The Portable Atheist

Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever

By: Christopher Hitchens

Narrated by: Nicholas Ball

Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

From the number-one New York Times best-selling author of God Is Not Great, a provocative and entertaining guided tour of atheist and agnostic thought through the ages with never-before-published pieces by Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Christopher Hitchens continues to make the case for a splendidly godless universe in this first-ever gathering of the influential voices past and present that have shaped his side of the current (and raging) God/no-god debate. With Hitchens as your erudite and witty guide, you'll be led through a wealth of philosophy, literature, and scientific inquiry, including generous portions of the words of Lucretius, Benedict de Spinoza, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Mark Twain, George Eliot, Bertrand Russell, Emma Goldman, H. L. Mencken, Albert Einstein, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and many others well-known and lesser known. And they're all set in context and commented upon as only Christopher Hitchens, "political and literary journalist extraordinaire" (Los Angeles Times), can.

Atheist? Believer? Uncertain? No matter: The Portable Atheist will speak to you and engage you every step of the way.

©2007 Christopher Hitchens (P)2007 Phoenix Books, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A fascinating collection of readings from some of the West's greatest thinkers." ( Publishers Weekly)

Interesting points....

I liked most parts of this book and am interested in reading more on the subject by this author.

Hitchens' Heroes

It is not very hard to accept the reasoning behind Christopher Hitchens' own ideas on religion after you've gone through the parade of fascinating works in this book. Intertwined with very subdued--perhaps an understatement, having his latest works in recent memory--commentaries from Hitchens, you are transported through the ages of reason and unreason, starting with the fascinating thoughts of the Roman philosopher Lucretius (highly influenced by the then "heretically" denounced Epicureans of Greece) around the, said, birth of Jesus of Nazareth, and ending in the 20th century, with Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud among the most notable luminaries.

What is most interesting in the end, however, is perhaps not an obvious conclusion, have you previously been impressed with Cristopher Hitchens' own writings. For, as good a writer as Hitchens truly is, it becomes very palpable how he, along with most authors of the recent past, absolutely pales in comparison to the grandeur of thought, wit, faculties of reason and vivid imagination of these masters of our collective literary heritage.

This book, which is very appropriately named, should be mandatory reading for all humans out there, who are the slightest bit concerned with their own existence, and how they relate to this world and its continuously morphing state of affairs. This world--the only one that exists.

A stunning collection

It is comforting to know that wiser heads than mine are certain that all religions require faith for their existence because they cannot survive on facts or truth.

This is my new 'bible'. I've purchased the paperback in order to have the complete collection.

Likely a great book that audio doesnt do justice.

This book is held back by its naration. It is at times very difficult to tell when the author has transitioned from his own input to the quotation of others making the book often hard to follow.

It serves as a good resourse for recommending many writings from past athiests and building upon them somewhat, though Id recommend looking for it in print.

Unabridged is not so

After finishing listening to the two part unabridged version as advertised, I was able to compare my Kindle PC text version and my printed book version. I was very disappointed to find out that more than half of the essays were left out. I can understand that it would have made it extremely long to listen to or that some of the essays are extracts of bestselling books. But I think Audible.com should make it clear that it is not an unabridged version as I consider this false advertising. Nevertheless, it is fabulous and eye opening information. It is well read with a clear professional voice. That is my only complaint.

Audiobook is incomplete

I also own the hard copy. Over 200 pages from my hard copy are not even read. This was unfortunate.
I am a major Hitchens fan.

Had to return this and buy the Kindle version

The concept is great, and the reader’s voice is pleasant, but I was defeated by too many distracting mispronunciations. “Solipsist” becomes “solipist”, “vinous” beomes “vineous”, etc., etc. It may not matter to some, but it bothers me. I’m reading this one in pixel form.

To think for yourself without fear

A challenge to anyone who wants to look for the truth. It is vital to hear, it is not easy to hear, it must be heard.

Over my head

It's too far over my head to really enjoy. God is not Great was poorly read by Hitchens. He talked to fast and mumbled too much. This one is well read by a pro, but the subject matter is over my head. The idea is a good one, but I know I have retained little.

Abridged Collection

Mr Ball has narrated an excellent collection of fantastic works when it comes to the discussion of the human mind and the answers it must create for itself when contemplating its most common spiritual questions throughout the ages. The truly unfortunate thing about this audiobook's collection is that not all of the compiled works are being narrated. With only two hours left in the second audio file I realized that I was only halfway through the book. So much of the collection is missing.

Another drawback to the narrator's performance is the fact that it is sometimes hard to distinguish the difference between Hitch's introduction to the compiled text and the text itself.

Aside from these two drawbacks, Hitchens' collection of works comes from many different eras of spiritual contemplation. Whether springing from the mind of a psychologist, physicist, zoologist, or fellow author, the works express mankind's need to find the answers to as many questions as it can, sometimes inventing what actually aren't solutions to the problem but rather ideas that raise more questions. Faith and fact are two entirely different things and the authors that Hitchens compiled in this book express that clearly.