Product Description

Christopher Hitchens, the acclaimed journalist and best-selling author of God Is Not Great, selects and introduces an illuminating collection of the most essential and influential writings for the non-believer, including contributions from Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Mark Twain, Bertrand Russell, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Karl Marx, Richard Dawkins, H.L. Mencken, Sam Harris, and more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2372 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

Review
"Reading all these essays together is an intellectually invigorating experience this is a fine anthology and a provocative challenge to believers." --Metro (London) 14th November 2007

"(a)t 500 pages this excellent anthology is only just portable, but it is the perfect Christmas stocking-filler for the atheist in your life." --The Guardian

"(a)fter setting the non-believing cat among the devout pigeons in America, Christopher Hitchens compiles an anthology varied enough to entertain atheists, agnostics and believers alike." --The Financial Times

About the Author
Christopher Hitchens is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a visiting professor of liberal studies at the New School. The author of numerous books including the current bestseller God Is Not Great and Letters to a Young Contrarian, he lives in Washington, D.C.

Customer Reviews

Thoughtful selection of Atheist, Agnostic and Rationalist writing from across the ages.
This book is perhaps slightly undersold by it's title, it's a pretty solid tome, still portable I suppose but it must be a good 2 or 3 inches thick. The second part of the title is also a little misleading, the majority of the authors are indeed atheists, but not limited to the more militant kind one might expect Hitchens to choose. There's a broad spectrum of Humanist, Secularist and Rationalist writing spanning from Lucretius and Spinoza to Ibn Warraq and Sam Harris. The book progresses through these in a roughly chronological order charting the way human thought on the divine (or lack thereof) has changed and progressed.

The readings are well chosen and Hitchens provides a little introduction and context to each section (if I had one minor complaint it would be that these intros could have been even longer, they were fascinating in their own right). He also provides an overall intro to the book as a whole.

If I was to direct someone, atheist or theist, to a single book to explain non-theistic world views to them, it would have to be this.

Nourishment for the mind
An absolutely dazzling work. As a recovering Christian I am actively seeking out the thoughts of the great secularists down through the ages.
Particular highlights for me were the writings of Mark Twain on the Church's position on slavery, and also a remarkable deconstruction of every Christian argument regarding morality and God by Elizabet Anderson. Its one of those books that I'd love my wife and my Christian friends to read. Sadly, the bubble of false consolation and cognitive bias appears overwhelmingly strong. My experience tells me that the only evidence that Christians can cope with is Christian evidence. A truly impartial assesment of the available evidence from both sides seems a pose a real challenge to them.

Excellent
I found this interesting in that it provides a potted history of atheistic philosophy which could be useful to anyone introduced to the subject more recently (perhaps by Dawkins or Dennet). Some of the historical material can be a little hard to read (especially on a packed train) but I found it fascinating to see how the arguments against religion have developed over time. Ayaan Hirsi Ali's story is truly inspiring and is a fitting conclusion to the book. Hitchens' introductions to each chapter are fitting, and often show just how important the individual writers ideas are to the him. Highly recommended.