In his book, Freethought Across the Centuries, Gerald A. Larue provides an overview of the historical ways in which inquiring human minds have challenged beliefs. He urges today's students, educators, parents and society in general to become involved in critical thinking and to keep open the doors of free inquiry to provide the basis for a New Age of Enlightenment. His basic concern is with the recognition of those who have not only rejected standard faith and belief systems, but have also excluded any form of supernaturalism. He addresses the questions of their place in human history and in American life, their contributions to a free society, and the maintenance of the wall of separation between church and state.

As public school boards develop curricula to teach students the history of religion, Larue's book should be an important item on the required reading list. The author is an Emeritus Professor of Biblical History at UCLA, a member of the prestigious International Academy of Humanism, and was honored as the Humanist of the Year in 1989 by AHA.

--Flo Wineriter