The Portable Atheist, Christopher Hitchens
The Portable Atheist, Christopher Hitchens
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The Portable Atheist
Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever

Author: Christopher Hitchens

Narrator: Nicholas Ball

Abridged: 10 hr 46 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/01/2008

Synopsis

Atheist? Believer? Uncertain? No matter: The Portable Atheist will engage you every step of the way. From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of God Is Not Great, comes this provocative and entertaining guided tour of atheist and agnostic thought through the ages with original pieces by Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Christopher Hitchens makes the case for a splendidly godless universe in this first-ever gathering of influential voices—past and present—that have shaped his side of the raging God/no-god debate. With erudie and witty Hitchens as 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. They're all set in context and commented upon as only Christopher Hitchens—"political and literary journalist extraordinaire" (Los Angeles Times)—can.

About Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011) was a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a visiting professor in liberal studies at the New School in New York. His books include Why Orwell Matters, Thomas Jefferson: Author of America, and God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Paul on February 09, 2015

THE UNAPPEALING ATHEIST PROPOSITION One early medieval story says that humans are like a bird who flies in one window of a great hall where a vast banquet is in progress. The bird only has time to catch a glimpse of all the festivities before it flies out of the other window. That’s us : we rapidly p......more

Goodreads review by Joshua on September 24, 2008

Hitchens is one of the wittiest men of our time, and as a great writer, his taste is impeccable. I love reading essays and short pieces, but it becomes a problem when I find collections that I don't particularly like, because I don't want to buy a collection for a single essay. That is not a problem w......more

Goodreads review by Michael on January 14, 2008

I would not call myself an atheist, but a some of what is collected in this book rings true to me. However, like most atheist philosophy there is much to be desired. Much of the counter-points favoring the non-existence of god(s) can be boiled down into: 1) God does not exist because there is no evid......more

Goodreads review by Vanja on December 09, 2008

Although, as can only be expected, it is missing some crucial works, and allows for only small excerpts of others, it an excellent collection overall. The first third of the book will allow you to understand the philosophical intellectual history of atheism/agnosticism (Lucretius (c. 60 BCE ), Hobbe......more

Goodreads review by Donna on August 22, 2014

I was NOT a "non-believer" when I opened this book. I considered myself a believer in the spiritual realm, if not any organized religion. If I had label myself I'd say I was agnostic. By the end of the book I was quite prepared to say that I am an atheist. People make lists of the books that impacte......more

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