jpbradt's review
5.0
Christopher Hitchens is resting in peace since 2013, but while he was alive, must have been an excellent journalist. He has an highly intelligent, intrepid style and a penchant for clear critical thinking about "what is up."
What's up? The universe (and probably a multiverse). Thinking of it realistically, as the pieces "The Hitch" has compiled in The Portable Atheist have one do, what do we need other than the natural world anyway?
Nothing.
The world we have is full of awesome magnificence.
Think.
Wonder.
What's up? The universe (and probably a multiverse). Thinking of it realistically, as the pieces "The Hitch" has compiled in The Portable Atheist have one do, what do we need other than the natural world anyway?
Nothing.
The world we have is full of awesome magnificence.
Think.
Wonder.
iggnaseous's review
5.0
It's unusual to read through an anthology from start to finish. Yet, this collection offers such a compelling series of essays, that are equal parts thoughtful and entertaining, that I did just that. From Hitchens's brilliant introduction to Mark Twain's hilarious reflection on the purpose of the fly to Salman Rushdie’s damning critique religious fundamentalism, the essays are delicious reflections atheism. Other notable contributions by John Stuart Mill, Bertrand Russell, and Charles Darwin.
casualblasphemy's review
5.0
This collection would be worth reading if all it contained was Hitchens' brilliant, excoriating Introduction. But that is followed by writings from more than 40 of history's greatest thinkers--Einstein, Orwell, Carl Sagan, Bertrand Russel, et al.--often with explanatory paragraphs from Hitchens. It is not the collection of polemics that I thought--indeed, feared--it might turn out to be. It's far more nuanced and compelling than that. A far more interesting read than any holy text I've encountered to date.
arensb's review against another edition
3.0
It's an anthology, so on one hand, it's a mixed bag; on the other hand, if you don't like something, just skip it and move on to the next piece.
Perhaps the most striking thing about this collection is that it shows that the "New atheists"' arguments are not new. I knew this intellectually, of course, but reading Mark Twain or Percy Bysshe Shelley or David Hume making arguments that still come up regularly today really brought it home.
Perhaps the most striking thing about this collection is that it shows that the "New atheists"' arguments are not new. I knew this intellectually, of course, but reading Mark Twain or Percy Bysshe Shelley or David Hume making arguments that still come up regularly today really brought it home.
selket16's review
3.0
Mostly, this is just a collection of quotes and essays that Hitchens has put together to show that famous people through the ages were atheists or had atheistic thoughts. It's good and has some great points, but it's definitely not his best work.
richard_lawrence's review
5.0
This wonderful volume by Hitchens is a compendium of his handpicked essays discussing atheism from ancient times to the present. The essays are all good starting points for the reader from which to delve into the various authors presented in this book. Many of the debating points used by Hitchens can be found in these writings. If you are a fan of Hitchens and want to view his intellectual pedigree or if you want to study the history of freethought this is a great place to start.
bennyd's review
2.0
A well-curated collection of historical writings on atheism, with paragraph-long introductions to provide context. Nothing I read was particularly mind-blowing, but I've always been an atheist. Perhaps this is meant as source material for atheists to debate with believers.
jossarian4's review
4.0
This is a very good collection of readings that are important for an atheist to try to help understand their views better.
smoppet's review
2.0
TW// Racism
It's okay.
There were some authors in here who I've been meaning to read, so it was nice to get a chance to read their works.
Why I'm saying this was just okay? Most of these pieces were criticisms of Christianity. To me, there was a lack of diversity in subject matter. Some contributions touched on Islam. There were brief mentions of Buddhism and Hinduism that left a lot to be desired. The pieces got repetitive. Some were way too long. Some of the scientific speech got overwhelming, though it did interest me to learn more about cosmology. There were points towards page 400 where I wanted to stop reading just because...I didn't care anymore (or maybe I was sleepy. I do have a sleep disorder).
Some of the authors I feel should not have been included, for example, Lovecraft. He had a cat named Nigger. Do we really give a shit what he had to say about his nonbelief?? I know not everyone is going to have a clean record, but ehhhh.
If you haven't consumed any kind of religious criticism, you may be more apt to find this one interesting, but I was already familiar with many of the concepts touched upon concerning Christianity and Islam.
-1 for not including any of Marquis de Sade's character monologs in which they argue against religion, god, an afterlife, etc
It's okay.
There were some authors in here who I've been meaning to read, so it was nice to get a chance to read their works.
Why I'm saying this was just okay? Most of these pieces were criticisms of Christianity. To me, there was a lack of diversity in subject matter. Some contributions touched on Islam. There were brief mentions of Buddhism and Hinduism that left a lot to be desired. The pieces got repetitive. Some were way too long. Some of the scientific speech got overwhelming, though it did interest me to learn more about cosmology. There were points towards page 400 where I wanted to stop reading just because...I didn't care anymore (or maybe I was sleepy. I do have a sleep disorder).
Some of the authors I feel should not have been included, for example, Lovecraft. He had a cat named Nigger. Do we really give a shit what he had to say about his nonbelief?? I know not everyone is going to have a clean record, but ehhhh.
If you haven't consumed any kind of religious criticism, you may be more apt to find this one interesting, but I was already familiar with many of the concepts touched upon concerning Christianity and Islam.
-1 for not including any of Marquis de Sade's character monologs in which they argue against religion, god, an afterlife, etc