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God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything | 
 enlarge | Author: Christopher Hitchens
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Category: Book
List Price: £8.99
Buy New: £4.87
You Save: £4.12 (46%)
New (22) Used (5) from £4.75
Rating:  108 reviews
Sales Rank: 260
Media: Paperback
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 1843545748
EAN: 9781843545743
ASIN: 1843545748
Publication Date: March 1, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new book. Sent by 1st Class mail within the UK so you get it quickly!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 Clever, Very Readable and Pretty Convincing Too June 2, 2007
Mr. C. S. Smith (Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire United Kingdom)
160 out of 176 found this review helpful
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!
Read it with an open mind September 27, 2007
Dr. D. Fraser (Scotland)
155 out of 173 found this review helpful
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.
Superb and hugely insightful September 12, 2007
Readerbloke (London UK)
43 out of 48 found this review helpful
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.
A call to arms for rational thought June 17, 2007
jeffjaffacake
110 out of 125 found this review helpful
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.
Entertaining and formidable July 14, 2007
ChezzyD (Swindon, UK)
90 out of 102 found this review helpful
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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