236 of 258 people found the following review helpful:
Clever, Very Readable and Pretty Convincing Too
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...
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
The style lets it down
Hitchens makes many strong points; but his style is a distraction.
He uses far too many emotive phrases, for example: Edward Gibbon is "revolted" by Christianity (p. 267); Hannukah is "vapid and annoying" (p. 273); John Brown is "lionlike" and "a fearsome and pitiless Calvinist" (p. 177). It gets a bit much after a while and reads like something...
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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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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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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This book is EXTREMELY well written. Witty, informative, and determined.
Many one-star-ers have noted that this book is one of two things:
1. The Atheist Camp claim that this book is not as 'good' as the God Delusion by Richard Dawkins - the arguments are difficult to follow, it's not as scientific or academic as it might be.
Well, Christopher is not a scientist. The book is a fantastic diatribe against the parties of God - it doesn't claim to be anything more. It's a wonderful contribution to atheistic literature. It's funny, clever and well-researched. It's not supposed to be an academic thesis.
2. The God Camp claim that Hitchens succeed in attacking religion, but doesn't manage to prove that God himself does not exist.
While he outlines his reasons for not believing in God, Hitchens does not set out to prove that God does not exist. He sets out to do what it says underneath his main title - to demonstrate how religion poisons everything - and he does a fantastic job.
This book is highly recommended to those who want to laugh and cry at the same time.
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I have read a great many of the current crop of atheist books, including The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and The End Of Faith/Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris. I have enjoyed them all. But Hitchens does something extraordinary here. He is utterly fearless and expresses himself so eloquently that you cannot help but admire the conviction he holds, even if you do not agree with his every point. But it is not just his style that elevates this book above the ordinary polemic, it is also the obvious relish with which Hitchens uses his rather impressive intellect to shoot down the idea that religion is a benign or necessary force. He shows why he believes religion to be a product of our evolutionary childhood, why it should not be considered a source of morality and all the ways in which it has demonstrated (and is still demonstrating) its propensity for totalitarian malevolence. He is obviously a huge fan of the American Founding Fathers and the US Constitution which guarantees spearation of Church and State, a position that is slowly being eroded. He obviously feels strongly about this, which is to his credit and it is this passion which does distinguish him a little from the cool-headed scientist Dawkins and the psychologist Harris. He talks from the point of view of someone who has gathered ammunition his whole life and is now getting to fire his gun. He also has an interesting - some would say controversial - take on the problems in Iraq and the Middle East and supports the Iraq war. I find this argument interesting and persuasive and would like him to expand more. It may not be politically correct to say it but regardless of Western political/economic motives, he is someone who has actually BEEN to these places so I find it hard to argue with him that maybe we do have to use force and behave in ways we normally find abhorrent - if we want secular democracy to survive. Is Western liberalism and freedom of speech a principle worth dying - or killing - for? Islamists certainly think so.. Just ask Salman Rushdie.. This is a question that Hitchens is making me ask myself and it may be that sooner or later the world is going to have to make a stark choice if it is to survive - fence sitting will not be an option.
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Brimming with astute literary references and vast historical knowledge Hitchens dismantles the entire pro-religious argument with a mixture of razor sharp intelligence and a sledgehammer of sneering incredulity that religion could have ever lasted this long.
As a companion read to Dawkins' excellent `God Delusion' Hitchens comes across like the angry and rebelious, yet devastatingly convincing younger brother who has returned from the front lines of journalism and seen first hand the damage wrought to mankind by the organization of belief and the denial of rational thought.
Having made the remarkable journey from Marxist to be being considered one of the USA's foremost pro-Iraq war `neo-cons' he writes (and publicly debates) with such unshakable authority one imagines taking an opposing view to his would be a foolhardy and unwise venture.
Not that it's all fist banging however as there are numerous moments of considered humanity at work in this book, for example his sympathy with (and tremendous knowledge of) Islamic culture and history makes his sharp critique of current Muslim fundamentalism all the more powerful.
There are no sides to the argument that he leaves uncovered and ultimately it's one of those books that enriches, challenges and rewards the reader.
They many not agree on all things but if Dawkins and Hitchens ever put their heads together you get the feeling the religious establishment really would have to pack up and call it a day.
A triumph of highly readable erudition.
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For some reason I've never particularly warmed to Hitchens, but I have to admit this is an extremely well written and well argued case against religion, and the author's knowledge of historical and literary detail is impeccable.
Given the overlap of his views with the US neo-conservative movement, I was a little apprehensive that this would turn out to be one big anti-Islam rant. Thankfully it's far more even-handed than that - Hitch chooses his targets well, and convincingly dismantles each one, crossing paths not just with the three main monotheisms, but also Hinduism and other lesser-known faiths. (Even Buddhism comes in for a hard time.)
I say 'even-handed' - obviously this is still not balanced in the true sense of the word, but then it doesn't pretend to be - this is unmistakably the case 'against' religion, and makes no apologies for it.
The tone of the book is very different to that of Dawkins and Dennett, as anyone vaguely familiar with Hitchens would expect. Both atheist and antitheist, he is not content merely with the intellectual argument of why religion and God are the invention of primitive man (though this is dealt with irrefutably and with characteristic vigour), he also hammers into why he feels religion is positively dangerous and deserving of our contempt.
He is forceful and mocking, but not overly aggressive as some have suggested - indeed he employs a healthy dose of wit (remarking on the lack of miracles in modern times, he laments, "Has the art of resurrection died out?")
I don't agree with absolutely everything he writes (e.g. his response to the Danish cartoons) but I see no reason to mark the review down for that. This is a great read regardless, with a convincing argument that has prompted me to read further, not just the likes of Hobbes and Hume, but also the back catalogue of Hitchens himself.
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The magnificent book by Christopher Hitchens "God is Not Great - How Religion Poisons Everything" is a must read for all atheists, as Christopher Hitchens dares to say aloud all most atheist have been thinking in privacy of their own mind, but have not dared to say aloud in fear of hurting the feelings of the believers.
Christopher Hitchens does not fear anybody and anything when he thinks that he smells the truth. He fires salvo after salvo and sinks the whole flotilla of the theists in the process.
In this level there is a need for even real physical courage, as a writer living in the United States Christopher Hitchens knows very well that he will be a target for all religious fanatics out there. Islam gets the rudest battering in the hands of Christopher Hitchens as he dismisses it as a weak plagiary of the older Faiths of the Book.
Christopher Hitchens is as a writer the brightest star of the league of the New Atheism writers. His writing is at same time both hard-hitting and extremely entertaining. Christopher Hitchens fires homing missiles in the weakest points of the religions and they really hurt.
Christopher Hitchens is more of a free agent than Richard Dawkins, as he does not seek scientific analysis like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, but he takes advantage of his wonderful knowledge of literature, history and philosophy. He uses this ammunition to pound the religions with a barrage of ideas.
Christopher Hitchens strikes equally at all organized religions and does not spare the wonders of the Far East. Hinduism and Buddhism take their own share of Christopher Hitchens' ire and even Japanese Shinto's is not spared a few lashes.
The main focus is understandably however in the Christian religions, but Christopher Hitchens shows real passion, when he lets go at the Islam.
The argumentation in the book is often familiar to anybody steeped in atheistic thinking, but the angle of attack is new and refreshing. Christopher Hitchens is not afraid of interpreting things and events through his own persona and personal history.
Christopher Hitchens has traveled widely also in the world of Islam and has studied carefully the history of this religion and through his personal contacts he can give a vivid picture of it.
Christopher Hitchens does not hide his goals. His goal is to show how the major religions of today have long since passed their last selling day and how they are remnants from the days when there was nothing better on offer. They are remnants from the days when even crude and pointless explanation of the world was better than no explanation at all.
Christopher Hitchens is out to show the role of religions as man-made systems of thought and he confirmed at least me so easily, that I didn't even break sweat.
This book is a polemic statement, but it does not make it a bad book. Christopher Hitchens does not make any compromises and does not even try to understand the arguments of the other side. The net result is a magnificent book that should find its place in every atheist's bookshelf.
Hitchens makes many strong points; but his style is a distraction.
He uses far too many emotive phrases, for example: Edward Gibbon is "revolted" by Christianity (p. 267); Hannukah is "vapid and annoying" (p. 273); John Brown is "lionlike" and "a fearsome and pitiless Calvinist" (p. 177). It gets a bit much after a while and reads like something written by a schoolboy.
A secondary gripe is that the references are weak. In more than one case, I wanted to check where he got his information. For example, when discussing child abuse in the Catholic church, he writes (p. 51) that "... it is now estimated that the *un*molested children [...] were very probably the minority." There is no indication of the source for this claim (and many others).
While I am a hardened atheist, and generally agree with the content; I find the book a bit too strident and didn't enjoy reading it.
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If I were Christopher Hitchens, and on the whole I'm glad I'm not, I'd be pretty annoyed with my publishers, who have given this book a cover that resembles the original edition of Richard Dawkins' 'The God Delusion'. However, this is not a cash-in on the runaway success of the Dawkins book, which was written with comparative reasonableness and sympathy. Dawkins wants religious people to see that they don't need to believe, and in the spirit of being helpful, offers them the mental tools to rid them of their blind faith in bizarre fairy stories. Hitchens is more like a really well-informed guy sounding off after a damn fine lunch. This book is rational, but it's not even trying to be fair-minded or sympathetic, and it's none the worse for that.
Hitchens really has it in for religion, and there's something very bracing about seeing him turn his still formidable guns on it. He's always at his funniest when he's writing about something he hates. One of my favourite cracks is his reply to religious people who point out that the two great evil regimes of the 20th century, the Third Reich and Stalin's Russia, were secular in nature; as Hitchens remarks, if the best that religion can say for itself is that it's not as bad as Nazism, well...
I'm not sure why he seems to have gone a bit off the wall about the war in Iraq, but his recent support of investigation into voting irregularities in the 2004 election suggests that the Hitch his old fans knew and loved is not dead. This is not a book to read if your faith is wavering and you want to be introduced to the pleasure of rational thinking and good old honest-to-goodness atheism - if that's what you want, read Dawkins. Then read this, to confirm for yourself that believing in God really was a colossal waste of your time and energy.
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