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God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

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About this Book

Hardcover

320 Pages, 6.17 x 9.18 x 1.08 in

November 20, 2009


077104142X
9780771041426

From the Publisher

Christopher Hitchens, described in the London Observer as "one of the most prolific, as well as brilliant, journalists of our time" takes on his biggest subject yet-the increasingly dangerous role of religion in the world.

In the tradition of Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris's recent bestseller, The End Of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope's awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty and symmetry of the double helix.

From the Jacket

Christopher Hitchens, described in the London Observer as "one of the most prolific, as well as brilliant, journalists of our time" takes on his biggest subject yet-the increasingly dangerous role of religion in the world.

In the tradition of Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris's recent bestseller, The End Of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope's awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty and symmetry of the double helix.

About the Author

Christopher Hitchens is the author of Letters to a Young Contrarian, and the bestseller No One Left to Lie To: The Values of the Worst Family. A regular contributor to Vanity Fair, The Atlantic Monthly and Slate, Hitchens also writes for The Weekly Standard, The National Review, and The Independent, and has appeared on The Daily Show, Charlie Rose, The Chris Matthew's Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, and C-Span's Washington Journal. He was named one of the world's "Top 100 Public Intellectuals" by Foreign Policy and Britain's Prospect. Christopher Hitchens lives in Washington, D.C.

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From the Critics

"If God intended reasonable men and women to worship Him without embarrassment, why did He create Christopher Hitchens? It was a fatal miscalculation. In God Is Not Great, Hitchens not only demonstrates that religion is man-made - and made badly - he laughs the whole monstrosity to rubble. This is a profoundly clever book, addressing the most pressing social issue of our time, by one of the finest writers in the land."
-Sam Harris, Author of the New York Times bestsellers The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation

"Noted, often acerbic journalist Hitchens enters the fray. As his subtitle indicates, his premise is simple. Not only does religion poison everything, which he argues by explaining several ways in which religion is immoral, but the world would be better off without religion. … With such chapter titles as "Religion Kills" and "Is Religion Child Abuse?" Hitchens intends to provoke, but he is not mean-spirited and humorless. Indeed, he is effortlessly witty and entertaining as well as utterly rational."
- Booklist
** starred review**

"Do yourself a favor and skip the Dawkins and Harris; they''re smug, turgid, and boring, with all the human feeling of a tax return. Read Hitchens instead. Test your faith severely or find a champion for your feelings, but read Hitchens. It''s a tendentious delight, a caustic and even brilliant book. And with the title alone, he takes his life in his hands, which right there has got to be some proof of his thesis. And so, thank God for Christopher Hitchens."
-Esquire

"Hitchens, one of our great political pugilists, delivers the best of the recent rash of atheist manifestos. The same contrarian spirit that makes him delightful reading as a political commentator, even (or especially) when he''s completely wrong, makes him an entertaining huckster prosecutor once he has God placed in the dock. Hitchens''s one-liners bear the marks of considerable sparring practice with believers.… this is salutary reading as a means of culling believers'' weaker arguments."
-Publishers Weekly

Praise for Christopher Hitchens:

"America's foremost literary pugilist."
-The Village Voice

From The Community

4

Reviews from the Community12 Reviews

  • jo Jonsons

    jo Jonsons

    Fanciful Rhetoric and Nothing Else 1

    This review is from: God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (Trade Paperback)

    3 weeks ago

    The main flaw of this book is that it relies only on fanciful rhetoric and hardly presents any facts. As well, it is difficult to get into as the tone is quite harsh and arrogant and the work itself is very random (as in, not planned out). It seems as if he was just writing whatever came to his head at the time without trying to correlate any of it together. Confusing, convoluted, and ultimately, not worth it.

  • Raj

    Raj

    • 6 people found this helpful

    Great for dinner parties 4

    2 years ago

    This book is wildly entertaining with little anctedotes you could use in mixed company to get a rise out of folks. A few hours in, I started to imagine Hitchens was a drunk uncle ranting about religion. He picked some easy target to blast away on which comes off as a little lazy but somehow okay. While his points are (for the most part) good; none of it is very original. Loads of fun though. Read God Delusion for more thought out arguments.

    This reviewer also recommends:
  • MJM

    MJM

    • 7 people found this helpful

    Prepare to be challenged 5

    2 years ago

    I love Christopher Hitchens' writing anyway - always thought provoking, and usually charming and funny, too. This book adopts much the same ironic tone as his essays in Vanity Fair. He reveals himself in some passages to be a seeker who hasn't found what he was looking for, but almost wishes he had. The faithful will find the book challenging. Those who are faithful, but open minded, will probably find it changes the direction of their faith journey. Fundamentalists will want to burn it… read more

  • Fean

    Fean

    Christopher Hitchens is great! 5

    2 years ago

    Everything I've always thought but could never articulate as clearly and brilliantly as Christopher Hitchens. Hitchens exposes the hypocrisy and irrationality of religions/adherents who justify terrible actions because they believe a god is on their side.

    Comments on this review:
    • I often started my lectures on Religious Systems with : "More evil and harm has been to others all in the name of 'Religion'..." I really appreciated this ... read more

      14 months ago

  • Trista

    Trista

    • 7 people found this helpful

    Terrible 1

    2 years ago

    This book was really disappointing. I think that the idea of the book is intriguing but the author makes it very complicated for people to actually understand what he is trying to say. I think Christopher Hitchens is pompous and I had to stop reading the book after two chapters because it was just that bad.

  • Anonymous

    Anonymous

    • 12 people found this helpful

    AMAZING! 5

    2 years ago

    This book is bold, beautiful, and the ugly truth that the "religious" and "pious" try to sugar coat and feed to the rest of the world. This book was like a shot of brandy. It may taste horrible, but its good for you!

see all 12 reviews

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