Books and see that this fight is an old one each person must come to terms with.
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Summary: Integration Not War
Review: I found this book to give a spirited overview of the paradigms of modern science and the place of man's sense of self within these paradigms which is no place at all. However, I am not as pessimistic as Appleyard in that I believe science and spirit can be integrated. After readers get aroused by Appleyard they should read Ken Wilber's "The Marriage of Sense and Soul"and E.O. Wilson's "Consilience" for ideas on how these two apparently conflicting worldviews can be integrated. For example, Wilber suggests the method of science can be applied to both the subjective and objective domains of knowledge.
Rating:
Summary: Integration Not War
Review: I found this book to give a spirited overview of the paradigms of modern science and the place of man's sense of self within these paradigms which is no place at all. However, I am not as pessimistic as Appleyard in that I believe science and spirit can be integrated. After readers get aroused by Appleyard they should read Ken Wilber's "The Marriage of Sense and Soul"and E.O. Wilson's "Consilience" for ideas on how these two apparently conflicting worldviews can be integrated. For example, Wilber suggests the method of science can be applied to both the subjective and objective domains of knowledge.
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Summary: Interesting, Yet Overly Pessimistic
Review: I picked this up in a bargain bin thinking it was a pop science book. A few pages in, it became apparent that the book was a criticism of science's failure to provide a sense of comfort about the big issues ("what is our purpose in life" etc). The author compares science to olde time religion and comes to the conclusion that religion is a lie that makes people happy, whilst science is a truth that saddens.While this may be an accurate description of the general metaphysical discomfort caused as religion loses ground, it seems a bit presumptuous to suggest we devalue truth and return to the dark ages. As some ancient Roman guy once said, "the desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise". Instead of seeking wonder, purpose and freedom in a godless universe, Appleyard invites us to throw in the towel. And that is what makes this book so morbidly interesting...
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