Quick book review #7 

I finished reading this a few days ago and Christopher Hitchens died today. Writing a “short book review” felt like an impossible task. But others have written eloquently of his life and work, so let’s leave that to them. What I will say is that The Portable Atheist (as well as God is Not Great) destroyed any remaining subconscious theist tendencies I might have harbored. Hitchens wrote of atheism in a way I hadn’t even considered. Rather than simply an absence of belief, a position defined by its opposition to the believer, Hitchens showed how atheism has a life-affirming & liberating meaning of its own, and can change how one sees humanity and ones part in it in a deeply moving and positive way.

The Portable Atheist is an anthology with introductions by Hitchens. Although his work is exemplary, I actually prefer this anthology to God is Not Great. God…was an important book, but on a personal level, the message that changed my life/views and put to rest any possible lingering belief is pretty well condensed in the introduction of Portable and expanded on by the great writers within.

You can find more of Hitchens work here, and download “The Portable Atheist” in audiobook form for free here.

(see the rest of the book list with linked reviews)