God Is Not Great

How Religion Poisons Everything

De: Christopher Hitchens

Narrado por: Christopher Hitchens

In the tradition of Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian and Sam Harris' recent best-seller, The End of Faith, Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion. With a close and erudite reading of the major religious texts, he documents the ways in which religion is a man-made wish, a cause of dangerous sexual repression, and a distortion of our origins in the cosmos. With eloquent clarity, Hitchens frames the argument for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble Telescope's view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty of the double helix.©2007 Christopher Hitchens (P)2007 Hachette Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"The best of the recent rash of atheist manifestos." (Publishers Weekly)
"Effortlessly witty and entertaining as well as utterly rational." (Booklist)

...Though Hitchens Is!

Wow. I started reading this at 6am on a Saturday morning and could not stop until finished that evening.

I've seen Hitchens before on news programs, and the man's opinions and intellect are irrepressible so I had some idea of what I was in for. Still, this book is just amazing. Bracing. Uncompromising. Informed. Secular.

Hitchens' assault on Religion is without reprieve and may serve as a significant crossbeam in the structure of any atheist's mental architecture. I imagine that the faithful reading this to 'study up on the enemy' will find only things that make them very angry or uncomfortable. I do NOT think Hitchens will lead to any conversions; his style is far too abrasive. However, some folks do respond best to aggressive intervention.

For me though, the best of this book is the clear breadth and depth of the author's mind. I simply cannot recall the last time I read anything so damned erudite. Agree or disagree with him, Hitchens is an amazing American intellectual.

From here, I'm actually returning to one of Hitchens' cited authors, Bart Ehrman, whom I've explored only marginally before, but that is one of the real joys of this book –if you're a sincere explorer, Hitchens points out a dazzling number of fascinating areas on the map of human progress to explore yourself. Even if you don't accept his conclusions, you may be reminded of all those Enlightenment and earlier figures who form the dim constellation of our understanding that you glossed over in (perhaps graduate-) school, if at all. I'm certainly inspired to brush up.

I love that this is narrated by Hitchins himself, which seems the best way to experience it. Those who feel they may need to recall and reference his arguments again may want a visual version in print or ebook format, but, especially now that esophageal cancer has taken his voice from him, I feel very fortunate (dare not say blessed!) to have this edition.

Entertaining

I saw this guy interviewed on the Daily Show a couple weeks back and I was intrigued by what he said was in the book, so I picked it up. When I saw it was narrated by the author, I was originally put off -- on the Daily Show he was a bit of a slow talker, and generally the authors don't do as good a job as professional narrators. But the editor did a good job chopping out the pauses, and Hitchen's tendency to mumble his hard consonants was not too bad unless there was a lot of noise in the gym.

The book is... ah, I'm not quite sure how to describe it. A screed against religion, I suppose. Initially it seems to be a long essay on why atheism... or perhaps Atheism... is the proper way to go if we as a planet are to move on. But it often devolves into a series of anecdotal vignettes on why religion and the religious are bad for... well, everything. Many times this is fascinating and sometimes it's a bit unfair (he tends to cherry-pick assumptions and forgive ignorance cases where it helps his cause and lambaste it in places where it does not), but it is always very entertaining.

I enjoyed the dense allusions to classical literature and puns; pretentious maybe, but if you are reading the book you'll probably like it too.

Great material; adequate narrator

Hitchens is brilliant, and funny as well. I truly enjoyed his little jabs that are sometimes so subtle that one wonders whether he intended any injury, however slight. His references to solipsism are "spot on", as is much of what he says. He's a splendid example of a British wit, yet a man who is concerned, in his deceptively casual manner, with the rise of religious extremism in America and the world.

Though I continue to find points of light in religion, I insist that what Hitchens and his fellow post-911 atheists (esp. Harris) have to say.

My only objection is to his narration. I appreciate the privelege to hear the author narrate, and his voice does not annoy, but his casual intonation and lack of clarity make him hard to understand at times. I just heard Hitchens interviewed today, and curiously, I think his delivery was clearer. Perhaps the chore of narration bored him a bit. Of course it's the duty of an Englishman to sound bored, so who knows?

In any case, I enjoyed the audiobook immensely, but I may have enjoyed the printed book a bit more.

Good overview of critical thinking

I enjoyed the book and thought that Hitchens made many good points about how religion and wishful thinking go together. To often people can be critical of other religions but they won't or just don't apply the same critizisms to their own religious believes. The biggest problem with the book though was that Hitchens read it. I found myself straining to hear him at times and he tends to slur his words at times. A professional reader would have made it much better.

He read my mind!

Narrator's voice is a bit strange,but I got some chuckles out of this book along with plenty of points that made me go to myself,"Hey he's right...that's a good point." I just can't do the religion thing with any amount of sincerity.I already have an active imagination as it is and don't need to follow any type of organizations to use it.Unfortunately,I can't recommend it to anyone I know so far, bec they all "believe".However whenever I speak with more people on my level with this topic, I'm sure I will find that they have read this book themselves.

Excellent, except for.....

Loved the book and all the information presented therein. My only issue was with his narration, where several times he spoke so quickly it was difficult to understand what he said. Aside from that minor issue, well worth the time and money!

classic book in the author's voice

Wether you are religious or not, you should read this book. I am tired of people being surprised at the atrocities religions propergate.

brilliant...but the narration

Clearly a work of genius from a master scholar-writer. So insightful and thorough. But Hitchens should not be narrator...his voice is far too fast and mostly a low monotone. I tried slowing to 0.75 but he then sounds like the same narrator who has had a bit too much to drink.

wrong narrator

This is an excellent, well written, timely and essential book. Christopher Hitchens makes fascinating and cogent arguments, but he is the wrong person to narrate. His voice, while pleasant, is very uneven and drops off radically in the middle or end of sentences. It is very frustrating to listen to.

Excellent experience!

I do understand why some people complain about how hard he is to understand. He does speak quickly at times and that accent doesn't help me. However I very much prefer his authenitc and nuanced reading over a stand-in. I don't mind replaying a passage every once in a while. The material itself is quite dense at times and can get a little overwhelming. Much of it invites further reading. Taking notes (if you aren't driving at the time like I always do) is advised.