I received this book in a giveaway from the publisher, and reviewing it for LibraryThing's early reviewers program.

I've only recently learned about Christian apologetics, and that this book arrived soon after seems like Big Brother really is watching.

Starting with discussion about evenly split between science and religion, Gould uses philosophy to build a case leaning further towards religion as it goes on and attempts to explain the unexplainable great questions of life, creation, and the existence of God. ( )

A Good and True Story is a philosophical journey to discover the truth of the Universe, that is, why Christianity is true. The reader walks with guides such as “Lady Nature” and Banksy.

I usually avoid reading philosophy. It was the college class I couldn’t wait to be done with. It makes my head spin and makes me feel stupid. However, Paul M. Gould breaks it down far enough that I am able to keep up and follow along. And I travel along the road with him, he explains my own ideas to me and validates things I had imagined, but couldn’t express. Each chapter takes one more step in explaining how the world works, starting with “Why do people exist?” and coming into sharper focus with “What is art?”. It is full of pop culture references (The Office, Greenday, fantasy football) that make the whole discussion feel relevant and approachable.
My husband, who enjoys a philosophical discussion, called this an “easy read”, but I do not think my 12 year old could follow along, despite my desperate desire for him to hear Gould’s worldview.
I know that I will still be gleaning new information from this book after a third and fourth reading and I look forward to doing so.

In “A Good and True Story” Gould does a good job of presenting both sides of the nonreligious and religious stories. He uses science and history, experience and fact. It is full of a LOT of information so it was a book that I had to read in bite sized portions but it was good. Whether you are exploring your purpose in life, searching out what truth is, wanting to grow in your faith, or just looking for an interesting read that talks about the world in which we live, I’d recommend picking up this book.

I wish I could read this book, as from reviews, it sounds fantastic! I have old eyes, though, and the print is very small. I will give it to my pastor.

I received this book from LT for my honest review. ( )

I embraced the early chapters as a balanced debate between science and theism. As the eleven topical chapters progressed, I found less of this balance. The author was open about that, and relied in part on the arguments made along the way as reason to tip in one direction. That criticism aside, I found this a compelling and thoughtful argument. It covers also covers some basic philosophical concepts that I hadn’t understood before, such as reductionism. I’ve read more than average in this genre and still found multiple novel and convincing points. ( )