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kevin_shepherd's review against another edition
4.0
Anarchy Evolution resides at the intersection of science, religion and punk rock. It’s Greg Graffin’s philosophy, autobiography and discography; an odd but interesting presentation of his world view.
I wasn’t at all sure I wanted to venture inside the mind of Bad Religion’s front-man and lead singer. Outside of The Clash (I still have a CD of London Calling) and maybe Green Day, I’m not much of a punk rock aficionado. In my mind, this had all the makings of a literary catastrophe. I imagined Sid Vicious or Johnny Rotten hosting an episode of Nova, or maybe Carl Sagan with a pink & green mohawk...
What I found was an intelligent, articulate musician with a PhD in zoology and a penchant for reason. Color me pleasantly surprised.
I wasn’t at all sure I wanted to venture inside the mind of Bad Religion’s front-man and lead singer. Outside of The Clash (I still have a CD of London Calling) and maybe Green Day, I’m not much of a punk rock aficionado. In my mind, this had all the makings of a literary catastrophe. I imagined Sid Vicious or Johnny Rotten hosting an episode of Nova, or maybe Carl Sagan with a pink & green mohawk...
What I found was an intelligent, articulate musician with a PhD in zoology and a penchant for reason. Color me pleasantly surprised.
jackgoss's review against another edition
5.0
Full disclosure: I'm a Bad Religion Fan Girl. Or something. Fan Girl sounds awfully frivolous, but what else do you call it?
Fan?
OK.
I'm a Bad Religion fan. And I have been for something like 17 years. Bad Religion was a huge influence on my life and world view as a teenager. You know those years where everyone is figuring things out for themselves and starting to ask the big questions? Those were the years that I listened to and studied Bad Religion albums. And I sang along. I knew every lyric (still do) and found so much to think about. So Yeah. I pretty much grew up with Greg Graffin's philosophic influence. And, not necessarily as a result, but as it happens, I'm an atheist and a monist and I find evolution in everything. I am not a scientist, but I sometimes wish I was. Pretty much I've been so influence by Greg Graffin and I've listened to and read his lyrics for so long that Anarchy Evolution is just common sense to me. I'd like to say that I think like him, but maybe it's more correct to just say that I understand what he's saying. It's what I would say if I were eloquent (OK, I wouldn't write the personal memoir-type stuff, but the philosophy/atheism/evolution stuff).
In short. I'm going to buy my own copy of this book because I want to read it again with a hi-lighter (they frown on that with library copies) and I want to hi-light the crap out it. And I want to shove my neon yellow copy into the hands of the next person who asks me some dumb question about atheism or what I believe and say read the yellow parts.
Then, there's also the fact that it's a punk rock memoir. Awesome.
Fan?
OK.
I'm a Bad Religion fan. And I have been for something like 17 years. Bad Religion was a huge influence on my life and world view as a teenager. You know those years where everyone is figuring things out for themselves and starting to ask the big questions? Those were the years that I listened to and studied Bad Religion albums. And I sang along. I knew every lyric (still do) and found so much to think about. So Yeah. I pretty much grew up with Greg Graffin's philosophic influence. And, not necessarily as a result, but as it happens, I'm an atheist and a monist and I find evolution in everything. I am not a scientist, but I sometimes wish I was. Pretty much I've been so influence by Greg Graffin and I've listened to and read his lyrics for so long that Anarchy Evolution is just common sense to me. I'd like to say that I think like him, but maybe it's more correct to just say that I understand what he's saying. It's what I would say if I were eloquent (OK, I wouldn't write the personal memoir-type stuff, but the philosophy/atheism/evolution stuff).
In short. I'm going to buy my own copy of this book because I want to read it again with a hi-lighter (they frown on that with library copies) and I want to hi-light the crap out it. And I want to shove my neon yellow copy into the hands of the next person who asks me some dumb question about atheism or what I believe and say read the yellow parts.
Then, there's also the fact that it's a punk rock memoir. Awesome.
I don't believe in self-important folks who preach
No Bad Religion song can make yourself complete
You'll get no direction from me.
kb_208's review against another edition
4.0
I've been a fan of Bad Religion for many years as well as Greg's solo material. Naturally I was pretty excited to read his book right when it came out, which was right with the release of the band's most recent album in 2010. 30 years and still going strong. The book itself is more of a biography of the author. It goes back and forth between him telling of childhood and Bad Religion experiences and his scientific beliefs and stories about his educational background. It's a pretty good read and worth checking out.
hjulia5's review against another edition
Much more about evolution and not enough about anarchy. Too slow and all over the place.
peripetia's review against another edition
4.0
Kind of hard to review as it's right up my lane. I enjoyed it. Bad Religion is one of my all time favorites so I'm hardly impartial here. Would recommend for non-religious people who want to learn something new about evolution and humankind and/or people who want to muse on the Big Questions. If you're offended or annoyed by Atheism, this is not for you.
amelon27's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
reasonpassion's review against another edition
5.0
Graffin accomplishes what few are able to do, create an autobiography that is informative about more than just himself. The seemless mesh of music and science, liberally sprinkled with musings on how life can be viewed from a naturalistic perspective, is an incredible representation of his own life. This is a book to ponder the social variables that make a good life, written with a humility and introspective grace to strive for and a thoughtful account of a world in which we are all truly constituted within. Nature's beauty, indifference, awe and inspiration are all captured.
nnnaaattteeee's review against another edition
5.0
As a musician and scientist, this book really spoke to me. I felt like I could personally connect with a lot of what was said. However, did any one else feel like the book was preachy and self-righteous at times? I don’t even disagree with the points being laid out, but the tone seemed holier-than-thou to me.
mattnorthaudio's review against another edition
3.0
A great account and interesting read from Greg Graffin, with interesting anecdotes from Bad Religion's history tied in with his lifetime interest in nature and biology. He makes some interesting arguments against the existence of God and intelligently backs them up with his studies. Anyone who has an interest in Bad Religion and their lyrical message will enjoy this thoroughly.
rhiannatherad's review against another edition
5.0
It's been a while since I've read anything like this, and I don't think I've EVER read a combo of punk and science together. This waaaay exceeded my expectations and I think I'll go binge on Bad Religion now.