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The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 211.8
EAN: 9780306816086
ISBN: 0306816083
Label: Da Capo Press
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 528
Publication Date: November 05, 2007
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Studio: Da Capo Press
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Editorial Review:
From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of God Is Not Great, a provocative and entertaining guided tour of atheist and agnostic thought through the ages--with never-before-published pieces by Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.Christopher Hitchens continues to make the case for a splendidly godless universe in this first-ever gathering of the influential voices--past and present--that have shaped his side of the current (and raging) God/no-god debate. With Hitchens as your erudite and witty guide, you’ll be led through a wealth of philosophy, literature, and scientific inquiry, including generous portions of the words of Lucretius, Benedict de Spinoza, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Mark Twain, George Eliot, Bertrand Russell, Emma Goldman, H. L. Mencken, Albert Einstein, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and many others well-known and lesser known. And they’re all set in context and commented upon as only Christopher Hitchens--“political and literary journalist extraordinaire” (Los Angeles Times)--can. Atheist? Believer? Uncertain? No matter: The Portable Atheist will speak to you and engage you every step of the way.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Great Reading
It's nice to read the viewpoints of different authors. I never tire of reading how intelligent people view religion. I do, however, tire of dogmatic imbeciles like Rush Limbaugh, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson etc. who blather on about "what the bible says." Maybe that should read those books someday and understand that no civilized society should look to them as anything more than literary entertainment.
Rating:  - Not So Portable Yet Extraordinary
This book is a nice collection of essays, letters and excerpts from other writings from a number of different non-believing and freethinking authors throughout history.
The introduction by Hitchens does a nice (and poignant as always) job at framing the chronologically arranged collection of pieces. Along with contemporary writers such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennet and Salman Rushdie, other 'jewels' are collected from times past: from Benedict de Spinoza and Thomas Hobbes, ... Read More
Rating: - The works of some great thinkers about unbelief
It sometimes takes courage and conviction to do your own thinking, especially about matters religious, and the selections here present thought and arguments through the ages about unbelief and imaginary friends, about the cruelties forced upon others by people who think that they will gain a diety's favor by murdering or torturing others. All believers are enablers. Nice people, huh? These murderers and torturers are the believers, not the unbelievers. Believers also try to make unbelievers uncomfortable. ... Read More
Rating: - The Portable Atheist
Being a fan of Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennet, and other authors/thinkers pertaining to this "genre", I have no choice but to offer Kudos. There are many views from various characters throughout world history to our present time included in this compilation of quotes, notations, and essays etc.etc. This book should be included in any collection of voices representing freethought and even as a reference for any research along these same lines.
Thank You, Don ... Read More
Rating: - Fine group of god-demolishers represented here!
First off, there are plenty of famous atheists not here, but given the space, Hitchens has gathered a motley, inspiring, humorous, and always brilliant band of iconoclasts (though I do not recall if Nietszche himself was included)..Going way back to the ancients, hitting the stride with Hume, and including Boswell's interview with Hume as he lay dying ( a piece not to be missed), moving on to Darwin, Russell, and of course Dawkins, and contemporary polemicists, even an excerpt from Updike, you really cannot miss ... Read More
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