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God is Not Great: The Case Against Religion (Hardcover)

by Christopher Hitchens (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (134 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Atlantic Books (10 Jun 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1843545861
  • ISBN-13: 978-1843545866
  • Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.8 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (134 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 11,939 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #13 in  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Philosophy
    #13 in  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology > Philosophy

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Product Description

Review
Put an -ism onto it, and whatever it is, noted polemicist and contrarian Hitchens (Love, Poverty, and War, 2005, etc.) is likely to decimate it. So he reveals in this pleasingly intemperate assault on organized religion.Hitchens opens by recalling an epistemological crisis. Why, if God was great, did he need to be praised "so incessantly for doing what came to him naturally"? If Jesus could heal the blind, why didn't he do away with blindness? Such doubts arrive to all proper questioners; sometimes they turn into C.S. Lewis or Malcolm Muggeridge, sometimes they turn into committed atheists. Hitchens, forthrightly in the latter camp, offers "four irreducible objections to religious faith" at the outset, namely that religion misrepresents human origins and those of the universe at large; that owing to this, religion combines "the maximum of servility with the maximum of solipsism"; that religion suppresses sexuality to a dangerous degree; and that religion is a species of wishful-thinking. And the author adds another twist of the knife: Religion makes people crazy, violent and ill-behaved. Just ask Salman Rushdie - or Giordano Bruno. Hitchens, a brave grappler quite obviously unafraid of giving offense, cheerfully takes on all comers, from mullahs to commissars to Mahatma Gandhi - and a noted televangelist who once challenged him with a thought experiment in which, in a foreign land, Hitchens is approached by a large group of men. Wouldn't he feel more comfortable, the televangelist asked, to learn that they had just left a religious service? Citing personal experiences in cities only beginning with B - Belfast, Beirut, Bombay, Belgrade, Bethlehem and Baghdad - Hitchens answers emphatically in the negative. And all that's before taking on Joseph Smith, and Mohammed, and . . .It's clear from page to page that Hitchens, a columnist for Vanity Fair, is having a grand time twitting the folks in the white collars and purple dresses, in the turbans and beehives. Like-minded readers will enjoy his arguments, too. (Kirkus Reviews)

Esquire US
'Thank God for Christopher Hitchens. For he has written the finest
of the down-with-God books.'


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Customer Reviews

134 Reviews
5 star:
 (65)
4 star:
 (25)
3 star:
 (11)
2 star:
 (7)
1 star:
 (26)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (134 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
214 of 232 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Clever, Very Readable and Pretty Convincing Too, 2 Jun 2007
By Mr. C. S. Smith "jcms" (Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Firstly - I've read the US version of this book, "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything", this is why I can write a review.
If you just want to comment on Hitchens/Atheism in general (either for or against) then please do it somewhere else!

I wasn't the greatest Hitchens fan but I have to admit that this book is something special. It's well written with lots of entertaining anecdotes and is easily more readable than Dawkins "The God Delusion". The pages fly by and his points are interesting and well made.

Obviously I was expecting a rabid attack on all things godly yet Hitchens turns out to be cleverer than that. He insists that people should be free to believe what they want - they just shouldn't try to force their beliefs on others. There's the expected examination of the Abrahamic religions here (yes, including Islam) but also critiques of other faiths too. Intelligent and inventive, this was far far better than the book that I was expecting.

Overall it's a great read with a convincing message that has convinced me to look at Hitchens back catalogue to see what other gems are hidden there...

I dare you to read this!
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60 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb and hugely insightful, 12 Sep 2007
By Readerbloke (London UK) - See all my reviews
Loved this book, the only downside is I think that few religious people will pick it up, when actually there's a lot in it that's just plain interesting historical fact. The story about the founding of the Mormons is worth the cover price on its own. He is also unafraid to tackle the non-christian religions, which is something of a gap in Dawkins. Worth reading Dawkins superbly written review of this book on his website as well, by the way.

I was honestly a bit reluctant to read it at first because I think Hitch too easily veers off subject when I've heard him on TV and radio, and maybe tries to be a bit too clever for his own good. This book though is like enjoying a brilliant, discursive lecture from a passionate master of his subject. This would make a superb present for the agnostic in your life, or the 'undecided' person / couple who is about to have a wedding or christening - maybe they'll reconsider ceremonies that feed the faith industry. It's great that there are writers like Hitch alive in this age.
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177 of 195 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Read it with an open mind, 27 Sep 2007
By Dr. D. Fraser (Scotland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This book is a worthy companion to Dawkins "The God Delusion". Whereas Dawkins is a scientist, this author takes more of a historical perspective.

I have read a great deal of the current fashion of these type of books. I have enjoyed them all, but Hitchens is perhaps the best of all. He is fearless and expresses himself with great eloquence. You really have to admire his convictions, even if you do not agree with his every point.

Hitchens shows why he believes religion to be a consequence of our evolutionary childhood, why he believes it should not be considered a source of morality and all the ways in which it has demonstrated (he believes) its tendency to forster totalitarian malevolence.

It is unfortunate that many of the reviews posted are vitreolic arguements from pro- or anti-creationists. Clearly many people take great offence to their faith being questioned. But surely if ones faith is trully strong, they should be able to respond to such challenges in a positive way? It is scarcely likely that a book is going to change your lifelong held beliefs, so surely it can be read with an open mind as to understanding other peoples point of view.

The only criticism I would make of this book is that sometimes too much knowledge is assumed of the reader. At times I found myself having to contentrate quite hard as I was not overly familiar with the historical events.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Limp essays on Religion
In this snide, sarcastic book, Christopher Hitchens gives his take on Religion in general and argues that it "Poisons Everything. Read more
Published 5 days ago by Mr. S. A. Blake

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this book
I suggest this book should be put in the bedside table of every hotel room.
Published 9 days ago by Mr. Paul Nolan

5.0 out of 5 stars Hitchens Tells It Like It Is
This book is an ideal read for those who doubt there is a God but would like to hear the case against explained in a forthright and occasionally humorous way. Read more
Published 10 days ago by M. Burns

1.0 out of 5 stars God is actually greater than you might think
There is a lot of truth in this book, but the conclusions are those of someone who does not apply scientific reasoning to the problem. Read more
Published 15 days ago by E. M. Taudevin

5.0 out of 5 stars Lucid, well reasoned and shocking
This book provides a shocking indictment of the wrongs caused by religion.

I have, in the past, taken the view that those who believe are foolish, but should be... Read more
Published 1 month ago by The Tattooed Librarian

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb put down of superstitious Mumbo-Jumbo
If you're a bead jigller, please read this if only to counter the poison in your veins.
Published 1 month ago by A. J. Davies

2.0 out of 5 stars not that digestible
I think this book is not for readers without any theology background or lack of a decent knowledge of scripture(compared to "The god delusion"by Richard Dawkins) that's why it is... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Joseph Mtui

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye opener
I saw debates with Christopher Hitchens online.. He's very astute if not a little snobbish. I didnt think Id enjoy reading his book. Read more
Published 1 month ago by K. Montgomery

4.0 out of 5 stars Opposing the human desire for superhuman authority
Religion as Hitchens defines it, is belief in an infallible, superhuman authority, which humanity should obey. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Brian Griffith

5.0 out of 5 stars another 5 star for the count
I thought I would come to this site to write a rave review for Hitchens's book, but found that so many others have already summed it up so well. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Karima Moyer

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