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)

Don't neglect your only life

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

I must say that I'm a Christian atheist. I was raised as a Christian and became an atheist as I became more knowledgeable on history and science. It’s a path people must follow on their own. I don’t think arguing with someone will convince them to drop their religious beliefs. Even though you won’t won the discussion, you might plant a seed that may make people search for the truth themselves.


This book presents great arguments against how much time is wasted on religious practices and how prejudice from religious sources negatively impacts our society. The arguments are elegant and presented with a scientific approach.


On the down side, I don’t appreciate the sarcastic tone against religion, especially noted in the first two chapters. That might prevent people from having an open mind throughout the rest of the book. Also some arguments are sort of incomplete or use religious extremists as the only example.


Anyway, this is a must read if you are on the fence. Being on the fence probably means that you have a feeling that it can’t be true but haven’t exactly written down a list of plausible versus implausible arguments.


Two Suggested audible (even better if listened to before this one):
1. On the Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin, Narrated by Richard Dawkins (ABRIDGED)
2. The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology, by Robert Wright, Narrated by Greg Thornton

Disturbing,,,

This book is disturbing, really disturbing. Without any apology, Richard Dawkins will demonstrate you in 10 hours that there is no God. He will look at almost every facet of the problem and will carefully word his arguments showing impeccable logic. He will go over the intelligent design, morality, the need in a God, the scriptures. He will develop every argument and he will never jump to a conclusion. He will go as far as explaining why we should be intolerant of religious faith!
The problem is that after listening to his book 4 times, I don’t see any flaw in his arguments and I spent nights after nights researching his facts.
I guess I need to come out to my parents as an atheist now…. See what you did Mr. Dawkins!

Very thick material, you really have to pause

What did you love best about The God Delusion?

Richard is far and away one of the smartest people on the planet

Has The God Delusion turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, in fact, it's turned me on to more Richard Dawkins books.

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

The material is so deep and thick, I don't know if I would have been able to read it as a book. Hearing them speak the words and place emphasis where it needed to be and pause when it needed it was invaluable.

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

Intelligence over fantasy

Liberating

The book confirms ideas I had growing up about god and religion: which is just a thick soup full of superstion!
I find courage to break out from my deeply religious background. IF indeed there is life after death, I will seek out Jesus and this god and DEMAND for explanations; they've got a lot of explaining to do!!!!
By the way Mr. Dawkins, I know how the magic trick of catching live bullets with one's mouth is done :)

Interesting

Very informative and well written. I highly recommend this book to ANYONE, whether you’re theist or atheist.

A strong case made

Dawkins is known for his views and while this is more of a philosophical text, it makes several good points and draws from his own science background in genes and evolution. The switch in narration between Dawkins and his wife caught me off guard at first but it flowed well after I got used to it.

Good book, but not for everyone.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Maybe. It was a good book, but I felt it was argumentative at many points. That would be a huge turnoff for believers. There were many great points and several chapters that were well phrased and enlightening.

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

I don't think another speaker would have done it justice. It brought a personal view.

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

No, it's much too long and can only be consumed in small amounts.

Clear and focused message

This was a good overview of the premises on which Atheists have good reason to be frustrated with fundamentalists and raises significant questions on the source of morality. It remained an enjoyable read throughout and caries a strong message of hope and optimism without the need for blind faith.

Good, but not great.

The last half loses sight of the book's purpose. Dawkins is certainly a brilliant biologist, but he is an amateur philosopher. On many occasions I had to note the simplicity of his statements (not a compliment) and the lack of consideration for the missed details, which were missed more frequently as the chapters went on. He also lacks a basic understanding of the typical Christian believer. Honestly, I'm not sure he's in a position to successfully criticize religion. Champion atheism, maybe. As a former Christian, I'm disappointed with what is often heralded as an "atheist classic".

There's some pearls in there, but if you find you're losing interest about half way through, you can just shelf it; you're not really missing anything.

I gave performance three out of five because there's a woman's voice narrating along side Dawkins' and they switch turns seemingly on a whim. Just when you get used to one, the other takes over.

Interesting, but meanders

I really enjoyed reading The God Delusion. I have been an agnostic for most of my life, but over the last couple of years I have side-stepped more into atheism. (Dawkins actually presents my belief quite well early on in the book, where I am agnostic only in the fact that I cannot know what happens after death. But I live my life as an atheist.)

Dawkins sets out in this book to present the reasons to be an atheist and counterpoint any argument he has heard over his career. The first half of the book does this rather well, with a breakdown of organized religion and the inaccuracies it promotes. The second half meanders a bit and never really gains the momentum back. The final chapter, for example, is just about how crazy balls science is -- how could you just not love it?! Which is fine, but it doesn't really enhance his argument at all, and could have been saved for a different essay.

I know that Dawkins does not like to be categorized as such, but he truly sounds like the religious atheist. The passion and love that he has for Darwin, and science in general, is moving. I could feel his swelling chest through the words, and it was inspiring in its own right.

For my own part, I had my own religious disillusionment moment when a pastor at my local Bible School told me that I was going to hell for believing, or at least trying to reconcile, the Big Bang Theory. I was six or seven. As soon as he said that, I knew that I was never going to go back to that religion or any other.