The Portable Atheist - Christopher Hitchens

The Portable Atheist

Christopher Hitchens, the acclaimed journalist and bestselling author of God Is Not Great, selects and introduces an illuminating collection of the most essential and influential writings for the non-believer. Includes selections from Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Mark Twain, Bertrand Russell, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Karl Marx, Richard Dawkins, H.L.Mencken, Sam Harris, and more.

Hitchens, an avowed atheist and author of the bestseller God Is Not Great, is a formidable intellectual who finds the notion of belief in God to be utter nonsense. The author is clear in his introduction that religion has caused more than its fair share of world problems. "Religion invents a problem where none exists by describing the wicked as also made in the image of god and the sexually nonconformist as existing in a state of incurable mortal sin that can incidentally cause floods and earthquakes." The readings Hitchens chooses to bolster his atheist argument are indeed engaging and important. Hobbes, Spinoza, Mill and Marx are some of the heavyweights representing a philosophical viewpoint. From the world of literature the author assembles excerpts from Shelley, Twain, Conrad, Orwell and Updike. All are enjoyable to read and will make even religious believers envious of the talent gathered for this anthology. What these dynamic writers are railing against often enough, however, is a strawman: an immature, fundamentalist, outdated, and even embarrassing style of religion that many intelligent believers have long since cast off. It could be that Hitchens and his cast of nonbelievers are preaching to the choir and their message is tired and spent. However, this remains a fascinating collection of readings from some of the West's greatest thinkers.