The God Delusion

By: Richard Dawkins

Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward

Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2006 Richard Dawkins (P)2006 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Richard Dawkins is the leading soothsayer of our time....The God Delusion continues his thought-provoking tradition." (J. Craig Venter, decoder of the human genome)
"The God Delusion is smart, compassionate, and true....If this book doesn't change the world, we're all screwed." (Penn & Teller)
"The world needs...passionate rationalists....Richard Dawkins so stands out through the cutting intelligence of The God Delusion." (James D. Watson, co-discoverer of DNA, author of The Double Helix)

Thought provoking entertainment

Would you consider the audio edition of The God Delusion to be better than the print version?

Yes - Enthusiastic narration is provided by the author, who is an accomplished public speaker.

What other book might you compare The God Delusion to and why?

Sam Harris' Moral Landscape

What does Richard Dawkins and Lalla Ward bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The author knows the material and is extremely passionate. He nails it.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No- I never do books in one sitting.

Pure Genius

Best book I've ever came in contact with.. thought provoking and leaves the reader with a great knowledge of evolution and its questions.

A call for reason!

Would you listen to The God Delusion again? Why?

Yes, I might do it in the future, because of the valuable information contained and the style: it is easy to follow, intriguing, mind-opening.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The book is very well organized: it flows from the beginning to the end and keeps you comitted to listen and learn more.

Which scene was your favorite?

The proof that our moral system is not derrived from religion.

If you could give The God Delusion a new subtitle, what would it be?

Why we don't need God to understand the World!

Any additional comments?

Highly recommended.

Know the TRUTH and it will set you free

The method of narration is excellent. Richard Dawkins and his lady co-host alternate reading the book which keeps it very energized. While one or two points did not align with what I know as fact, most of the book did an excellent job of defining the reasons people hold to religious beliefs, and and what the real truth is. I would like to hear if reading this book has helped any strong religious person to re-evaluate their views

Great book

Most of what he talks about were things I already knew but i enjoyed his take on why religion came to be. I just wish I had found a book like this when i was younger and would encourage people of any religion to give it a read.

Thought provoking to say the least.

Great content, excellent speed of delivery with just enough information to keep you wanting more.

A book with ideas everyone should consider

Well studied subject - all the sides and arguments are presented on clear while the debate over them if fair but mostly scientifically supported.

Must read for all believers and non believers alike.

Richard Dawkins take a pragmatic and systematic look at the history of beliefs, the practice of said beliefs and describes in rich detail how they came to be. He also describes how life on this planet or (possibly) others had come to be using the wealth of scientific knowledge at his disposal. I encourage all who have an interest in religions and evolution to listen to this book!

GREAT WEAVING TOGETHER OF HISTORY

Richard Dawkins (not to be confused with the late physicist Stephen Hawking) gets right to the point of showing the reader where we, as humans, went astray in assuming there was Intelligent Design necessary for the Universe's existence. In each of the following chapters of this audio-book, he dismantles the notion of a divine creator. But why is religion so pervasive among humans? He tries to answer this question.

Preface:
Chapter 1: A Deeply Religious Non-Believer
Chapter 2: The God Hypothesis
Chapter 3: Arguments for God's Existence
Chapter 4: Why There Almost Certainly Is No God
Chapter 5: The Roots of Religion
Chapter 6: The Roots of Morality: Why Are We Good?
Chapter 7: The 'Good' Book and the Changing Moral Zeitgeist
Chapter 8: What's Wrong with Religion? Why Be So Hostile?
Chapter 9: Childhood, Abuse and the Escape from Religion
Chapter 10: A Much Needed Gap?

As you may see from the above chapter list, Dawkins covers this subject quite well. I only knocked off one star because of Richard and Lalla's difficult British accent.

A Must Read for Everyone

Enjoyed listening. Bought multiple copies of the book as well so I can lend it out.