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aydanroger's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
uditnair24's review against another edition
3.0
Wonderful discussion between some of the great intellectuals of our time. It becomes important to read this work because atheists have the intellectual courage to accept reality for what it is and this book is just a reflection of that. An atheist have the moral courage to live to full the only life he is ever going to get:to fully inhabit reality ,rejoice it and do the best finally to leave it better. Also the universe is grand, beautiful,wonderful place and it's petty and parochial and cheapening to believe in God and supernatural creators and supernatural elements. Although a lot more could have been incorporated into this but I guess for starters this much is enough to get the brain rolling in the right direction. And when I say enough I mean the genuine persuasion based on rational and logical claims rather than stories and fiction.
christopherchandler's review against another edition
3.0
Once you get into the actual conversation, this is fascinating and worth the short amount of time to read. Hitchens and Dennett are in a league of their own. Dawkins embodies all there is to dislike about the new atheist movement and Harris was more in the background of the conversation.
bclark8781's review
5.0
Four brave men discuss the foolishness that is organized religion. How can one be an intellectually honest person while surrounded by this silliness?
jhouses's review
2.0
Es una transcripción (grabación en el caso del audiolibro) de una conversación entre las cuatro figuras del nuevo ateismo, precedida por ensayos de los tres supervivientes y un prólogo de Stephen Fry leídos por ellos mismos. Los ensayos y el prólogo son interesantes sin aportar nada nuevo pero la conversación, sin verdadera tensión argumental, se reduce a "comerse las pollas unos a otros" como diría Tarantino.
hauteclere's review
5.0
Wonderfully civil, intellectual and discursive conversation, featuring two of my favorite authors - Prof. Dawkins whose Selfish Gene changed my life in high school and Christopher Hitchens whose sheer brilliance dazzles even when it sometimes horrifies. It is reflective of the tradition in which I was raised and educated - England - and makes me miss that when today so much is shrill, stupidly partisan and poorly thought out. I shall be listening to this again soon, and in the meantime, I will set out to read more Hitch.
agnela's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.0
I started this book expecting a lot, but it went down hill. Kind of. There is no insights in to atheism or theism, no discussion about why people believe what they do, what it does psychologically, or why they hold on to their beliefs rather than rationality.
This was a conversation between two atheists, with some mentions of science, physics, but no psychological, cultural or historical points. It gives no value in 2023, as it happened 10+ years ago.
I also felt uncomfortable when they mentioned Islam or wanting to abolish all religions. First was Islamophobic, the second just ignores human nature, culture and mentality. It is not that religion itself is bad, it is the fact that it operates on violence, false hopes, lies and crimes in the name of their deities.
II would advise anyone interested in this book to watch the video of the discussion rather than waste time reading this. I will try reading author's other works, and see if the thoughts they put on paper with intent has more to say than this.
This was a conversation between two atheists, with some mentions of science, physics, but no psychological, cultural or historical points. It gives no value in 2023, as it happened 10+ years ago.
I also felt uncomfortable when they mentioned Islam or wanting to abolish all religions. First was Islamophobic, the second just ignores human nature, culture and mentality. It is not that religion itself is bad, it is the fact that it operates on violence, false hopes, lies and crimes in the name of their deities.
II would advise anyone interested in this book to watch the video of the discussion rather than waste time reading this. I will try reading author's other works, and see if the thoughts they put on paper with intent has more to say than this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Islamophobia
karantaneja's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 ☆
A very interesting read with excellent bits and ideas floated around to ponder upon. The unique format of the book feels like eavesdropping on a conversation of great minds with unique thoughts and ideas that challenges.
A very interesting read with excellent bits and ideas floated around to ponder upon. The unique format of the book feels like eavesdropping on a conversation of great minds with unique thoughts and ideas that challenges.
dorothy_gale's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinating. It was eye-opening to hear how much discrimination and ostracism these guys experienced, sometimes for merely using logic, so I'm glad their messages reached so many. They describe how extremely offended religious people get -- I can't help but wonder if this depth of offense is at the root of what we see today for all things American media. I've never been fond of the word 'hubris' but it definitely fits here given what we've witnessed in 2020 ("dangerous overconfidence.")
This book basically altered my thoughts on how to raise my kids around religion. One of the chapters in this book (I can't remember which) opened with questions, and my daughter says "Hey I have those same questions!"
I want to find the YouTube version of this conversation and pick-up whatever I missed in the audio version.
This book basically altered my thoughts on how to raise my kids around religion. One of the chapters in this book (I can't remember which) opened with questions, and my daughter says "Hey I have those same questions!"
I want to find the YouTube version of this conversation and pick-up whatever I missed in the audio version.