The Soul Searcher's Guide to the Galaxy

Todd Pettigrew teaches English at McMaster University.

Douglas Todd’s stated intention is to give the general reader insight
into ethical issues. His short, accessible essays range over a wide
landscape of moral issues. The book, however, reads more like a series
of weekend news features than like a serious philosophical
investigation. Todd constantly cites experts, statistical sources, and
foundations of various sorts, not as a supplement to his own commentary,
but in place of it. This is not to say that many of the people he quotes
are not interesting, but first-rate writing about moral issues demands a
directness that Todd’s reporting, for the most part, does not give.

For readers unfamiliar with writings on ethics, this book might be a
good, nonthreatening place to start. Those who already know their way
around the issues are advised to opt for something weightier.