Synopsis
A scientist argues that an individual's belief in God is illogical and/or foolish, and that organized religion has been behind a great deal of violence and harm throughout history. Richard Dawkins, from Oxford, considers the many conceptions of God and the many arguments for his existence, and finds them to be wanting. Atheism, says Dawkins, is a rational alternative that can provide a true appreciation of the wondrous bounty of the world.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2006-10-18 |
| Size | | Length: | 406 pages | | Height: | 9.3 in | | Width: | 6.3 in | | Thickness: | 1.2 in | | Weight: | 24.0 oz |
Publisher's Note
Discover magazine recently called Richard Dawkins "Darwin's Rottweiler" for his fierce and effective defense of evolution. Prospect magazine voted him among the top three public intellectuals in the world (along with Umberto Eco and Noam Chomsky). Now Dawkins turns his considerable intellect on religion, denouncing its faulty logic and the suffering it causes.
He critiques God in all his forms, from the sex-obsessed tyrant of the Old Testament to the more benign (but still illogical) Celestial Watchmaker favored by some Enlightenment thinkers. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows how religion fuels war, foments bigotry, and abuses children, buttressing his points with historical and contemporary evidence. In so doing, he makes a compelling case that belief in God is not just irrational, but potentially deadly.
Dawkins has fashioned an impassioned, rigorous rebuttal to religion, to be embraced by anyone who sputters at the inconsistencies and cruelties that riddle the Bible, bristles at the inanity of "intelligent design," or agonizes over fundamentalism in the Middle East--or Middle America.
Industry Reviews
"Mr. Dawkins is an atheist, an evolutionary biologist and an eloquent communicator about science, three passions that have allowed him to construct a particularly comprehensive case against religion. Everyone should read it."
(09/23/2006)
"What Dawkins brings to this approach is a couple of fresh arguments--no mean achievement, considering how thoroughly these issues have been debated over the centuries--and a great deal of passion. The book fairly crackles with brio."
(10/22/2006)
"[Dawkins has] got to go on the warpath--not only against the fundamentalists but against the sloppy logic and wishful thinking on which they batten. This is Dawkins's forte, and it is what makes THE GOD DELUSION such an entertaining read. Not one for politeness, he is the sort of fierce logic-chopper who chuckles nastily when coming across what he regards as some particularly choice bit of inanity."
(05/28/2007)
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