Towers of Books Come Tumbling Down!
I love all kinds of books! For all my friends, I am known on GR as Alicja. I don't stick with a genre, that's boring. Instead you'll get reviews from the most random assortment of fiction and non-fiction works. It's probably due to my interests being as eclectic as my book tastes.
I'm a girlfriend-loving bisexual, science fiction geek, PC gamer, historical fiction devourer, hiker, atheist, history buff, opera lover, vegetarian, kayaker, metal and hard rock concert goer, science nerd, politics debater, world traveler, M/M romance fan, and I have the ability to transform from an adult-like hard-working professional into a screaming fangirl in five seconds flat.
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
Rating: 4/5
Summary: Richard Dawkins’ arguments regarding the existence of God and the role of religion in our society from the point of view of an atheist and biologist.
Review: With books such as these, controversial/religious(or non-), the audience for whom it is written needs to be taken into account. Richard Dawkins is a spectacular biologist. This book is very well written, his arguments are (mostly) solid as well as the research he presents to support his arguments. However, he also has the ability to sound condescending, stuck up (my intellect beats your stupidity kind), and sometimes a bit derogatory to women (regarding feminism in particular). If you are already an atheist or somewhere in the vicinity of agnostic/thinking-about-it/seriously-questioning/fed-up-with-religion then this book is for you. It puts all the points that such a person has already been thinking about into an organized and coherent whole with citations from original sources (as well as provides new things to research and consider). Brilliant really! However, if a deeply religious person reads this book they are likely to feel talked down to and made fun of for their beliefs. I don’t think this book will convert anyone; it would be either put down before it gets started on the arguments or read with fury and anger (as Dawkins himself admits he gets plenty of hate mail).
That said, as much as I sometimes resented his tone of voice (and I am an atheist), I think this book is filled with information and intelligence that will help any atheist/agnostic/thinking-about-it/seriously-questioning/fed-up-with-religion person to better organize their own thoughts and ideas.
Keep in mind, I came to my atheism through my own devices (and some internet research) and this is the first book I have ever read regarding atheism. I’ll revisit in a few years and see if my opinion remains the same, but until then any remarks here should be taken as coming from a novice reader.